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31 Bonkers Origins Of Beloved Pop Culture Staples

By:: Cracked Writers; Timon DJ Spajic

October 01, 2021

31 Bonkers Origins Of Beloved Pop Culture Staples

What is pop culture? It's a term that is often used but not always fully understood. In essence, pop culture refers to the shared experiences and references of a large swath of people. It encompasses the popular films, music, television shows, books, and other media that are circulated within societies across the globe.

Pop culture refers to the various elements of popular culture that are enjoyed by the masses. This could include anything from music and movies to fashion and slang. While there are many different aspects of pop culture, they all share one common trait: they're widely accepted and enjoyed by a large number of people. So what makes pop culture so popular? And why do we love it so much? That's something that's been debated for years and likely won't ever be fully understood. But one thing is for sure: pop culture is here to stay. And we can't wait to see what it has in store for us next!

There are many tragic characters in Pulp Fiction, but the most tragic one might actually be the Gimp. More on that and 30 other pop culture origin stories:

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According to Tarantino, the Gimp in Pulp Fiction is just a really unlucky dude. Не says the Gimp was like a hitchhiker or somebody that they picked up seven years ago, and they trained him so he's the perfect victim. CRACKED.COM — IndieWire

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ODIE IS GARFIELD'S GOOFY, DIM-WITTED DOG FRIEND. AND He's Been ABANDONED. WHAT'S YOUR DOG'S NAME? ODIE B-10 E 1978 PAWS INC AS Rights Reserved ODIE... A DOG NAMED ODIE... Odie originally belonged to Lyman, Garfield's owner's roommate. Over time, Lyman just disappeared. But Odie remained. The official explanation is that Lyman joined the Peace Corps. CRACKED.COM http://garfield wikia.com/wiki1_yman — 21 Horrifying Origin Stories Of Famous Characters

29

Nintendo was denied the rights to Popeye only after Shigeru Miyamoto had designed a game around it. So he swapped Popeye, Olive Oyl, and Bluto for a generic carpenter, a princess, and the gorilla bizarrely named Donkey Kong. CRACKED.COM — The Surprising Origins Of 12 Iconic Video Game Characters

28

D'oh! Written in the script as annoyed grunt, voice actor Dan Castellaneta pulled from Laurel and Hardy movies where comic foil Jimmy Finlayson would say D'ooooh. Castellaneta shortened the sound for timing purposes. CRACKED.COM — Television Academy

27

They created April Ludgate after a casting director met Aubrey Plaza. The director called Parks & Rec writer Michael Schur and told him I just met the weirdest girl I've ever met in my life. You have to meet her and put her on your show. So Schur met with her, and wrote her into the show. CRACKED.COM — AVClub

26

Uhura STAR TREK CRACKED.COM Uhura's full name is Nyota Uhura, which is Swahili for Star Freedom. You know, for a series that's meant to show the future, the creators really overestimated the beehive haircut's staying power. — Buzzfeed

25

Vault Boy, Fallout's mascot, was based on the Monopoly board game mascot... Who was in turn based on the robber barons of the 19th century. CRACKED.COM — 26 Origins Of Characters' Signature Traits

24

SNORUNT IS A YUKINKO GRACKED.COM Snorunt is an ice type Pokémon shown shivering under what appears to be a straw cloak. In Japanese mythology, the yukinko are the children of Yuki-onna, wearing a traditional straw coat made into a cone shape, that appear when it snows. — Big Straw Magazine

23

CRACKED COM PETER RABBIT Peter's Dad was baked into a pie by Mrs. McGregor. — Origin Stories That Are Over-The-Top Dark (For No Reason)

22

Pac-Man was literally inspired by a pizza. OV When Toru Iwatani took a slice from a pizza, he noted that the rest of the pizza now looked like a face with an open mouth, seen from the side. From that, an iconic video game character was born. CRACKED.COM — 6 Shockingly Dumb Reasons People Invented Famous Characters

21

Carmen Electra A CRACKED.COM When she was trying out for a musical group, a young TARA LEIGH PATRICK was told by none other than Prince that: You look like Electra. That should be your name. It's impossible to tell whether he was talking about the mythological Pleiad, the Euripides play, or some even more Prince-ian thing we've never heard of. — 15 Wild Origin Stories Of Celebrity Stage Names

20

Ant-Man and the Wasp HOPE VAN DYNE is far from a hero in the comics. Hope was never the Wasp on the printed page. When she is there at all (she isn't a part of Marvel's main continuity), she's a baddie named the Red Queen. CRACKED.COM — Bustle

19

In the comics, Thanos does the awful things he does just to impress a girl. The girl is Death who, in the MCU, is a woman in a purple robe. Thanos is totally in love with her and murders countless beings just to impress her. CRACKED.COM — Vulture

