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20 Mind-Blowing Harry Potter Facts and In-Jokes

It would take just under 20 hours to watch all 8 ‘Harry Potter’ films back to back and, to be honest; we can think of much worse ways to spend a rainy day.

Watching Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint navigate their way through 7 years of Hogwarts in one sitting would be like a really long, but really magical, version of ‘Boyhood’.

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To celebrate the barnstorming success of ‘Potter’, we’ve delved into the history of the films to bring you some fun trivia to watch out for should you ever indulge in a non-stop Potterthon.

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1: JK Rowling nearly played Harry Potter’s mother Lily in the Mirror of Erised scene in ‘Philosopher’s Stone’. She turned it down and Geraldine Somerville was cast instead.

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2: The Marauder’s Map-inspired end credits sequence in ‘Prisoner of Azkaban’ reveals two Hogwarts’ residents getting up to something very naughty.

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3: The name of the fictional ‘Fantastic Beasts’ author Newt Scamander can be seen on the Marauder’s Map when the Weasley twins show it to Harry.

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4: The end credits of ‘Goblet of Fire’ feature a note that says “No Dragons Were Harmed In The Making of This Movie”.

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5: In the ‘Order of the Phoenix’ you see cereal boxes for “Cheeri-Owls” and “Pixie Puffs” on the Hogwarts breakfast table. You can now see them on the Harry Potter Studios Tour in Leavesden.

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6: Cameos in the 8 films include: Dawn French (Fat Lady), Lenny Henry (Shrunken Head), director Chris Columbus’ daughter Eleanor (Susan Bones), John Cleese (Nearly Headless Nick), Leslie Phillips (The Sorting Hat), and Paul Whitehouse (Sir Cadogan).

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7: In ‘Goblet of Fire’ Johnny Greenwood and Phil Selway of Radiohead and Steve Mackey and Jarvis Cocker of Pulp formed an epic supergroup to play magic rock band Weird Sisters.

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8: Stone Roses front man Ian Brown appears in ‘Prisoner of Azkaban’. He plays a wizard enjoying a brew in The Leaky Cauldron.

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9: In Professor Snape’s first encounter with Harry Potter in ‘Philosopher’s Stone’, the dour wizard tests Potter’s potion knowledge by asking: “What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?” Asphodel is a member of the lily family, closely associated with death and regret, while Wormwood is associated with absence.

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Many think this is Snape’s secret way of expressing regret over the death of Potter’s parents Lily and James. Knowledge of Snape’s whole story brings extra pathos to this short and seemingly random exchange.

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10: Dumbledore means bumblebee in Old English.

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11: Verne “Mini Me” Troyer was actor beneath the costume playing Gringotts goblin Griphook in ‘Philosopher’s Stone’. Warwick Davis - who actually voiced Griphook in the first film - replaced him when the character returned for ‘Deathly Hallows’.

12: Rik Mayall filmed scenes as Peeves the poltergeist for ‘Philosopher’s Stone’ but all his scenes were cut from the final film. Watch a video of the late comic talking about his time on Potter above.

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13: Legend has it American actor Liam Aiken (’Lemony Snicket’) was offered the role of Harry Potter by director Chris Columbus, but JK Rowling nixed it by insisting the lead roles should be played by Brits.

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14: Shirley Henderson was 37 when she played the schoolgirl ghost Moaning Myrtle in ‘Chamber of Secrets’.

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15: Zoe Wanamaker never returned to play Hogwarts’ flying instructor Madam Hooch after ‘Philosopher’s Stone’ as she wasn’t happy with the salary offered for the sequels.

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16: ‘Crystal Maze’ host Ed Tudor-Pole was cast to play Mr Borgin in ‘Chamber of Secrets’ but his scenes were cut from the final film. They can be watched on the DVD.

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17: ‘The Prisoner of Azkaban’ was the last Harry Potter film to be released on VHS.

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18: The conductor and driver of the Knight Bus in ‘Prisoner of Azkaban’ were named Stanley and Ernie after JK Rowling’s godfathers.

19: The CGI team on ‘Prisoner of Azkaban’ claims Alfonso Cuaron’s film contains the first instance of a CGI animal pooing on film thanks to a Hippogriff relieving itself on screen.

20: ‘Harry Potter’ movie code names used to divert fan and media attention include: Incident on 57th Street (2), Radiator Blues (3), Happy Days (4), Tip-Top (5), Champion/Candelit (6), Extra Time (8)

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Image credits: Warner Bros./eBay/Channel 4