Seinfeld: 15 Facts To Prepare You For Trivia Night

15 What’s The First And Last Thing The Friends Discuss During The Pilot And Finale Episodes?

Answer: The very first and last topic of discussion on Seinfeld is a near word-for-word identical conversation on George’s shirt buttons. Not only is it a device to tie up the show with a bow, but it also speaks to the fact that these characters have learned nothing and will continue to talk about nothing cyclically until the day they die.

14 What Is The Real Name Of Monks, The Diner Everyone Frequents?

Answer: The true moniker of ‘Monk’s’ from Seinfeld is Tom’s Restaurant, located near the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The owners say they weren’t paid for the use of their store-front, but that to advertise on the show would’ve cost millions. The owner added, "The Seinfeld thing gives us extra business, and I'm grateful for that, but Seinfeld was around for nine years. We've been here for almost 70. It's been a popular neighborhood restaurant that whole time. If we wanted to go the whole Hollywood route we would have changed the place to look like the Seinfeld set. We're not doing that."

13 Where Did The Soup Nazi Move To?

Answer: In a joke that is easy to miss near the end of the Soup Nazi episode, Newman informs Jerry that the Soup Nazi is moving to Argentina, which is where many actual Nazis fled after World War II.

12 How Much Was Jerry Offered For The Tenth Season Of Seinfeld?

Answer: Jerry Seinfeld turned down a $110 million dollar paycheck, instead of making a tenth season. Seinfeld said his main reasoning was, “For me, this is all about timing. My life is all about timing. As a comedian, my sense of timing is everything. I wanted to end the show on the same kind of peak we've been doing it on for years, I wanted the end to be from a point of strength. I wanted the end to be graceful."

11 What Seinfeld Prop Was Donated To The Smithsonian?

Answer: While the item is not currently on display, Seinfeld’s famous “Puffy Shirt” lives within the walls of the Smithsonian, assumedly along with the Ark of The Covenant.

10 What Gift Did Jerry Give The Cast As A Finale Present?

Answer: Patrick Warburton revealed that as a parting gift, Jerry Seinfeld bought the finale cast engraved Cartier watches. An incredibly nice gift from a man who undoubtedly has a Scrooge McDuck-style vault of money in his home.

9 What Character Was Cut After The Pilot?

Answer: Elaine Benes was originally not a member of the Seinfeld cast, and was instead intended to be a waitress character named Claire, who appeared in the first episode. The actress who portrayed her, Lee Garlington told Huffington Post, “I think I watched two episodes in 10 years just because I had friends on it or something. It didn't bother me the first five years. But the second five years drove me nuts. I don't know why. I still see Jason regularly. He's best friends with a friend of mine and I've never talked about it with him, but I'm sure for him he's like, 'Oh, poor Lee! Poor Lee!' Oh, it's funny."

8 Which Cast Member Threatened To Quit In Season 3?

Answer: Jason Alexander, after not being written in to the season three episode, “The Pen” told Larry David, “If you write me out of an episode again, do it permanently.” Alexander says David responded by yelling that it is incredibly hard to write plotlines for four characters.

7 Who Was Jason Alexanders Original Inspiration For George’s Mannerisms?

Answer: Woody Allen was Jason’s original blueprint for the character of George Costanza. But as Alexander tells it, there came an episode where he told Larry David the script was ridiculous because no one would ever act that way in that situation, to which David told him, ‘That happened to me and that's what I did!.’ Alexander said from then on he knew the character was essentially Larry David’s alter-ego.

6 How Many Times Was Julia Louise Dreyfus Pregnant During Seinfeld?

Answer: Julia Louis-Dreyfus was pregnant during seasons three and eight of Seinfeld. Louise Dreyfus told the Television Arts Foundation, “The second time I was pregnant, I was about three or four months into my pregnancy, and Jerry, I remember vividly, pitched to me ‘Hey, how about this for this season, how about we write it in that Elaine just gets fat?’ I burst into tears. Just started to bawl, uncontrollably. I was so humiliated and horrified. In his defense, I think it’s actually a great idea. I was just so self-conscious about getting huge that there was no way that was going to happen. And by the time I was pregnant the second time, we didn’t even bother to hide it. I just walked around with this big belly and no one talked about it.”

5 Why Was Susan Killed Off?

Answer: Jason Alexander revealed that actress Heidi Swedberg was originally cast as a look-alike for a real NBC executive that Seinfeld and David had met while pitching the show. The writers then decided to write in the relationship between her and Costanza, without ascertaining whether there was any chemistry between the actors. Alexander says he loved Swedberg, but their comedy styles were polar opposites, which made it hard to perform together, leading to her characters eventual death.

4 Who Played The Seinfeld Basslines?

John Wolff was the composer behind the Seinfeld theme and all the groovy basslines you hear during Jerry’s stand up sets. The composer had to actually rerecord the bass for every new episode as he played along with the jokes. Wolff said, “But it was worth it … was creating new material. As long as he’s creating new material, I’ll do the same thing, and I will create along with him.”

3 What Does Larry David’s Philosophy “No Hugging, No Learning” Mean To The Show?

Answer: In a traditional sitcom, the characters are expected to learn lessons from the mistakes they’ve made over the course of the episode. Larry David’s philosophy of “No hugging, no learning” referred to the practice of never having the characters of Seinfeld learn from their mistakes. 

2 Which Candy Fell Into The Open Chest Cavity Of A Patient?

Answer: Junior Mints accepted the deal with Seinfeld to have their candy dropped in someone’s open chest cavity, but both M&M’s and Starbursts didn’t want their candies used.

1 What Famous Singer Died On The Night Of The Series Finale?

Answer: Frank Sinatra died on the night of the Seinfeld finale, and worse, his daughter was watching the show at the moment of his death. Talk about bad timing.

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Top Image: NBC