"The Big Bang Theory" is full of intriguing trivia. Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re counting down some fun facts about “The Big Bang Theory” that even the show’s biggest fans might not know.
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00:00 You guys can buy me dinner, but that's the end of it.
00:02 The end of what?
00:05 Welcome to Miss Mojo and today
00:07 We're counting down some fun facts about the Big Bang Theory that even the show's biggest fans might not know. Raj?
00:13 Yes? Look, what am I looking at? You tell me.
00:17 Non-alcoholic beer.
00:19 Number 20. Howard, Leonard and Sheldon are named after real people.
00:26 They say you should write what you know, and when it came to naming the characters on the Big Bang Theory,
00:31 that's exactly what the creators did. Howard Wolowitz, Caltech Department of Applied Physics. You may be familiar with some of my work.
00:39 It's currently orbiting Jupiter's largest moon taking high-resolution digital photographs.
00:44 Besides being a television writer, producer and co-creators of shows such as the Big Bang Theory, Bill Prady once worked as a computer
00:52 programmer. That job not only gives him solid nerd cred when it comes to the series,
00:56 but also provided the name for Howard Wolowitz, as it was the name of a programmer Prady had worked with.
01:02 Oh, he speaks English. He just can't speak to women.
01:04 Really? Why? He's kind of a nerd.
01:09 As for Leonard and Sheldon, their names were also inspired by real people.
01:14 Actually, just one real person. Television writer/producers Sheldon Leonard, of whom Prady and Chuck Lorre were fans.
01:22 Number 19. A chance encounter led to the theme song.
01:26 Did you know that Simon Singh's book Big Bang, the origin of the universe, has more to do with the Big Bang Theory than just
01:33 the similar titles? It was the book that Barenaked Ladies lead singer Ed Robertson had read, and led to him
01:39 freestyling a rap about the origins of the universe at a show in Los Angeles.
01:44 "In the end, with all the developed tools, we built a wall. We built a pyramid.
01:47 Math, science, history, unraveling the mystery that all started with the Big Bang. Hey!"
01:53 And who happened to be at that show? Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady, who upon hearing said rap,
01:59 asked Robertson to write the theme song for their upcoming series. To paraphrase the catchy tune, that is one mystery unraveled.
02:07 "Math, science, history, unraveling the mystery that all started with the Big Bang. Hey!"
02:13 One mystery that has never been unraveled though, is why the timeline in the opening credits read
02:18 91009C instead of 91000BC.
02:22 Number 18. Scientific episode titles.
02:25 While some shows don't really seem to spend much time thinking about the titles of their episodes,
02:31 the Big Bang Theory had a real method to their madness. A scientific method, that is.
02:36 While each episode title makes reference to a key moment or storyline of said episode,
02:41 the way they do it fits in perfectly with the science-based theme that began with the show's title.
02:47 "Leonard!"
02:48 "God, this is gonna be bad."
02:49 "Goodbye, honeypuffs."
02:50 "Hello, Big Brand."
02:52 Each episode title is phrased in the format of a scientific theory, principle, or experiment.
02:58 From the Big Brand hypothesis to the Stockholm Syndrome, and the over 270 episodes in between.
03:05 "In Sweden, punctuality is taken very seriously. In other words, the loosey-goosey attitude in Helsinki
03:11 will not fly in Stockholm."
03:12 The only exception being the series' first episode, which, as is usually the case, is just called "Pilot".
03:19 Number 17. It set a record with back-to-back renewals.
03:23 With so many shows getting cancelled every year, most series are just happy to get a renewal for one more season.
03:30 Well, to that, the Big Bang Theory said "Hold our beer!"
03:33 Or, more likely, "That's our spot", as they not once, but twice got renewed for three more seasons in one shot.
03:40 "That's my spot."
03:42 That ain't no bazinga either.
03:45 In 2011 and in 2014, CBS showed massive confidence in the series' ability to continue dominating network television
03:54 and gave them three more years.
03:56 No show in the history of modern television has ever received two back-to-back three-year renewals,
04:02 except the Big Bang Theory.
