Bazinga
Every fan of The Big Bang Theory knows where Sheldon's spot is. But how many fans paid attention to the color of his T-shirts or Amy's apartment number? Check out these very cool, and totally overlooked, Big Bang Easter eggs and little known facts.
73
In the Season 4 episode, The Alien Parasite Hypothesis, Sheldon declares that the best number is 73. Well, fun fact, The Alien Parasite Hypothesis was the show's 73rd episode. Also, actor Jim Parsons was born in... yup, 1973.
Warner Bros., The Big Bang Theory (2007-19)
Howard Rings True
Before they landed on the awesome theme song we all know and love, the show's creators had planned on using the 1982 hit She Blinded Me with Science as the opening music. While they changed their minds in the end, they made sure to bring the 80s track into the show, using it as Howard's ringtone in a couple different episodes.
Warner Bros., The Big Bang Theory (2007-19)
T-Shirts = Emotions
Sheldon might not be good at reading other people's emotions, but supposedly the color of his T-shirt gives his away. As the theory goes: Dr Cooper wears red when he’s angry, yellow when he's afraid, blue when hopeful, orange when greedy, purple when he’s in love, indigo when being compassionate, and green is for when his willpower is strong.
It doesn't always work, but rewatch some episodes and you'll be surprised how often it does match up.
Warner Bros., The Big Bang Theory (2007-19)
Flag = Emotions
Just like the T-shirts reference Sheldon's emotions, so too does the apartment's flag. Well, actually the magnet of the flag on the guy's fridge. When there is arguing in the apartment, the flag magnet can be seen turned upside down on the refrigerator.
Warner Bros., The Big Bang Theory (2007-19)
DC
The guys dress up as superheroes quite often throughout the series. But there's one thing all of their costumes have in common: They are all DC characters. You see, the show was produced by Warner Brothers, which is the company that owns the rights to the DC universe.
Warner Bros., The Big Bang Theory (2007-19)
Photos On Penny's Fridge
You probably thought nothing of the fact that Penny had photos all over her refrigerator. But look closer and you would've seen that the photos were of the cast and crew.
Warner Bros., The Big Bang Theory (2007-19)
Amy's Apartment Number
Before she and Sheldon moved in together, Amy lived alone in an apartment. But not just any apartment. It was apartment 314. Numbers that just so happen to be the first three digits of the famed mathematical constant Pi. 3.145926... you want more, ask Sheldon.
Warner Bros., The Big Bang Theory (2007-19)
Wil Wheaton’s Address
Not to be outdone by Amy's apartment's mathematical Easter egg, the clever folks behind the scenes gave Wil Wheaton one of his own. The few times we see Wheaton's residence on the show, you can make out the number on his house as 1701. Any Star Trek: The New Generation fans out there?
Warner Bros., The Big Bang Theory (2007-19)
Wil Wheaton’s Address
Even non-fans of the show probably know Wheaton played Wesley Crusher in Star Trek: The New Generation. But it's us fans who will remember that the starship number was NCC-1701.
Warner Bros., The Big Bang Theory (2007-19)
Penny's Last Name
This one comes in three parts. The first being the fact that Penny's last name is never actually said throughout the entire run of the series—except on the final episode when Sheldon refers to her as Penny Hofstadter. But there are those who claim to know her maiden name...
Warner Bros., The Big Bang Theory (2007-19)
Penny's Last Name
In the Season 2 episode "The Work Song Nanocluster", when Sheldon brings over the package with the rhinestones for her Penny Blossoms, some fans noticed the name Penny Teller on the label of the package. This leads us to part three...
Warner Bros., The Big Bang Theory (2007-19)
Penny's Last Name
This "Penny Teller" label appeared years before Amy joined the show and even longer before her parents were introduced, but....Who was eventually cast as Amy's dad? The great magician, Teller—of the famed comedy magic duo, Penn & Teller.
Hold on! Penn & Teller, PennY Teller. It has to be a coincidence right? Or does it?
Warner Bros., The Big Bang Theory (2007-19)
Amy's 2 Moms
While the casting of Teller in the latter seasons was the first time we'd seen Amy's father, the addition of Kathy Bates as her mother probably shocked a few fans who'd been with the show since the beginning.
Warner Bros., The Big Bang Theory (2007-19)
Amy's 2 Moms
If we go all the way back to the fifth episode of Season 4, "The Desperation Emanation", you might remember that Amy's mother makes a brief appearance, via webcam. You might also remember that the woman on the computer screen wasn't Kathy Bates. Actress Annie O'Donnell was the original Mrs. Fowler.
Warner Bros., The Big Bang Theory (2007-19)
Laundry Room Sign
It's easy to miss if you're focused on the action, but there's a sign on the back wall of the laundry room that says, "please keep your clothes on while doing laundry". We don't know about you, but this just brings up more questions for us.
Warner Bros., The Big Bang Theory (2007-19)
The Laundry
There's a very cool Easter egg in regards to the actual laundry the characters do on the show. Supposedly, when you see characters doing laundry, the clothes they are washing and folding are items they would've been seen wearing in the previous episode.
Warner Bros., The Big Bang Theory (2007-19)
Leonard And Sheldon's Names
Do you ever wonder how writers come up with character names? Well, in the case of our favorite Big Bang roommates, their names were chosen to honor and celebrate some key figures in the history of science and television.
Warner Bros., The Big Bang Theory (2007-19)
Leonard And Sheldon's Names
Robert Hofstadter: Winner of the 1961 Nobel Prize in Physics.
