30 Things You Didn't Know About "Big Bang Theory"
We finally learned the backstory behind "bazinga!"
The Big Bang Theory is packed with hidden easter eggs and fun facts. Take a look at the most interesting ones, and we promise, you'll have a whole new appreciation for the show.
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There's an error in the opening credits.
There's no way you could have spotted it, unless of course you were looking for it. The timeline that scrolls across the bottom of the screen reads 91,000 9C, instead of 91,000 BC. Why? We may never know.
Jim Parsons is not a Trekkie in real life.
While Sheldon Cooper is obsessed with Star Trek, Jim Parsons actually has never watched it or Doctor Who, he revealed to Time.
Mayim Bialik has a PhD in neuroscience.
She's the only cast member with an education in neuroscience, and often likes to make sure her scripts are scientifically accurate!
Sheldon and Leonard share a real-world inspiration.
Sheldon Leonard is a famous for being an executive producer of The Dick Van Dyke Show and The Andy Griffith Show. And so, the two leading scientists on the CBS sitcom both take their names from the influential Hollywood guru.
Penny was almost an entirely different character.
Penny's character was originally called Katie in an unaired pilot, and she was played by Amanda Walsh. Walsh played a "hyper-sexual, a bit more raunchy version of Penny." However, the test audience felt overprotective of the guys and didn't like Katie.
There is only one set of stairs.
According to Glamour, there's only one set of stairs on set. So, every time an actor walks up and down a set of stairs, it's the same staircase, but "redressed" as different floors of the building. Ah, TV magic!
"Bazinga" came from a recurring practical joke with a grapefruit.
Show writer Stephen Engel would set up a recurring practical joke that involved taping a hollowed out grapefruit back together. "I'd open it up and [he] would say 'bazinga," executive producer Bill Prady told Entertainment Tonight. "It was Stephen's word for gotcha." And thus bazinga was born.
Several species have been named "bazinga" in honor of the show.
In 2013, a marine biologist in Australia discovered a new type of jellyfish, and decided to name it the "Bazinga rieki" as a nod to Sheldon Cooper. That same year, Brazilian scientists discovered a new type of bee, which they named the "Euglossa bazinga."
Raj's women problem is based on the executive producer's old friend.
Raj's characteristic of only being able to talk to women when he's drunk is based upon EP Bill Prady's old coworker, who has the same problem.
Every episode is named after a "scientific" theory.
Fake ones, of course, but each episode, except the pilot, is named as if they were real. For example: "The Rothman Disintegration," "The Recollection Dissipation," and "The Thespian Catalyst."
"Soft Kitty" is a real song.
The "Soft Kitty" song Sheldon's mom used sing to comfort her son is a real song. "It's from my daughter's preschool in Sherman Oaks," Prady revealed at PaleyFest. "It was from Australia, and one of the teachers heard it there."
We still don't know Penny's last name.
While we've heard most characters' last names ... Penny's remains a mystery (well, her maiden name). Executive producer Steve Molaro told Vulture, "We're kind of a superstitious lot here. We've made it this far without knowing Penny's last name. I think we're good not finding out."
Any guesses?
Leonard's glasses are fake.
If you look closely, the glasses Leonard wears don't have lens inside; they are just frames because Johnny Galecki (unlike Leonard) doesn't have bad eyesight.
Mayim Bialik's "Blossom" character has been mentioned twice.
Before Bialik joined the cast, the show referenced her childhood role on Blossom, when Raj suggests they invite actress Mayim Bialik to join their bowling team. Then, in Season 6, when Amy and Sheldon compile a list of potential couples costumes, one is Blossom and Joey. Another was Dharma and Greg, a different show from creator Chuck Lorre.
Bernadette's voice isn't real.
Who could ever mistake Bernadette's high-pitched voice? Turns out, Melissa Rauch impersonated her mother's voice for the character. "Only without the Jersey! Tonally, it's very similar," the actress said at the PaleyFest panel in 2013.
Mayim Bialik suffered a hand injury while filming season 6.
Mayim Bialik was in a car accident that resulted in a pretty serious hand injury while the show was filming season 6. But producers got creative and managed to hide her hand for many of the scenes.
The show wasn't originally called "The Big Bang Theory."
Originally, the show was called "Lenny, Penny and Kenny" before creators came up with The Big Bang Theory.
Johnny Galecki and Kaley Cuoco dated in real life.
No wonder Leonard and Penny have lots of chemistry — the actors actually dated in real life during the show! "It was such a huge part of my life and no one knew about it," Cuoco previously told CBS Watch in 2010. "It was a wonderful relationship, but we never spoke a word about it and never went anywhere together."
The original pilot was completely different.
The original pilot was for an entirely different show. According to IMDB, the unaired pilot introduced two awkward scientists, Leonard and Sheldon, who share an apartment and invite a drunk girl Katie to stay with them because she had nowhere else to go. The characters of Leonard and Sheldon were the only part the creators kept.
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