It’s been twenty years since Friends first aired and it continues to be a classic and a favorite among its’ original fans and some newcomers.
You Think You Know It all…
Even though I was only three years old when Friends first aired, I wasn’t surprised on how quickly I caught up with the seasons as I grew older and was allowed to watch more than cartoons and educational shows. 
The show soon became a part of my television watching routine as it did with many of my friends and classmates. I may not have understood all the jokes at the time, but that didn’t stop me from watching the show religiously. I still watch the show religiously over and over even if it has been twenty years since the beginning and ten years since the end. Myself and many many others can drop a “Friends” quote into a conversation and easily reference an episode. In honor of the twentieth anniversary, here are twenty little known facts that every Friends fan should know.
1. It isn’t just any frame hanging on Monica’s door, there used to be a mirror in it but it broke during filming. Producers liked the way it looked, so they left it.
2. The show had a few different names before becoming “Friends”: Insomnia Cafe, Friends Like Us, and Six of One. 
2. The show had a few different names before becoming “Friends”: Insomnia Cafe, Friends Like Us, and Six of One.
3. Bruce Willis only appeared on the show because he lost a bet to Matthew Perry. They bet whether the movie “The Whole Nine Yards” would be no. 1 in the box office its’ opening weekend. Willis lost the bet, appeared on the show and donated his fee to charity.
4. Phoebe’s pregnancy was written into the show because she was pregnant in real life. 
5. Joey and Chandler’s big white dog actually belonged to Jennifer Aniston in real life, it was a good luck gift. 
6.”How you doin’?” was rated as the 4th best TV catchphrase. 
7. In “The One After Vegas” Arquette was added to everyones name in honor of Courtney Cox marrying David Arquette. 
8. Lisa Kudrow was scared of the duck. 
9. The first episode after 9/11/01 was re-written due to a bomb joke in the script. Ratings for the show also increased 17% because the nation craved comfort. 
10. Matt LeBlanc had to dye his hair because he started going grey during filming. 
11. “The Rachel” is the most requested hairstyle of all time, Jennifer Aniston actually hated it. 
12. 52.5 million viewers tuned in for the last episode, it was America’s highest rating show of the decade. 
13. Monica and Phoebe are the only pair to never kiss on the show, all the other cast members have done so in flashbacks and alternative reality episodes. 
14. James Michael Tyler (Gunther) was given the role because he was the only one who knew how to work an espresso machine. 
15. The cast was really drinking coffee while filming scenes at Central Perk. 
16. The show was filmed in front of a live studio audience except for cliffhangers. 
17. The cast huddled before every episode to prepare for the show.
18. Monica and Joey’s apartment went from number 4 and 5 to 19 and 20. It was realized that the lower numbers wouldn’t represent upper levels in a building. 
19. The theme song was no. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for eight weeks.
20. The cast had a pact; if one leaves, they all leave. 
Friends 20th Anniversary: 20 Awesome Facts You Probably Didn’t Know