10 Surprising Geek Facts

There are facts – and then there are GEEK FACTS. What’s the difference? Well, pretty much anyone can figure out the former. But only true 100% certified geeks like you are entitled to know the latter.

With this in mind, here are 10 surprising geek facts that all of us glorious geeks can share at work, at home, and at your next party or gathering (that you weren’t able to avoid going to). Ready? Fasten your seatbelts – it’s going to be quite a ride!

1. There are a whopping 256 levels in the original Pac-Man arcade game. But that’s not all. Shortly after the 256th level starts, the game has a glitch due to an integer overflow that affects the memory – which essentially makes the final level unbeatable! Don’t believe us? Well, if you happen to have about $3,000 to spend, we invite you to buy your very own full-size arcade version and see for yourself.
2. It took three different actors to portray Darth Vader in Return of the Jedi, and four in the 2004 Special Edition (we’re not talking about Vader’s voice, which was done by James Earl Jones, but the actual human being inside that iconic and probably really hot and sweaty black jumpsuit). Perhaps these actors should have formed a rock band called “The Darth Vaders” and headlined at the Mos Eisley Cantina?
3. Speaking of Star Wars: the second Death Star was approximately 460% larger than the first one. Now that’s what you call inflation!
4. The unaired pilot for the original Star Trek TV series didn’t feature William Shatner as Captain Kirk. Instead, it starred Jeffrey Hunter as Captain Christopher Pike. Apparently, the studio didn’t like the pilot – they thought it was too intellectual – and when creator Gene Roddenberry went back to the drawing board, Hunter was busy on other projects. That opened the door for Shatner, and the rest is history.
5. Legendary actor Richard Harris, who portrayed Dumbledore in the first two Harry Potter films, turned down the role three times. He finally relented after his 11-year old granddaughter gave him an ultimatum: either accept the role or she’d never speak to him again.
6. The actor Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn) bonded so deeply with the horse he rode in Lord of the Rings that he bought it – along with two others – after the movie finished shooting. Mortensen actually has a habit of doing this, because a few years later after starring in the 2004 film Hidalgo, he once again purchased the horse he rode. Maybe he should just write this into his contracts as part of his fee?
7. You may remember that the epic DeLorean from Back to the Future had to reach 88 miles per hour in order to trigger the time travel mechanism. But what you probably don’t know is that the vehicle had to have a special speedometer built into it for the movie, because back in 1979, then-U.S. President Jimmy Carter made it illegal for cars to exceed 85 miles per hour.
8. Did you know that our reality exists in the Marvel multiverse? It’s true: we are the inhabitants of Earth-1218.
9. We all know that the Incredible Hulk is green. But originally, back in 1962, the Hulk was supposed to be gray. What happened? Well, when Stan Lee went to print the original issue (which is now worth about $1.65 million in 9.8/10 condition), the printer wasn’t able to keep the gray consistent on every page. As a result, the Hulk’s color was switched to green.
10. After Jon Snow’s (apparent) death scene in season five of Game of Thrones, Kit Harrington admitted that he told a police officer that his character actually lives. Why? Because the police officer gave him a choice: tell the truth or receive a speeding ticket. I guess Jon Snow knew something after all, because he didn’t get a ticket!

Do You Have Other Geeky Facts?

Be honest: did you know all of these geeky facts? If so, take a bow. But if you didn’t, don’t feel bad – geeks can’t be expected to know everything.

If you have some geeky facts of your own that you find interesting, enlightening, or just plain weird, then please share them so that we can all boost our geekiness.