Scooby-Doo was fully realized in 1969, and it has since become the ultimate classic cartoon. It's one of the longest-running cartoon shows. The Hanna Barbera production company introduced Scooby-Doo Where Are You, which only ran for a year (1969-1970), but it had 12 different iterations. The most popular version is What's New, Scooby-Doo? which aired for three seasons. Not all the movies and spin-offs were huge successes, or even really that good, but the iconic characters always remained the same, most recently in 2020's Scoob!
Fred, Velma, Daphne, Shaggy, and Scooby have graced every child's television since the 70s. But with so many versions, some facts can get muddled together or completely forgotten. For more recent fans, the characters have already been established, so any tidbits that were introduced in the 70s and 80s may have gone by the wayside.
6 Shaggy Found The Mystery Machine
While it's true that it was Shaggy who originally discovered the Mystery Machine, Fred is the designated driver. The Mystery Machine is also a 1968 Chevrolet Sportvan that was customized for the gang. Before they got the van, the kids would pay their parents' gas money to drive them around.
Most fans know that Shaggy's real name is Norville Rogers, and he appears to live independently, but he does have a rich uncle that he inherits things from. The most interesting fact about Shaggy is his collection of 653 decorator belt buckles, and he wears a different buckle every episode; the audience just can’t tell. He actually started collecting belt buckles to motivate him to lose weight due to his love of Scooby-Snacks.
5 Daphne Wanted To Be A Supermodel Or Detective When She Grew Up
It's well-known that Daphne Blake comes from a wealthy family, so her dream to become a supermodel makes plenty of sense. The fact that she also wanted to be a detective proves that she's not just a pretty face; there's a brain in there, too. Daphne’s father, George Blake, is supportive of her creating a detective agency because he gave the gang a 100-dollar check to get their mystery business started.
It's also canon that Daphne frequently loses dates because she leaves them to solve mysteries. This might sound odd since she and Fred seem to be together, but that's not entirely accurate. The real reason Fred and Daphne always split off from the group together is that the writers found them to be the least interesting of the group and wanted to write more for the interesting characters.
4 Velma's Popular Catch Phrases Were Created By Accident
Velma is known for saying "Jinkies!" but that wasn't always the case. She would typically just say, "Oh my," but that was too boring, especially when she was next to someone who says, "Zoinks!" Later iterations of the show reveal that Velma is Jewish and can often be heard saying, "Oy gevalt." The other iconic element of Velma is, of course, her losing her glasses. The original voice actor, Nichole Jaffe, actually had her glasses fall off during a recording session. The directors thought it was cute, so they kept the idea.
Another bit the show has is other characters jumping into Velma's arms when they're scared. They always jump to Velma because, visually, it's funny due to her being the smallest character. Other basic facts about Velma include that she's won hundreds of academic awards in school, she's a huge hockey fan, and she took martial arts as a child, which leads to her being stronger than she looks.
3 Fred Can Bench Press Up To 220 Pounds
It's a running joke that Fred can bench over 200 pounds, specifically in What's New, Scooby-Doo? Throughout nearly every iteration, Fred is portrayed as the leader but also as a sort of scaredy-cat. He doesn't like haunted places and often sends Shaggy and Scooby to the creepier areas. And in the creation of the show, Fred got his name from CBS's head of children's programming, Fred Silverman. He is also the only character to have the same voice actor in nearly every iteration (all but one) of the show.
Fred also fancies himself something of an artistic type. Before joining the gang, he traveled with a performance crew as an actor. He is a bass and sings songs from the musical Showboat if the team gets frightened. He also is an aspiring mystery writer, although he can't seem to come up with a catchphrase like everyone else.
2 Scooby-Doo Has A Limited Number Of Phrases He Can Say
Scooby-Doo is a Great Dane (originally a sheepdog) who can speak, but he can only say certain things. The fact that he could talk at all was strange at first to the gang, but they later decided it wasn't that big of a deal. He has a sort of speech impediment called rhotacism which is the reason for his excessive use of the letter 'R.'
Scooby-Doo wasn't even supposed to be the main character when the show was first conceptualized. His name was going to be "Too Much," and the title was going to be "W-Who's Scared?" His full name is Scoobert Doo, and he is also 7 years old (perpetually). Family-wise, Scooby is a triplet and has a nephew, Scrappy-Doo, who first appeared in 1983.
1 The Series Was Supposed To Be About A Band
The gang was originally a band called The Mysteries Five, although they did still solve mysteries. They had different names, too: Kelly (Daphne), Linda (Velma), Linda's brother, W.W. (Shaggy), Geoff and Mike (combined to make Fred), and Too Much (Scooby), the dog that played bongos in the band. Fred's name was also changed to Ronnie before finally settling on Fred.
More fun facts include their ages (Fred and Shaggy: 17, Daphne: 16, Velma: 15), Shaggy started out as a vegetarian, Scrappy-Doo was introduced to boost ratings in 1979, and Scooby-Doo can seemingly talk to both animals and humans. And despite its insane popularity, it was only ever nominated for one Daytime Emmy in 1990.