04:04 "This is so exciting! Isn't this exciting?"
04:08 Number 16. Kunal Nayyar landed his role with his first audition.
04:13 "Will you please turn your shirt off?"
04:16 "What? I'm giving myself dramatic entrance music. People will know I'm awesome and to be feared."
04:21 If watching Penny struggle to become a successful actress on the Big Bang Theory for all those years taught us anything,
04:28 it's that making it in Hollywood is hard.
04:30 It takes a lot of patience and lots of auditions, unless you're Kunal Nayyar, as it turns out.
04:37 Because as Kaley Cuoco revealed on the Anna Faris's Unqualified podcast,
04:41 Big Bang was his first audition, either his first audition or his first pilot audition.
04:47 Looks like things really did all start with a Big Bang for Mr. Nayyar.
04:51 "And then I moved to Los Angeles to live out the big dream and I auditioned for a show and then the show became 9 years later."
04:58 Number 15. Johnny Galecki might have been Sheldon.
05:02 Could you imagine Sheldon as a short curly-haired guy?
05:06 No? Well, turns out Johnny Galecki couldn't either.
05:09 Having seen Galecki in various roles on other sitcoms in the past,
05:13 series co-creator Chuck Lorre knew he wanted him on the show and initially wrote the character of Sheldon Cooper with Galecki in mind.
05:21 And it was Galecki who turned it down.
05:23 "I'm aware of how difficult I can be, so I just want to say...
05:27 Thank you for putting up with me."
05:30 "Buddy."
05:33 Having played the friend or assistant to the romantic lead in the past,
05:36 Galecki wanted to do something different and play the guy who seems to have a future of romantic triumphs and difficulties.
05:43 We're not sure how obvious it was at the time, but we can now say with confidence, "Great choice, Johnny."
05:49 "It's just a heart-shaped lock with a picture of Leonard's face in it. You got them all on clearance. Now move, move, move!"
05:53 "I love you."
05:57 "I love you too."
05:59 Number 14. Johnny Galecki's glasses didn't have lenses.
06:04 Occam's razor is the idea that the most obvious answer is usually the correct one.
06:09 Did you ever wonder why you never saw lights from the set reflecting off the lenses of Leonard's glasses?
06:15 Well, Occam's razor would lead one to the conclusion that there were no lenses in the glasses.
06:20 And in this case, Occam would be correct.
06:23 "Damn it, my glasses.
06:26 Okay, I'm blind here, guys. Can you help me find them?"
06:29 Galecki wanted Leonard to have glasses, and during rehearsal for the first episode, he wore a pair with lenses in them.
06:36 However, this led to the issue of light reflections and glare,
06:40 especially with the shorter Galecki having to look up at his taller friend Sheldon much of the time.
06:45 So, when he was asked to take them off, he instead just popped out the lenses.
06:50 "Check it out. It's got contacts."
06:53 Number 13. Jim Parsons and Mayim Bialik learned how to play their characters' instruments.
06:58 "What are you doing?"
07:00 "Playing the theremin."
07:03 "No, I mean, what are you doing with a theremin?"
07:08 "Playing it."
07:10 Their brains weren't the only instruments the characters on the show knew how to play.
07:16 Many of them could play actual instruments as well.
07:19 However, while Johnny Galecki already knew how to play the cello, and Simon Helberg was an accomplished pianist,
07:25 Jim Parsons and Mayim Bialik learned their instruments for their roles as Sheldon and Amy respectively.
07:30 Bialik played many instruments growing up, but the harp wasn't one of them.
07:35 As she told Wired magazine,
07:37 "I learned to play the harp for The Big Bang Theory."
07:39 "I'm wanted. Wanted. Dead or alive."
07:48 And the same is true for Parsons and the theremin.
07:51 Number 12. Lucy and Ramona wrote "If I Didn't Have You."
07:55 "I'd be an atom without a bomb, a dot without the com, and I'd probably still live with my mom."
08:02 While the characters Lucy and Ramona Nowitzki brought mostly heartache and problems to the show,
08:08 we do have them to thank for one of the most romantic moments of the series.
