Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Random Harry Potter Facts - HP and MCR Week

Quick Update: Happy-birthday-mother-who-won't-ever-see-this-as-her-and-internet-aren't-very-close-but-what-the-heck. In other news, here's another blog hosting a Harry Potter week (at least that I know of, haha)

Harry Potter Week


My Chemical Romance song of the day: "Destroyah" (it's pretty badass, and really new as well!)

Okay, so I was going to talk about the importance of secondary characters but after seeing so much hooplah about that, decided to be a bit more original.

So, with a special thanks to Google, here are some fun facts I bet you didn't know about the HARRY POTTER SERIES! *drumroll? Anyone?*

- A picture of Gandalf the Grey (from The Lord of the Rings) can be seen in the collection of great wizards in Professor Dumbledore’s study in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

- Rowling is the first person to become a billionaire (U.S. dollars) by writing books

- The actress who played Moaning Myrtle is actually 37 years old and is the oldest actress to portray a Hogwarts student

- In Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, dragon blood is revealed to be an effective oven cleaner

- Numbers are symbolic in the series, especially 2, 3, 4, and 7. For example, the trio of Harry, Ron, and Hermione suggest the power of three and the spiritual trinity. Harry fatally wounds the basilisk on its third strike, and Hagrid knocks on the front door of Hogwarts three times. Students attend Hogwarts for seven years and there are seven players on each Quidditch. Sirius is also imprisoned on the seventh floor of Hogwarts

- Rubeus Hagrid, one of Harry’s closest friends, is part wizard and part giant. Rubeus is Latin for something produced from a bramble or a thicket, which fits Rowling’s description of him as “wild.” Hagrid most likely comes from the term “haggard” which also means “wild” or “unruly

- Sirius Black’s tattoos are borrowed from Russian prison gangs. The markings identify the person as someone to be feared and respected

- The divination textbook used at Hogwarts was written by “Cassandra Vablatsky.” Her last name refers to a real woman, Helena Petrovna Blavatsky who founded the Theosophical Society. Cassandra was the daughter of the rulers of Troy (Priam and Hecuba) who was cursed by Apollo to prophecy the truth but never to be believed

- The driver and conductor of the Knight Bus, Ernie and Stanley, are named after Rowling’s grandfathers

- Harry Potter books made the American Library Association (ALA) list of 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books for five consecutive years. A challenge is a formal, written complaint filed with a library or school requesting that materials be removed because of content or appropriateness




Okay, I'm actually doing an article (journalism, haha) for either a review of the movie or facts about the new movie itself. Maybe I'll post some here!

See you guys again!

2 comments:

  1. Cool facts! I'll have to keep my eye open for Gandalf the next time I see that movie. (If I do see it again, that is.)

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  2. pssst...Destroya doesn't have an 'h' on it..xP

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