The Strangest Facts About Stranger Things To Turn Your Life Upside Down
Entertainment 7/16/18
Stranger Things took the world by storm when it hit our very small screens in 2016. People saw the show on Netflix, fell in love with it, and started telling their friends to watch it. Pretty soon, everybody and anybody had binged the first season of this new, groundbreaking sci-fi throwback.
The second season of the show got just as much attention as the first, and now we're pumped to see season three, which should come out sometime around winter 2018. While we're waiting in anticipation, we discovered some of the strangest, true things about Stranger Things. Did you know that a certain actress in the series was born without legs? Read on to find out who.
The Thought Behind The Font
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The "Stranger Things" font is the same one used on the Dungeons & Dragons Player's Handbook from the late '80s.
Of course, if you're a font enthusiast, you know that already. Where are all my font enthusiasts at? Heeeyy… ho… Nobody? Ok. There is another font related fact coming up, so stay tuned.
Lookin' Sharp
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The Hawkins Police Department vehicles and uniforms are the exact same as the ones used in Jaws and Jaws 2. Hopper's tan uniform, Amity Island triangle shaped patch, and beige SUV were all worn or used by Police Chief Martin Brody in Jaws.
Also, the blue uniforms and trooper/sheriff style hats match the Amity Island Police uniforms from the Jaws films.
Back To Her Roots
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Winona Ryder, who plays Joyce Byers on Stranger Things, was born in 1971. Season one of the show mainly takes place in 1983, and season two begins on the day before her 13th birthday.
That means that Ryder was roughly the same age in real life as all of the young main child characters in the show when the series takes place.
Their Love Started On Set
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Natalia Dyer, who plays Nancy, and Charlie Heaton, who plays Jonathan, are dating in real life, as of October 2017. When their characters finally got together on screen, Charlie and Natalia had excellent chemistry.
I guess it's true what they say— there's no love like real love. Does anybody say that? Oh well.
A Life Without Legs
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Aimee Mullins, the actress who plays Eleven's mother on Stranger Things, has lived her whole life without legs.
She was born with fibular hemimelia or missing fibula bones. She had both of her legs amputated below the knee when she was one year old.
Living A Double Life
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Joe Keery, who plays Steve Harrington on Stranger Things, is also the guitarist in a psychedelic rock band. The band is called Post Animal. It was formed in 2014 in Chicago, which is where Keery went to university.
He met his bandmates at DePaul University, and the rest is history.
From Pride Rock To Indiana
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Caleb McLaughlin, or "Lucas" on Stranger Things, played young Simba in the musical The Lion King from 2012-2014.
Gaten Matarazzo, who plays Dustin in the series, is also a musical theatre star. He played Gavroche in Les Miserables in 2014. Keep reading for a strange fact about one of the boys' older castmates.
Millie Bobby Brown Is Deaf In One Ear
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Millie Bobby Brown, who plays Eleven on Stranger Things, is only able to hear with one of her ears. She was born with partial hearing in that ear, but eventually, after years of surgery and ear tubes, her hearing faded away completely.
Assistants on the set of Stranger Things sometimes have to let her know when the director has called "action," if the director is particularly quiet or far away.
Gaten Matarazzo Created A Non-Profit
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Gaten Matarazzo has a rare genetic disorder called Cleidocranial dysplasia, or CCD. People with CCD have poorly developed bones and teeth. Although they have a normal life expectancy, they may require several surgeries over their lifetime.
Matarazzo founded CCD smiles, a non-profit organization that provides false teeth to people suffering from CCD.
An Ironic Injury
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David Harbour, who plays "Hopper" on Stranger Things, tore his Achilles tendon while playing the character Achilles in a Shakespeare In The Park production.
On Twitter, Harbour blamed his injury on the Demogorgon. The whole thing was probably just an unfortunate accident, but the show must go on.
Charlie Heaton Was Caught With Cocaine At A US Airport
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The British actor was flying to Los Angeles for the season two launch party when airport sniffer dogs caught him with quite a bit of cocaine in his luggage.