08:12 And no, we don't mean how Ramona kissing Sheldon sent him to propose to Amy.
08:17 We're talking about something that happened thanks to the actresses who portray Lucy and Ramona,
08:22 Kate Micucci and Ricky Lindholm, also known as the comedy folk duo Garfunkel and Oates.
08:27 It was actually these two talented ladies who wrote "If I Didn't Have You."
08:32 The song Howard plays for Bernadette on the anniversary of their first date.
08:36 A classic happy cry moment that would never have happened if the show didn't have them.
08:42 "I couldn't have imagined how good my life would get from the moment that I met you, Bernadette."
08:52 Number 11. There was only one set of stairs.
08:57 "This is my friend Simon. So yeah, this is an elevator."
09:01 "This is the elevator that does not work. It does not work. We have to climb stairs."
09:06 You'd think that since so many scenes take place walking up and down the stairs at the apartment building
09:12 that they would have built a full three-flight staircase to use every time.
09:16 Well, you might think that, but you'd be wrong.
09:19 Instead, what they had was one flight of stairs that they would reuse and redecorate
09:24 for each consecutive flight the cast walked up.
09:27 Wouldn't that mean they would have to stop the scene after each flight,
09:30 wait for the crew to decorate for the next floor, and then pick up the scene?
09:34 Yes, it would mean that, and that's exactly what would happen.
09:38 "You can see these stairs go to nowhere. We actually all have to get very intimate down here like this."
09:43 "He has to hold my leg. That's part of my own process."
09:47 Number 10. It originally had a different title.
09:52 It's no secret that The Big Bang Theory is named after the cosmological model for our universe.
09:58 Before settling on this title, however, the show was initially going to be called Lenny, Penny, and Kenny.
10:03 "Lenard, Sheldon." "Hi." "Hi." "Hi." "Hi."
10:06 "Uh... Well, uh... Oh, welcome to the building."
10:13 While Penny ultimately stuck around, Lenny evolved into Lenard, and Kenny went on to become Sheldon.
10:19 These changes were probably for the best, especially since the original title doesn't really tie into the show's science theme or nerdy sense of humor.
10:27 Lenny, Penny, and Kenny sounds like a generic sitcom that's trying to be the next Three's Company.
10:33 And we all know how frustrating Sheldon can get when he comes and knocks on your door.
10:37 "Penny, Penny, Penny, Penny, Penny, Penny, Penny, Penny, Penny, Penny, Penny, Penny, Penny, Penny, Penny, Penny, Penny, Penny, Penny."
10:43 "What the hell is wrong with you?" "I'm The Flash. I just knocked 30,000 times."
10:50 Number 9. We still don't know Penny's last name.
10:54 Audiences knew Penny for 12 years and 279 episodes, but they never heard her full name.
11:01 After tying the knot with Lenard at the beginning of season 9, Penny adopted the surname Hofstadter.
11:06 "I think that's cheesy. Buckle up. Penny Hofstadter, will you please stay married to me?"
11:15 Yet her maiden name has never been spoken throughout the show's lengthy run.
11:21 Co-creator Bill Prady has said that Penny's surname would come out of the bag at some point.
11:26 Executive producer Steve Mellaro, on the other hand, insists that her last name will forever be a giant question mark.
11:33 In other words, Sheldon could prove the string theory before we hear Penny's full name.
11:37 "Your friends are just lovely." "Oh, thanks mom."
11:41 "Although that Sheldon is a bit peculiar." "Is he? I never noticed."
11:47 Number 8. Mayim Bialik has a PhD.
11:51 "Besides getting you a part on the Big Bang Theory, I was also made the spokesperson of Texas Instruments Calculators,
11:57 so that's what you get with a PhD in neuroscience. Big Bang Theory and you're the spokesperson for graphing calculators."
12:02 At the end of season 3, actress Mayim Bialik entered the equation as Amy Farrah Fowler.
12:08 Given the instant chemistry with Sheldon, it wasn't long until Bialik became a series regular.
