denounces Springfield for its anti-intellectualism in a published open letter published in the Springfield Shopper. Whilst it is ignored by most of the town, it impresses the Springfield chapter of Mensa. Lisa joins the local Mensa chapter, alongside Principal Skinner, Comic Book Guy, Dr. Hibbert, Professor Frink, and Lindsay Naegle. After being bullied out of their reserved gazebo at a park by drunks and Chief Wiggum, they fear that Springfield's quality is poor because the city's stupidest residents have power over their civic institutions. The Mensa group goes to confront Mayor Quimby about the gazebo incident, causing him to escape the city when he mistakenly believes the group has evidence about his corruption. The town's charter states that in the absence of the mayor, the town is to be governed by a council of learned citizens. Now in control of Springfield and governing the town as a geniocracy, the group hopes that things will become much better. Their implemented ideas, including the adoption of metric time and the removal of green lights from stoplights to ease traffic congestion, elevate Springfield above East St. Louis on the list of America's 300 Most Livable Cities. However, the group allows power to go to their heads and the members begin to fight among themselves. Various schemes and their wildly unpopular plans, aired at a public meeting, including the banning of certain sports and the imposition of limits on procreation similiar to the act of pon farr from Star Trek, further expose the rifts inside the group. The Springfield townspeople, wishing power would revert to idiots, surround the intellectuals in an angry mob and bring an end to Mensa's rule. Stephen Hawking appears to see what the Mensa group is up to and makes it clear he is unimpressed. However, he saves Lisa from being seriously injured by the mob. In the end, Hawking and Homer go to Moe's Tavern for a drink. In the episode's secondary storyline, Homer steals a gift certificate during the post-contest riots and has erotic photos taken of himself as a gift to Marge, who is at first impressed, but becomes distracted by the interior design Homer did in their basement. Production "They Saved Lisa's Brain" was written by Matt Selman and directed by Pete Michels. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on May 9, 1999. Although the episode's first draft was written by