We already brought you part one of our list of 15 things you probably did not know about Game of Thrones, and now we’re back with part two! Check out eight more fascinating facts about the television show with a cult following that you definitely (probably) did not know below. You might be surprised by what you find out!
Number Eight: Trial by Combat May Be Legal in the United States. You might not believe it, but it’s true! There is an obscure loophole that allows people to legally practice trial by combat, and the last documented instance of someone attempting to use it was in 2002.
Number Seven: Daenerys Is the Mother of Sea Slugs as Well. Well, sort of. In 2013, researchers named a new species of sea slug after Daenerys, who is played by Emilia Clarke. They named the slug after her because of the slug’s blonde-looking appearance, and the slug’s official name is Tritonia khaleesi.
Number Six: Aemon Targaryen Is Actually Blind. It’s true! Targaryen is played by Peter Vaughan, and Vaughan is partially blind. Vaughan is now 92 years old and amazingly continues to work as an actor.
Number Five: All of the Swords Have Blood Grooves. The swords made for the show are all so realistic that they have “blood grooves,” which are dips that run along the length of the sword. The grooves are allegedly designed to bleed the enemy faster, and they also make it easier for the sword’s user to pull it out of their enemies’ bodies.
Number Four: George R.R. Martin Likes Sex More Than Violence. If you’ve watched just one episode of GoT, then you’re familiar with the themes of sex and violence featured quite prominently. However, Martin, the author of the books the series is based on, has said that he prefers sex over violence.
Number Three: The Dragons Are Based on Birds and Cats. To develop the CGI dragons, special effects artists observed the movements of geese – particularly how they behaved with their wings when they weren’t flying. The artists looked at cats for the scenes when the dragons are relaxed.
Number Two: You Can Get Your Own Dire Wolf. There is an organization called the Dire Wolf Project that has been breeding American Alsatian dogs to resemble dire wolves. However, at $3,000 a pop, they’re certainly not cheap.
Number One: It’s the Most Illegally Downloaded Show in the World. In 2012, BitTorrent trackers revealed that just one episode of the show had been illegally downloaded over four million times. We hope you enjoyed our list of 15 things you didn’t know about Game of Thrones!