50 Interesting Facts about F.R.I.E.N.D.S

The golden frame around the peephole was originally a mirror which Ricky Parker, a crew member, accidentally smashed. Because it looked good, they decided to leave it there.

27. Thirty-second commercial spots which took place in the final episode was sold in the UK for £1.2 million (approx $1.8 million). This is the most expensive commercial slots of any TV program in the UK, with the exception of sports.

28. When Tom Selleck made his initial on-set appearances, he received standing ovations from the audience. These would render his entrances unusable, prompting the need for later reshoots without the audience.

29. The Friends tv show debuted at a time when networks were beginning to eliminate theme songs during the opening credits; however, with the popularity of this theme song, "I'll Be There for You" which went to #1 on the "Billboard Hot 100" and had incessant play on both the radio airwaves and television video channels, the show helped quell that trend.

30. The Friends characters' full names are: Rachel Karen Green; Phoebe Buffay (in Friends: The One Where They All Turn Thirty (2001), she says she never knew her middle name since she had never seen her birth certificate and her twin sister, Ursula, sold it to a Swedish runaway); Joseph Francis Tribbiani Jr.; Chandler Muriel Bing; Ross Eustace Geller; Monica E. Geller (it is revealed that Monica's initials are MEG but her middle name is never actually specified).

There have been eleven Oscar winning actors/actresses who have appeared on Friends: Fisher Stevens, Charlton Heston, Sean Penn, Susan Sarandon, Helen Hunt, Julia Roberts, Reese Witherspoon, Robin Williams, George Clooney, Jim Rash and Brad Pitt.

32. On the set, Matt LeBlanc was called "LeBlanc" by all the cast and crew, and Matthew Perry was called "Matthew" or "Matty". This was started by the crew to avoid confusion. Additionally, David Schwimmer was referred to as "Schwim" among the crew.

33. Lisa Kudrow (Phoebe) is the oldest of the six Friends, being born in 1963, Courteney Cox (Monica) born in 1964, David Schwimmer (Ross) born in 1966, Matt LeBlanc (Joey) born in 1967, Jennifer Aniston (Rachel) born in February 1969, and Matthew Perry(Chandler) being the youngest, born in August 1969.

34. Friends tv show was Ranked #7 on Empire magazine's 50 Greatest TV Shows Of All Time (2008).

35. For almost the entire first season, there wasn’t a street outside of Central Perk, just a painted backdrop. They made the window a little blurry and put many plants in front of the window to hide the street.

Columbus State University has a paleontologist named David R. Schwimmer.

37. The highest rated episodes in Friends are "The One Where Everybody Finds Out (1999)" and "The Last One: Part 2 (2004)".

38. In the first couple of episodes, Chandler and Joey's apartment number was #4 and Monica and Rachel's apartment number was #5. However, in the later episodes, they were changed to 19 and 20 respectively because the producers noted that 4 and 5 corresponded to apartments on lower floors while the two apartments were supposed to be higher up in the building.

39. Joey's PIN number was 5639, which spells out 'JOEY' so he could remember it.

40. Matt LeBlanc's character, Joey Tribbiani, played Dr. Drake Ramoray in a fictional version of the NBC's soap opera Days of Our Lives (1965). In real life, Jennifer Aniston's father, John Aniston, played Victor Kiriakis in the real Days of Our Lives.

Courteney Cox is the only regular cast member to not receive an Emmy nomination for her work on the show.

42. Elizabeth Berkley auditioned for the role of Rachel Green.

43. In Chandler's and Joey's apartment, there is a poster with a kangaroo boxing against human which says "Kangaroo Boxer" in Russian.

44. Jennifer Aniston dated Tate Donovan (Joshua) for three years, from 1994. They got engaged but unfortunately split in the same year. Later, he landed a part in the show as Rachel's boyfriend.

45. Out of the six friends, Chandler is the only one not to have any siblings. Rachel has two sisters, Monica and Ross are brother and sister, Phoebe has a twin sister and a half-brother, and Joey has seven sisters.

Emma’s role in Friends tv show was played by twins named Cali Sheldon and Noelie Sheldon.

47. In the pilot episode of Friends tv show, Barry's surname was Finkel. In later episodes, his name was changed to Barry Farber.

48. Jon Cryer was originally offered the role of Chandler Bing. Cryer was later cast in the tv show Two and a Half Men (2003) alongside Charlie Sheen, who guest starred on Friends as Ryan in Season 2.

49. In the episode "The One Where Chandler Takes a Bath", in the beginning, Joey wore a T-shirt with the name "Capt. Billy Burke." Captain Billy Burke was a firefighter who died at the World Trade Center on 9/11.

50. Joey's agent Estelle played a nurse in the first season when Carol was in the hospital.