US border officials denied him access into the country and sent him back to London. Hopefully, Heaton will be able to get back to America to film season 3 of Stranger Things.
A Bad Birthday Party Just Got A Whole Lot Better
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A young kid invited eight classmates to his Stranger Things themed birthday party, but he was majorly bummed when nobody showed up.
His older sister tweeted about the incident and Millie Bobbie Brown re-tweeted in response saying, the cast from Stranger Things would have loved to attend, and that she thinks he's awesome. Gaten Matarazzo then responded that he'll bring the "chocolate pudding."
The Stranger Things Title Font Matches Stephen King Covers From The '80s
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Stranger Things is full of references to Stephen King novels. The movie The Thing is playing in the AV room in season one, and characters can be seen reading his books throughout the series.
One of the most subtle, but also recognizable references to Stephen King's work is the font used for the Stranger Things title. The font, called ITC Benguiat, is quintessentially '80s, and was also used for Paramount's FBI piracy warning and choose your own adventure book covers.
Stranger Things Was Based On A Real Secret Government Project
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Stranger Things was based on Project Montauk, a supposed secret government program involving the kidnapping of children for use in mind control experiments.
The Montauk Project is an alleged series of secret US government projects that happened on Montauk, Long Island. They were meant to develop psychological warfare techniques and look into exotic ideas like time travel.
An Anime Character Influenced The Creation Of "Eleven"
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Stranger Things was inspired by Elfen Lied, an anime which Matt Duffer says influenced the character of Eleven.
In an interview with Daily Beast, Matt said, "more recently I had seen an anime called Elfen Lied that is clearly inspired by Akira. And that was really influential. When I watched it I thought it felt like an ultraviolent E.T. There were a lot of things in there that I really liked and that made their way into the show, particularly related to the character of Eleven."
Too Buff For The Role
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Dacre Montgomery, or "Billy" on Stranger Things, had to tone down his six-pack abs for the show. He had previously been working on a Power Rangers movie, and he got super shredded for that role.
He said, "I took a step back. Guys in the '80s weren't super-shredded, so I just did a lot of boxing and my diet was not as good, which made for a more realistic body. So I'm a bit chubbier around the edges. I was a little bit self-conscious that the whole world is seeing this pudgier version of me than was in Power Rangers."
These Girls Have Been Acting Their Whole Lives
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Tinsley Price and Anniston Price share the role of Holly Wheeler on Stranger Things. They are the same twins who played the original baby Judith in Season 4 of The Walking Dead.
Do you think these girls could be the next Olson twins? Only time will tell. Keep reading to find out how much more money Millie Bobby Brown is getting for season 3.
Winona Ryder Didn't Know What "Streaming" Meant
Before being offered her role in the Netflix series Stranger Things, Winona Ryder had no idea what "streaming" meant.
Casting director Carmen Cuba said, "She barely knew what a TV series was — she had never done one." Ryder says that her decision to take on the role of Joyce was a "natural" one. She agreed with Cuba and said, "It's just something that I had never done before."
The Stranger Things DVD Case Is Supposed To Look Like A VHS From The '80s.
Photo Credit: L4GGING / Reddit
This is both brilliant and super confusing. I can just imagine some confused grandma trying to get that case to fit inside her super old VHS player. I do love how they've aged the sides of the case. It makes the whole design look really authentic.
I actually wouldn't mind a real VHS copy of the show. I think it would add to the whole nostalgic feel of the project.
Millie Bobby Brown Got A Raise For Season 3
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Millie Bobby Brown is reportedly getting a 3 million dollar raise for the third season of Stranger Things.
According to TMZ, Brown's original contract promised her $25,000 per episode of the third season. However, the main cast renegotiated their contracts after the second season. Instead of just making $25,000 per episode, which would have been about 1000 dollars more than she got in season two, Brown will be paid $350,000 per episode.