“Futurama” viewers in the Carolinas may have recently seen a familiar roadside attraction grace their screens.
A giant sombrero tower is hard to miss for those crossing the border on Interstate 95 between Dillon County, S.C., and Robeson County, N.C., but it may have been easier to miss in a recent “Futurama” episode.
A beacon home for wary drivers returning to South Carolina and a recognizable landmark for those just passing through, South of the Border has been an iconic roadside attraction since its establishment in 1949. Now, it’s been cemented in a long-running adult animated show.
A parody of the iconic South of the Border sign was featured in “Fifty Shades of Green,” episode three of the show’s most recent season, which premiered Sept. 15.
The episode replaced “South of the Border” with “South of the Bordersphere.” In the episode, the sign is held by a large astronaut, mirroring the attraction’s real-life mascot.
A Hulu representative confirmed via email that the sign in the episode was modeled after the South of the Border beacon.
“Futurama” is an animated science fiction show that was first released in 1999 and has spawned roughly 170 episodes in its run time. The show follows Philip J. Fry, a pizza delivery boy who was accidentally frozen in a cryogenic pod, as he navigates life in the future after waking up 1,000 years later. Episodes center around him and other employees at his new workplace, Planet Express.
Beyond the screen, South of the Border features a reptile lagoon, an arcade, a motel, a restaurant and, of course, a more than 200-foot-tall sombrero observation tower.