25 Random Facts You May or May Not Know About the Harry Potter films

Fans of the books and films think they might know everything, but something comes along and shows them something even they never knew. According to MSN.com, and a story by Collin Scanlon, here are 25 facts you may or may not know about the Harry Potter films / books.

1. J.K. Rowling wrote the names of the four houses for Hogwarts on an air sick bag

-In a 2017 tweet, the legendary author revealed that she had written the names of the four Hogwarts houses (Hufflepuff, Slytherin, Gryffindor and Ravenclaw) on an air sick bag during a flight

2. The names of the magical plants and other flora comes from a real book on botany

-Botany is the study of plants. And a real book, Culpeper's Complete Herbal, provided inspiration for the names of magical plants within the Harry Potter universe. This book was written by a 17th century herbalist and physician named Nicolas Culpeper. J.K. Rowling revealed this during a 2003 interview with 60 Minutes

3. J.K. Rowling briefly considered killing off a member of the iconic trio

-Anyone who has seen the Harry Potter films knows of the famous trio of Harry Potter, Hermione Granger and Ronald Weasley. In a 2013 interview with Daniel Radcliffe, the author had admitted to considering killing off Ron Weasley, Harry's best friend. She also considered Rubeus Hagrid, the much-loved groundskeeper at Hogwarts, meeting a dark end

4. Even Stephen King was afraid of Dolores Umbridge

-Stephen King, the master of the macabre, the saint of scary, was afraid of Professor Dolores Umbridge, the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor appointed to the position in the fifth book and film Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix. During an interview, King stated "The gently smiling Dolores Umbridge, with her girlish voice, toad like face, and clutchy, stubby fingers is the greatest make-believe villain to come along since Hannibal Lector."

5. Harry's eyes are not green in the film for a specific reason

-Throughout the book series, Harry's eyes are always mentioned as green. In the films, however, they are steely blue, Daniel's natural eye color. Production crew originally had intended for Daniel to wear contact lenses with green irises to give him the impression of green eyes. But Daniel suffered an allergic reaction to them and the production crew did away with the lenses. Instead, the just matched his eye color with the actress who would play his mother in the film

6. Peeves was meant to be in the film

-In the books, Peeves was a mischievous poltergeist who caused havoc all over Hogwarts. It was originally considered to have legendary British actor and comedian Rik Mayall take on the role. He even completed filming some scenes, only to learn later on that director Christopher Columbus had cut the scenes due to dissatisfaction with the on-screen appearance of the spectral being

7. The actress playing Moaning Myrtle was much older than her character

-In the books and films, Moaning Myrtle was a girl who haunted a bathroom because she had stared right into the eyes of a basilisk, a snake who could kill with its stare. She was only 14 when she died, but the actress playing her, Shirley Henderson, was actually 36 when she played the teenaged girl in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

8. Harry's iconic lightning bolt scar was applied via makeup thousands of times

-During the 8 film series, makeup artists applied the iconic lightning bolt shaped scar to Daniel Radcliffe's forehead and his stunt doubles more than 5,000 times

9. Michael Jackson wanted to compose a musical centering around Harry Potter

-Strange as it may sound, The King of Pop himself, Michael Jackson, wanted to compose a musical about The Boy Who Lived. In a 2010 interview with Oprah Winfrey, J.K. Rowling mentioned that Michael Jackson approached her with the idea of a musical being centered around Harry Potter. Eventually, this idea would come to fruition, in the form of the 2016 stage production of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

10. Rupert Grint never watched any scenes with the giant spiders

-Early in the film series, Ron was known for having flaming red hair, sarcastic remarks and his devastating arachnophobia, or fear of spiders. In real life, Rupert Grint is known for suffering from arachnophobia. He avoids watching any scenes that involve the giant spiders

11. Jason Isaacs almost didn't play Lucius Malfoy

-Originally, Jason Isaacs had auditioned to play the role of Gilderoy Lockhart, the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor appointed to Hogwarts in the second film, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Instead, he was offered the role of cold, conniving Lucius Malfoy, the father of Draco Malfoy. He initially had intentions of declining the role due to Lucius' villainous nature, seeming too similar to his role as Captain Hook in 2003's Peter Pan