Leon Cooper: Winner of the 1972 Nobel Prize in Physics.
Sheldon Leonard: American film and television actor, producer, director, and screenwriter.
Warner Bros., The Big Bang Theory (2007-19)
Big Bang/Young Sheldon Parental Connections
Not every person who watched the Big Bang Theory also watched the prequel series, Young Sheldon, and vice-versa. But those who do fall into that intersecting section of the Big Bang/Young Sheldon Venn diagram probably found it a little odd the first time they saw Sheldon's father on the prequel series.
Warner Bros., Young Sheldon (2017-24)
Young Sheldon Dad
Odd, because the actor playing his father—Lance Barber—also played Leonard's old high school bully, Jimmy Speckerman, on the flagship series.
Warner Bros., The Big Bang Theory (2007-19)
Young Sheldon Mom
As for Young Sheldon's mother, this is easy to miss given that the actress' name is Zoe Perry. But what makes this bit of casting so much fun is that Zoe Perry's mother is Laurie Metcalf—who played Sheldon's mother on The Big Bang Theory.
Warner Bros., The Big Bang Theory (2007-19)
Young Sheldon Mom
Fun Fact: This wasn't the first time Perry played a younger version of one of her mother's characters. She appeared in two episodes of Roseanne, showing up as Metcalf's character, Jackie Harris, in flashback scenes.
Warner Bros., Young Sheldon (2017-24)
Leonard's Glasses
Have you ever wondered why you never see Johnny Galecki wearing glasses in public? No, he doesn't wear contacts. Galecki doesn't wear, or need, glasses at all. But he felt that Leonard would wear them, so he put some on for the role. But that isn't the big surprise.
Warner Bros., The Big Bang Theory (2007-19)
Leonard's Glasses
Knowing that Galecki doesn't wear glasses, you, like the rest of us, would naturally assume that Leonard's had non-prescription glass lenses. Well, they did, at first. However, after spending a week rehearsing the first episode of the series, the creators—thinking they were Galecki's actual glasses—asked him to take them off as they were causing glare from the studio lights. The actor, wanting to keep them for his character, came up with a simple solution.
He just popped out the lenses. That's right, Leonard's glasses had no lenses in them.
Warner Bros., The Big Bang Theory (2007-19)
Here Comes The Judge
The Season 3 episode "The Excelsior Acquisition" is best remembered as the episode in which Stan Lee makes his first appearance on the show. But the episode also honored another comic book legend: Jack Kirby was an important member of the Marvel team for decades and key in the creation of characters from the Fantastic Four to the Hulk.
Warner Bros., The Big Bang Theory (2007-19)
Here Comes The Judge
In the aforementioned "The Excelsior Acquisition", Sheldon misses the Stan Lee signing because he is in court arguing a traffic ticket. What is the name of the traffic court judge? That's right...Jack Kirby.
Warner Bros., The Big Bang Theory (2007-19)
Blossoming
Mayim Bialik played Blossom on the hit '90s NBC show of the same name, and this didn't go unreferenced by the Big Bang writers after she joined the cast. Go back and check out the Season 6 episode "The Holographic Excitation" and the scene where Amy and Sheldon are trying to decide what their couple's costume should be for Halloween. In the "couples you like" circle of the Venn diagram, you'll see "Blossom & Joey".
Warner Bros., The Big Bang Theory (2007-19)
Flash-y Dresser
Seeing Sheldon in a flash T-shirt was commonplace throughout the series, but seeing him in a tuxedo wasn't. However, while Sheldon dressed like an actual grownup at his wedding, he didn't leave all his superhero paraphernalia behind. It's easy to miss, but on the day Sheldon tied the knot, he was wearing Flash socks and cufflinks.
Warner Bros., The Big Bang Theory (2007-19)
Opening Images
Did you ever count how many images there are in the opening credits with the theme song? Of course you didn't. Why would you? Well, there are 109. Now you know.
Warner Bros., The Big Bang Theory (2007-19)
Raiders Egg
Okay, Raiders of the Lost Ark fans, get ready. No, we can't undo what Amy said about the film in "The Raiders Minimization", thus "ruining" it for the guys. But we can point out a rather awesome Easter egg that connects directly to the great movie (we don't care what Amy said, we still love it).
Warner Bros., The Big Bang Theory (2007-19)
Raiders Egg
You know all those white boards Leonard and Sheldon had in their apartment? The math and science written on said boards was always 100% accurate (they had real UCLA professor, David Saltzberg, making sure of it). Well, let's amend that to almost always 100% accurate.
On one of the whiteboards in "The Raiders Minimization" episode, the equations are a direct copy of the non-scientifically accurate ones you see on the chalkboard in Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Warner Bros., The Big Bang Theory (2007-19)
Star Wars Egg
Yes, everyone remembers when the guys celebrated May 4 or when James Earl Jones and Carrie Fisher made cameos. Although totally awesome, there isn't much Easter egginess about those. But how about the time Sheldon dropped trou during his Chancellor's Award for Science acceptance speech? 'Where's the Star Wars reference there', you ask?
Warner Bros., The Big Bang Theory (2007-19)
Star Wars Egg
While Sheldon wakes up a little uncertain of what fully transpired the night before, Leonard informs him that there's a video of the whole thing posted on YouTube. As he watches the video, take a look at the top right-hand corner of the screen, at Sheldon's username... "ob1". May the force of this Easter egg be with you.
Warner Bros., The Big Bang Theory (2007-19)
