Audiences were skeptical when How I Met Your Mother premiered on CBS back in 2005, but it quickly won over a loyal fan base with their quirky jokes and mysterious premise.
Before the series said goodbye in 2014, they had a long list of running jokes as plenty of fans rooted for the couples on the show. Additionally, there were countless of theories as to who they'd finally see revealed as the titular mother. Though some folks weren't too happy with how the end turned out, there's no denying that the hilarious show kept us laughing throughout its nine-season stint.
Starring Neil Patrick Harris as ladies' man Barney Stinson, Josh Radnor as lovelorn Ted Mosby, Jason Segel and Alyson Hannigan as the (mostly) steady couple Marshall Eriksen and Lily Aldrin, and Cobie Smulders rounding things out as former Canadian pop princess Robin Scherbatsky, the series is definitely up there with classics like Friends or Cheers.
Take a look below to see a few sneaky facts from on and off screen that you might not have noticed.
Let us know in the comments if we missed your favorite tidbit and be sure to SHARE the fun trivia with your friends!
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1. Alyson Wasn't A Fan Of Kissing Jason
You may have noticed their fictional characters rarely kissed on screen despite being the most solid relationship throughout the series. Apparently, Jason's cigarette smoking habit was to blame when Alyson expressed how much she hated kissing him with ashy breath.
The actor did his best to kick the nasty habit to the curb, even agreeing to pay his co-star $10 every time he gave in and had one. According to Alyson, he ended up owing her $200 on the first day.
Jason eventually managed to quit for a whole year before picking it right back up again.
2. A Real Couple Got Engaged Onscreen
In the season two finale, Robin accidentally receives a glass of champagne with an engagement ring in it that was meant for the couple sitting behind her and Ted.
The pair of extras sitting behind them were real-life couple Timothy Russo and Jana Rugan. Timothy had a friend who wrote for the series help him surprise Jana on set.
3. Ted Really Got Around Before Meeting The Mother
Over the span of the nine-season series, we see Ted getting romantic with no less than 29 women before eventually meeting the titular mother.
4. Neil Took Home A Big Piece Of The Bar
The whole cast and crew got the chance to snag some props from the set before leaving it behind for good. Josh ended up taking the iconic blue French horn, but Neil went above and beyond by taking the entire bar booth in which the gang often hung out.
5. MacLaren's Is Based On A Real NYC Bar
Much like the show's fictional friends, co-creators Craig Thomas and Carter Bays spent a lot of time hanging out at a bar called McGee's Pub while developing the series and working as writers on The Late Show with David Letterman.
They even have a special menu every Monday (which was the day the show regularly aired) with things like "Woo Wings" and a "Suit Up Sandwich."
6. Three Of The Cast Members' Real-Life Husbands Made Cameos
Cobie's husband, Saturday Night Live alum Taran Killam, was the first to appear as one of Barney's co-workers, Gary Blauman, in the season one episode, "Life Among the Gorillas."
Alexis Denisof, Alyson's husband (shown above), was in the very next episode after Taran. He played Sandy Rivers, the loathsome co-anchor of Robin's news show.
Finally, Neil's husband, David Burtka, showed up a couple of episodes later in a flashback scene from "Best Prom Ever" as Lily's high school boyfriend, Scooter.
They all continued to pop up as their hilariously unlikable characters throughout the series.
7. Josh's Allergies Made Them Get Rid Of Robin's Dogs
When Ted and Robin finally get together, he suddenly demands that she get rid of the five dogs she shared her apartment with because they were all given to her by ex-boyfriends. In reality, it was too difficult for the actor to be in scenes with the pups and combat his allergies.
For the episode where Robin agrees to send the dogs to her aunt, paramedics were on set in case Josh suffered an attack.
8. The Creators Sang The Catchy Theme Song
Carter and Craig formed a band called The Solids with a couple of other friends back in 1996. When the show came around, they used the last seconds of their tune "Hey Beautiful" with the infectious "ba ba ba ba ba" melody that plays over the montage of photos during the opening credits.
9. All Of The Joke Websites They Mention Actually Exist
Barney's Blog, TedMosbyIsAJerk.com, and a site promoting Barney and Ted's bar, Puzzles, were all actually created by producers. In fact, you can still check them out today.
The phone number Barney shared during the 2010 Super Bowl was also a working number that included a short recording of Neil quickly going through the motions of setting up a date.
10. Jim Parsons Auditioned For Barney
He obviously went on to find major success as a multi-Emmy winner on another CBS sitcom, The Big Bang Theory, but before that came around, Jim was baffled when he read the character was described as "a big lug of a guy."
"It wasn’t offensive," he explained while visiting Live with Kelly and Michael back in 2015. "I thought, 'This is silly.'"
11. They Revealed The Mother's Name In Season One
In the ninth episode of the season, Ted in the future is telling his children a story involving a stripper named Tracy. Their shocked reaction was assumed by the audience to be because of the woman's risqué job, but they were actually under the impression he meant their mom, later revealed to also be named Tracy.
Did we miss any of your favorite facts about the show? Let us know in the comments, and be sure to SHARE with your friends!