18

THE WORLD OF OZ IS MAGICAL AND IMAGINATIVE. THE nAme, HOWEVER, IS STRIKINGLY munDAne. The Wizard of OZ By L. FRANK BAUM With Pictures by W.W.DENSLOW According to L. Frank Baum, he was looking around his office trying to think of a name for his new magical world. His eyes fell to a nearby file cabinet with three drawers: The first was labeled A-G, the second H-N, and the third O-Z. So the stories could have just as easily taken place in the merry old land of Ag. https://news.google. .com/newspapers? CRACKED.COM id=QtwRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Tu8DAAAAIBAJ&pg=3435,6178650 — 21 Horrifying Origin Stories Of Famous Characters

17

31 Bonkers Origins Of Beloved Pop Culture Staples — The Surprising Origins Of 12 Iconic Video Game Characters

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Live Long And Prosper The phrase was created by Amok Time episode writer Theodore Sturgeon, but the hand gesture was created by Leonard Nimoy, inspired by his childhood experience at a Jewish temple. Nimroy explains it is the shape of the letter Shin in Hebrew, which can stand for God and peace. CRACKED.COM — SyFy

15

Darth Vader STAR WARS CRACKED.COM Vader is the Dutch word for father and Darth comes from the word dark, so Darth Vader basically means Dark Father. Honestly, pretty cool. Especially when most Star Wars characters get stuck with a name like Poopoo Dungo. — BuzzFeed

14

CRACKED.COM Harry Potter wears glasses because J.K. Rowling wore glasses as a child. She was annoyed that none of the heroes in the books she read ever wore glasses, so she created one that did. — 26 Origins Of Characters' Signature Traits

13

DROWZEE IS A BAKU KH GRAGKED.COM Said to have been cobbled together with leftover pieces of animals made by the gods, the baku is a mythical chimera that devours the nightmares of children. Like the baku, Drowzee uses the Dream Eater move to restore itself from sleeping opponents. — CBR

12

Remember the castle tower that Shrek rescued Fiona from? She was locked in there on Christmas Eve when she was 7, and spent the next 20 years inside. CRACKED.COM — Origin Stories That Are Over-The-Top Dark (For No Reason)

11

G.I. Joe's Snake Eyes is only black to save paint. They made him black so they wouldn't have to put any paint on the action figure -- it's 100% black, the color of the plastic straight from the vat. CRACKED.COM — 6 Shockingly Dumb Reasons People Invented Famous Characters

10

Miley Cyrus GRACKED.COM DESTINY HOPE CYRUS wanted to use a stage name when she began acting, so she went with a slight twist on her childhood moniker, Smiley. Honestly? Cute! — 15 Wild Origin Stories Of Celebrity Stage Names

9

CRACKED.COM The Lord of the Rings DENETHOR is supposed to be a great ruler. Tolkien describes Denethon as a noble, wise, and righteous leader, slowly driven to madness and despair. In Peter Jackson's movie, though, he's just an ineffectual a-hole with no table manners. — Tolkien Gateway

8

According to a novelization, Star Trek's Borg were created by Voyager 6. Voyager 6 came to the Borg's planet, who sent it back - but it returned, reporting a biological infestation on Earth. This led to making them what they became. CRACKED.COM — CBR

7

WHAT CHILD WOULDN'T LOVE P.J. SPARKLES? THEY'D BeTTeR LOVE HeR, OR CHILDREN WILL SUFFER. The doll comes packaged with an animated movie in which P.J. Sparkles is the savior of Twinkle Town, a town inhabited by lost children who wished on a star. As long as children love P.J., Twinkle Town will be a happy, sparkly, bright place. But if they don't, P.J. will fade away, and Twinkle Town will be plunged into darkness forever. CRACKED.COM https://youtu.be/gZdC0Fvlo3U — 21 Horrifying Origin Stories Of Famous Characters

6

The Surprising Origins Of 12 Iconic Video Game Characters

5

That's Hot Paris Hilton reveals that her Simple Life catchphgrase was originally something her sister Nicky used to say a lot. Paris took it and trademarked it. CRACKED.COM — Yahoo!

4

Xander BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER CRACKED.COM In the Buffy movie, the only classmate who helps Buffy is named Pike, and Xander is one of her best friends in the TV show. A zander is a fish that looks like a pike. They changed the Z to an X, because Xander's totally less weird. — PopSugar

3

Crash Bandicoot only exists in its present form because of the PlayStation One limitations. The console could not handle too many enemies at the same time, so the designers needed something to fill the empty spaces. Crates that the player could crash into fit the bill perfectly and eventually led to the naming of the title character. CRACKED.COM — 26 Origins Of Characters' Signature Traits

2

SLOWKING IS A SAZAE-ONI GRAGKED COM The Sazae-Oni, or shellfish ogre, is a transitory stage of the turban snail when they reach 30 years of age, gaining the ability to shapeshift. As an alternate evolution to Slowpoke, Slowking goes through a tremendous metamorphosis, with the Shelder attached to his head unlocking his psychic potential. — The Gamer

1

CRACKED.COM Goku When Goku was a little boy, he accidentally killed his adoptive grandfather Gohan, leaving him to take care of himself. — Origin Stories That Are Over-The-Top Dark (For No Reason)

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