12:14 Long before that, though, Bialik herself was actually referenced in a season 1 episode,
12:19 listing off potential candidates for a physics bowl.
12:22 Raj suggests the girl from TV's Blossom, noting that she has a PhD in neuroscience.
12:28 "She got a PhD in neuroscience or something." "Raj, we're not getting TV's Blossom to join our physics bowl team."
12:36 "How about the girl from The Wonder Years?"
12:39 This, of course, is Mayim Bialik, who broke out into stardom playing Blossom Ruby Russo,
12:45 and later went on to become a neuroscientist.
12:48 Interestingly enough, the girl from The Wonder Years would also eventually pop up in the series.
12:53 "Call me Raj." "Hey Raj, where are you from?" "The mysterious subcontinent of India." "Ooh, India."
13:00 When actress Melissa Rauch made her debut on the show back in season 3,
13:09 she noticeably didn't have the cute, high-pitched voice Bernadette Rostenkowski has become iconic for.
13:16 "I couldn't ride a bicycle because my mother was afraid I'd hit a bump and lose my virginity."
13:20 "Oh wow, you didn't, did you?" "Not on a bicycle. In a Camry."
13:27 Rauch would evolve and perfect Bernadette's voice over time, deriving inspiration from a family member.
13:34 At a PaleyFest panel, Rauch mentioned that Bernadette's voice is tonally very similar to her mother's,
13:40 but, quote, "without the Joy-Z."
13:42 "I'll tell you what I want, what I really, really want. I wanna, I wanna, I wanna, I wanna really, really, really be the Count of Forty-Quiznos, 1999."
13:51 Perhaps this is fitting, seeing as how Bernadette and Howard really started to hit it off
13:56 after swapping stories about their overbearing mothers.
13:59 Number 6. The show had a science advisor to consult on scripts.
14:04 Seeing as how the cast of characters includes two physicists, an engineer, an astrophysicist, a neuroscientist, and a microbiologist,
14:13 the writers need to take extra precautions to make sure this show is scientifically accurate.
14:18 Enter David Salzberg.
14:20 "I'm actually a particle physicist by training, but lately I've been lured a little more into astrophysics and astronomy.
14:26 And so, uh, those of us who find ourselves in this situation are called particle astrophysicists."
14:33 A physics and astronomy professor at the University of California, Salzberg was a science consultant for the Big Bang Theory from the very beginning.
14:41 His duties involved checking each script, pointing out any errors, and adding scientific information.
14:48 And those complicated equations you see on the whiteboards? He's responsible for overseeing those as well.
14:53 Sheldon Cooper may have an IQ of 187, but Salzberg is the real genius.
14:58 "And so what we have here is the basic diagram of quantum tunneling, which would be basically what's the physics behind that joke."
15:06 Number 5. An executive producer's co-worker inspired Raj's selective mutism.
15:11 While Raj has never exactly been smooth with the ladies, at least he can maintain a conversation with them now.
15:18 Raj struggled with selective mutism for the first six seasons, generally requiring alcohol to speak in the presence of women he's not related to.
15:27 "How did you correct for the selection bias?"
15:30 "Well, I ran a simulation that allowed me to correct for the observational efficiency."
15:35 The idea for this character trait stemmed from the show's co-creator and executive producer, Bill Prady.
15:41 Prior to the show, he worked for the small computer company as a programmer, and had a colleague who, like Raj, couldn't talk to women without being inebriated.
15:51 As for Kunal Nair, he obviously has no problem talking to the opposite sex. He's married to former Miss India, Neha Kapoor.
16:00 "Getting married is even more stressful."
16:02 "Yes, yes. Well, it sounds like especially, first of all, we have a photograph here to give people a visual. Your wife is beautiful."
16:08 "Yeah, she's gorgeous, man."
16:09 Number 4. Penny wasn't in the original pilot
16:12 It's hard to believe, but Penny was nowhere to be found in the original pilot.
16:17 Instead, Leonard and Sheldon cross paths with a hard-boiled woman named Katie, played by Amanda Walsh.
