Could Mr. Burns be Jewish? According to some, yes; he is super-rich and has a big nose, so he must be a Jewish stereotype!

Oh, some. It's so easy to look on the surface and subscribe to the stereotype d' jour. Easy and WRONG.

There's absolutely nothing Jewish about Mr. Burns. He's a prototypical WASP billionaire, based on Norwegian magnate Fredrik Olsen (Not a Jew), as well as John D. Rockefeller (Not a Jew, as previously discussed).

Want more evidence? Well, Mr. Burns attended Yale during the early 20th century, when that university was unbashfully antisemitic. Not only that, at Yale he was a member of the Skull and Bones (no Jews allowed). Not enough? What about Mr. Burns' claim that he made shells for the Nazis during World War II ("and mine worked, damn it!")? Or when he celebrates Christmas, even if it is begrudgingly?

Even his nose, his big nose, is not Jewish at all. If we're going by stereotypes here, his is long, thin, and straight; Jewish tend to be bulky, thick and bumpy.

Mr. Burns: Not a Jew. Excellent...