12. Russian lawmakers didn't like Dobby the House Elf

-Despite rumors never being proven accurate, lawmakers in Russia are convinced that Dobby the House Elf is based on Russian president Vladmir Putin. His people were so enraged by this that they started planning lawsuits against Warner Bros for this

13. Eddie Redmayne had auditioned for the role of Tom Riddle

-In the books, Tom Riddle was a student at Hogwarts who eventually became the Dark Lord, Lord Voldemort, who name can never be said. Instead, he must be referred to as He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. In an interview in 2016, Eddie Redmayne mentioned that he auditioned for the role of Tom Riddle, but instead he got the role of Newt Scamander in the Fantastic Beasts series

14. The first role cast was Rubeus Hagrid

-Even before the name of the movie was created, Scottish actor Robbie Coltrane was cast as Rubeus Hagrid, the lovable groundskeeper at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. After that, more roles were cast

15. Harry's iconic scar appears differently in the books

-Despite the lightning bolt scar appearing to be just above his right eye in the films, on the covers of the books and in the books themselves, the scar is located in the middle of his forehead

16. Hermione nearly had buck teeth in the film

-In the books, it was always mentioned that Hermione had slightly buck teeth. This caused her classmates to mock and ridicule her. Production initially attempted to fit Emma Watson with a prosthetic set of buck teeth, but later scrapped the idea when Emma Watson found great difficulty talking with them in

17. Fred and George Weasley were born on a most unique day

-Fred and George Weasley were two of Ron's twin brothers, who were also known for being pranksters of the highest order. Ironically, they were born on April Fool's Day, April 1. (I'm sure it's the characters who were born that day, not the actual actors Oliver and James Phelps. Oliver Phelps was born 2/25/1986, 13 minutes before his brother James Phelps, also born 2/25/1986.)

18. Rowling herself says she would have been a Hufflepuff

-Despite being the more timid and reserved house, Rowling states if the Sorting Hat had sorted her into a Hogwarts house, it would have been Hufflepuff

19. The driver and conductor of the Knight Bus were named after Rowling's grandfathers

-The violently purple Knight Bus makes its debut in both the film version and the book Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. The conductor of the bus, Stan Shunpike, and the driver, Ernie Prang, were both named after Rowling's real-life grandfathers

The Knight Bus

Stan Shunpike, conductor

Ernie Prang, driver

20. While on screen, Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint completed real school work on screen

-Despite playing the iconic trio of Harry Potter, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, the young actors were still students in school and needed to complete school work. The three of them completed actual school work during filming

21. 7 different owls played Hedwig

-Hedwig was the snowy owl Harry gets for his birthday from Hagrid. Throughout the 8 film series, 7 different snowy owls played Hedwig. Their names were Swoops, Oh Oh, Elmo, Bandit, Oops, Gizmo and Kasper

22. Emma Watson went academic for her audition of Hermione Granger

-Emma Watson actually went as far as to hold her auditions for Hermione Granger at her real school's gymnasium in Oxfordshire

23. One question J.K. Rowling always feared

-That question is what material Professor Albus Dumbledore's wand was made of. J.K. Rowling had always been leary of being asked that question. The wand was made from elder trees (elder trees are often associated with death in folklore). She was afraid to mention this for fear that this revelation would spoil the eventual fate in store for Dumbledore later on for readers

24. The Dementors are a way of suggesting Rowling's struggle with depression

-The black shroud-covered ghouls in the books and films are said to be the guards of the wizard prison Azkaban. They administer what is called The Dementor's Kiss. This involves pulling back their shrouds and effectively sucking the soul of the doomed recipient right out of their body. Leaving the doomed victim in a prison of their mind, stuck with only the worst memories ever. This comatose, vegetative state is not totally dissimilar to depression

25. Radcliffe had to shave part of his leg for the second film

-In the second film, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, there is a scene where Harry is attempting to stop Lucius to give him back an old diary that belonged to Tom Riddle. With Dobby by his side, Lucius gives the old diary to Dobby. When he opens the book, he finds a sock and declares "Master has given Dobby clothes. Dobby is free." Upon hearing this revelation, Harry pulls up a pant leg to reveal a missing sock. Daniel, who was already beginning to go through puberty at that point, had to shave his leg partially to give the illusion of being a slightly younger boy