16:23 "What the hell is wrong with you?"
16:25 "Leonard, I'm no expert, but in the context of a dinner invitation, it's probably best to skip the discussion of bowel movements."
16:31 After breaking up with her boyfriend, Katie moves in with the dorky duo. Test audiences didn't respond well to Katie, however, and the network found the pilot underwhelming on the whole.
16:43 "They don't get out much."
16:45 Still, the creators knew they had struck gold with actors Johnny Galecki and Jim Parsons, so they went back and retooled several aspects, most notably switching out Katie with Penny.
16:55 The new pilot was subsequently picked up, and the rest is history.
16:59 "Leonard, I'm no expert, but in the context of a dinner invitation, it's probably best to skip the discussion of bowel movements."
17:05 "Oh, you're inviting me over to eat?"
17:07 "Uh, yes."
17:09 "Oh, that's so nice. I'd love to."
17:12 Number 3. Jim Parsons has never seen Star Trek
17:15 Sheldon Cooper is about as hardcore as Trekkies get.
17:19 He's dressed up as Star Trek characters on numerous occasions, and practically had a meltdown after attaining some of Leonard Nimoy's DNA.
17:27 "I possess the DNA of Leonard Nimoy."
17:30 [laughter]
17:33 Plus, he knows next-gen actors LeVar Burton and Wil Wheaton personally.
17:38 But ironically, actor Jim Parsons claims to have never even seen an episode of Star Trek.
17:44 Rather than growing up with the voyages of the Starship Enterprise, Parsons has always been more of a sports guy.
17:50 When the cameras are rolling, though, Parsons still manages to speak fluent Klingon, demonstrating his incredible versatility as an actor.
17:58 "Did that guy just say revenge is a dish best served cold in Klingon?"
18:02 "I believe so."
18:04 Number 2. The show got sued for Soft Kitty
18:08 One of the show's most famous running gags, Soft Kitty, is a song that's known to soothe Sheldon when he's feeling sick or depressed.
18:16 "I will always sing you Soft Kitty. Soft kitty, warm kitty, little ball of fur."
18:25 This song originated from a Polish lullaby, as was a song called "Warm Kitty," written by Edith Newlin.
18:32 In 2015, Newlin's daughters brought a copyright lawsuit against the companies attached to the show, claiming that Willis Music had published the rhyme in the 1937 songbook.
18:44 The lawsuit was dismissed in 2017, however, on the grounds that Newlin's heirs had failed to prove that they owned a valid copyright on their mother's work.
18:53 That must have made Chuck Lorre a happy kitty.
18:56 "Soft kitty, warm kitty, little ball of fur. Happy kitty, sleepy kitty, purr, purr, purr."
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19:24 Number 1. Bazinga was inspired by real-life practical jokes
19:29 Bazinga has become such a popular term that it even inspired the name of a Brazilian bee species known as Euglosa Bazinga.
19:37 As for where Sheldon's catchphrase came from, we have writer Stephen Engle to thank for that.
19:43 "Howard, you are a good friend and I wish you nothing but happiness. Bazinga, I don't."
19:49 Engle would say Bazinga whenever he played a prank on another writer, like when he gave Bill Prady a scooped-out grapefruit and yelled the immortal punchline when Prady tried to eat it.
19:59 Bazinga later popped up during the show's season 2 finale, although it wasn't originally scripted and was instead inserted at the last minute during filming.
20:09 "Once again, you've fallen for one of my classic pranks. Bazinga."
20:15 Although it took two seasons to arrive, Bazinga is now practically synonymous with the Big Bang Theory.
20:22 "You bought a Bazinga!"
20:24 Did any of these Big Bang facts come as a big surprise to you? Let us know which one shocked you more than Leonard and Howard were shocked when Raj and Penny walked out of the bedroom together.
20:34 "It's not what it looks like."
20:36 "What does it look like?"
20:42 Do you agree with our picks? Check out this other recent clip from Ms. Mojo. And be sure to subscribe and ring the bell to be notified about our latest videos.
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