70s | 90s | 80s

10 Facts You Scooby-Don't Know About Scooby-Doo

Our Southern Style

Since it's inception in 1969, Scooby Doo has gone on to become one of, if not the most, iconic cartoon characters of all time. The show has had many iterations and plot line changes, there have been (pretty bad) movies made about the Scooby Gang, and the show has spawned a fairly significant fortune in merchandise and other paraphernalia.

As much as we would all like to think we know the show and its characters like the back of our hands, there is a lot about them that just isn't as publicly known. Here are 10 facts about Scooby Doo and the rest of the gang that you had know idea about.

1. They had a lot of freedom for teenagers.

Scooby-Doo! Network Center

Regardless of the fact that the Scooby Gang all look like they would have been in their early-to-mid-twenties, and considering their ability to travel the country unaccompanied it would be a safe assumption. But, you'd be wrong. They were all in fact teens. Fred and Shaggy are both 17, Daphne is 16, and Velma is 15. Oh, and for good measure, Scooby is 7.

2. Scrappy Doo was a Hail Mary to boost ratings.

The Parody Wiki - Fandom

When Scooby's nephew Scrappy Doo was introduced to the show in 1979, it was an attempt to boost ratings which had been slipping for some time. It must have worked because four decades later, different variations of the show are still alive and well today.

3. Scooby wasn't originally going to be a great dane.

thisisinsider.com

When the creators were designing the show, they had originally wanted to make Scooby a sheep dog. But because he would have resembled a dog named Red, from Archie, they scrapped the idea and drew him as we know and love him.

4. Shaggy isn't really a stoner.

Scoobypedia - Fandom

Shaggy's full name is actually Norville Shaggy Rogers, and contrary to popular believe, he isn't a stoner. The show's creators said they would never have created a character like that for a children's show. A fun fact, Shaggy is actually a vegetarian. Casey Kasem was the voice of Shaggy for decades (Kasem is a devout vegetarian) and when he found out the character was going to eat meat he left the show for a while.

5. The villains only seemed to have one thing on their minds.

ThePinsta

There were 27 villains to the original show's original run. Of those 27, 23 of them were after some form of financial benefit, aka money. Those were some greedy ghosts and monsters.

6. The characters were originally supposed to have different names.

Uproxx

We know them as Fred, Shaggy, Daphne, Velma and Scooby, but did you know that some of the characters had their names changed before production? Fred Jones was actually supposed to be Fred Silverman, Daphne was supposed to be Kelly, and Shaggy was supposed to be named W.W. We're glad they went the other way on that one.

7. The show was inspired by The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis.

If you haven't heard of this show don't feel bad, it was on the air in the 50s and 60s. The writers of Scooby Doo drew major inspiration from the characters in the older show. In fact, once you see the picture it will all make perfect sense.

MeTV

8. The original theme song didn't include sounds from real bats.

At the beginning of the original show's intro song, you see a cloud of bats fly across the screen accompanied by some "bat noises." It turns out those weren't sounds from actual bats, it was a tape recorder echo unit feeding back its own sound.

9. Velma can never seem to find her glasses. The long running trend actually happened by accident.

IGN.com

Nicole Jaffe, the original person to voice the character of Velma dropped her glasses during a table read. She ended up muttering something similar to the people in the room and everyone loved it. It has since become one of the iconic lines from Scooby Doo.

10. The original series included some very notable guest stars.

ourherothegm.blogspot.com

In an effort to garner more interest, the show's creators decided to write in several guest star appearances. These included, The Adams Family, Jonathan Winters, Batman and Robin, and The Harlem Globetrotters.

What is your all-time favorite Scooby Doo memory? Let us know in the comments.

More Throwbacks

70s

'Watership Down' Terrified Us As Kids, But Now It's Back With A Brand New Remake

There are a bunch of movies from our childhood that looking back are kind of messed up. Whether it's kids getting turned into blueberries or aliens coming down from outer space only to phone home, we've had to deal with a lot. But there's one movie that confused a lot of kids, and probably scarred even more for life. Watership Down was an animated movie made in 1978, and while a cartoon about rabbits seems like it'd be a great choice for children, the truth is that it was kind of horrific. I believe that my brain has completely blocked

80s

10 Weebles Playsets From Our Childhoods We Loved To Watch Wobble

There were always toys when you were a kid that seemed to be more important than the rest. There were some that you couldn't go to bed without, there were others that you spent months begging your parents for, and then there were a few that were just staples, readily available where ever you went. No matter which friends house you were at or doctor's office waiting room you were in, there were some that just seemed to be everywhere. Weebles were one of the toys you would be mostly likely to find anywhere that toys were set up for

70s

James Karen, Legendary Actor Known For 'Poltergeist' And So Much More, Dead At 94

You probably don't know his name, but you definitely know James Karen's face. The prolific character actor, best known for his role as the unscrupulous developer Mr. Teague in 1982's Poltergeist, passed away in his Los Angeles home on Tuesday at the age of 94.MGM/UA Entertainment Co.Over the course of his seven-decade career, Karen racked up over 200 acting credits across movies, television, and even video games. If you watch just about any of the most popular television shows from the 1970s, 80s, or 90s, you're guaranteed to see him pop up sooner or later. Born Jacob

90s

Remembering NFL in the 90's

NFL in the 90s. The Golden Years of FootballIf you can cast your mind back to what the NFL was like in the 90’s, you can perhaps remember some of the great teams and players of the time, not to mention some of the important milestones as well. Maybe you remember the Dallas Cowboys winning three Super Bowls in four years or when the Denver Broncos won a perfect season in 1998. Of course, there are plenty of memorable player moments too. Like when Dan Marino won the title of the best all-time passing leader. Or when Jerry Rice

90s

Brace Yourself: The Backstreet Boys Released A New Song And Are Going On A World Tour

The Backstreet Boys have been one of the biggest bands in the country, well, the world for several decades now. After getting their start in the early 90s, they've managed to be one of the very few bands that has stuck together and continued performing. They didn't need a big reunion, because they didn't break up. Well, let's just pretend like that whole Kevin fiasco didn't happen. But anyways, they've been putting out music and performing together for 25 years now, and they have no intention of stopping. To be fair, they did warn of this two decades ago. They

90s

Lip Smacker's New Christmas Collection Brings Back Your 90s Favorites. All Of Them.

If there was one product that you had to pick that would best represent what it was like to be a preteen in the 90s, I think a lot of us girls would agree that Lip Smackers would be the best choice. These little tubes of oftentimes glittered, scented, colorful lip-balm made us all feel like the fanciest of ladies, totally ready to grab our purses and do whatever it is that our moms did when they weren't paying attention to us. You had so many different choices too. You'd have a classic berry scented red Lip Smacker, you'd have