began imitating the same style, the producers stopped the idea soon after. The scene where Homer bemoans Herb's treatment of him to Marge in bed was taken from another episode because they decided to explain the plot a bit more. Cultural references The title of the episode and the plot, to a certain extent, is a reference to the common expression "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?", a song of the Great Depression that has been recorded multiple times by artists since. The Walt Disney Company is referenced at the beginning of the episode when a homeless bum mutters to Herb: "Yeah, I used to be rich. I owned Mickey Mouse Massage Parlors, then those Disney sleazeballs shut me down." The failure of New Coke is also referenced when its creator is also portrayed as 'homeless'. While Homer relaxes in the Spinemelter chair at the store he sees images in his head that are a reference to the penultimate scenes of the film 2001: A Space Odyssey. In one scene, Homer reminisces about sitting on his old couch while watching Dallas, the Hands Across America charity event, the Berlin Wall coming down, and Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.. The last scene where Herb presents the Simpsons family with gifts for their trust in him is a reference to the film The Wizard of Oz, in which the Wizard presents Dorothy, the Lion, the Scarecrow, and the Tin Man with gifts. The device Herb made is now real and is on sale, an example of how the Simpsons predicted the future. As it has many times. In other episodes Homer tries to invent things but not as successfully. Reception In its original American broadcast, "Brother, Can You Spare Two Dimes?" finished 31st in the ratings for the week of August 24–30, 1992, with a Nielsen rating of 10.7, equivalent to approximately 9.76 million viewing households. It was the second highest-rated show on the Fox network that week following the 44th Primetime Emmy Awards. Since airing, the episode has received mostly positive reviews from television critics. The authors of the book I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide were positive of the episode, particularly praising the scenes involving Homer's fixation for vibrating chairs and Maggie speaking to the family through the baby translator. The Guardian's David Eklid said episodes such as "Brother, Can You Spare Two Dimes?", "Lisa's Pony"