Since it debuted in 1997, South Park has made it way too fun to be an adult television fan. Far from your typical Saturday morning cartoons, the long-running Comedy Central animated series is dark, crude, and keeps us "grown ups" laughing. Not just one of the best animated series of all time, South Park is also one of the best TV shows in general, and is known for its topical humor - but do you know what goes on behind the scenes?
Let's start with the characters of South Park. Kenny, Kyle, Stan, and Eric lead the way for a, shall we say, "unique" group, many of which are based on real people (and even family members!) South Park co-creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker know. In addition to the usual quirks of the show and its take on modern day events, there are certain staples that appear in almost every episode. Have you ever spotted an alien or a celebrity on South Park? How many times has Kenny died (that poor guy)? Did you know South Park is in the Guinness Book of World Records for... well, we'll let you read on and find out.
Here are 27 interesting trivia facts and South Park Easter eggs for your enjoyment. Also check out this list of the best South Park episodes, ranked by fans.
30 Facts You Didn't Know About South Park,
South Park holds a special place in the Guinness Book of World Records.
Well, this might not come as much of a surprise, but South Park holds the Guinness World Record for "Most Swearing in an Animated Series."
Stan and Kyle's families are named after relatives of Trey Parker and Matt Stone.
Trey Parker's relatives were the inspiration behind the names of Stan’s family, while Kyle’s family got their names from Matt Stone’s relatives.
Chef is based on a real person.
While at the University of Colorado, Trey Parker and Matt Stone knew a dining hall employee that they used as the basis for Chef.
It takes about 5 days to make a South Park episode.
Thanks to modern technology, it only takes about five days to make a South Park episode on a computer.
Chewbacca makes an appearance every Halloween.
In every Halloween special, one character wears a Chewbacca costume. Who will it be this year?
The Terrence and Phillip characters were spawned from criticism.
In response to comments that South Park was all "bad animation and fart jokes," the Canadian duo of Terrence and Phillip were born.
The pilot wasn't computer animated.
Every episode except the pilot was computer animated. Stop-motion animating using cut paper was used for the very first episode.
Cartman's lines are mostly off-the-cuff.
The majority of the time, co-creator Trey Parker makes up Cartman's lines as he goes along.
Aliens are hidden in background shots.
Aliens do exist - at least in the South Park universe they do. Aside from the obvious alien episodes like "Cartman Gets An Anal Probe," there are aliens hidden in the background in a majority of the show's episodes.
The first season's theme song had some (uncensored) dirty words.
If you listen closely, Kenny sings “I like girls with big vaginas/I like girls with big fat titties” in season 1's theme song. Because his voice is so muffled, it wasn't bleeped.