Awesome 8 Harry Potter
We love Harry Potter and we know you do too! That's why we’ve cast an Accio charm and summoned eight enchanting facts about the spellbinding book and movie series.
Prop time
Daniel Radcliffe, who played Harry Potter in the films, wore 160 pairs of prop eyeglasses and waved around 70 wands throughout 10 years of filming.
Starry-eyed
Many characters in the series' Black family are named after stars or constellations. The real star known as Sirius is nicknamed the “Dog Star.” That makes sense, since Sirius Black can transform into a dog.
"They Mean Every Flavor"
Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans, Jelly Slugs, Acid Pops, and Fizzing Whizbees are a few of the treats that Hogwarts students enjoy—and you can eat them too!
Quidditch (for real!)
Quidditch isn’t just a sport for wizards and witches—over 150 teams across the United States are registered with an official league.
Accio!
Many magical phrases in the series, especially spells, are actually based in Latin roots. The incantation to repel dementors, Expecto Patronum, translates to “I await a protector” in Latin.
Sweet!
Rupert Grint, who played Ron Weasley in the films, once served treats to the cast and crew out of his personal ice-cream truck.
Whomp whomp
Fourteen real Ford Anglia cars were wrecked to film the scene in which Harry and Ron crash into the Whomping Willow in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.
Feathery Friends
Five species of owls—snowy, eagle, tawny, great gray, and barn—were used in the films to play characters like Hedwig. (But owls don’t make very good pets. They need space to fly!)
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PHOTO CREDITS: WARNER BROS. PICTURES / ALBUM/NEWSCOM (HARRY POTTER); LARRY LANDOLFI / SCIENCE SOURCE (SIRIUS); WENDY YANG/KRT/NEWSCOM (BERTIE BOTTS); RICHARD LEVINE / ALAMY (QUIDDITCH); ITAR-TASS PHOTO AGENCY / ALAMY (SPELL); WARNER BROS. PICTURES / ALBUM/NEWSCOM (CAR); GERARD JULIEN / STAFF / GETTY IMAGES(RUPERT GRINT); WARNER BROS. PICTURES / CLOSE, MURRAY / ALBUM/NEWSCOM (OWL)