Top 10 Things You Probably Didn't Know About the Peanuts Comic Strip

I’m sure everyone with either a television set and/or reads comics knows Charlie Brown, Snoopy, and the Peanuts Gang. Well here are some things you maybe didn’t know about these iconic characters and Charles Schulz, the creator.
The Top Ten
1 A new Peanuts strip was printed out everyday until the day after Charles Schulz’ death There was a large total of 17,897 strips published until the day after his death. He passed away on February 12, 2000 due to colon cancer.
2 Charlie Brown didn’t originate in Peanuts He originated in Schulz' first group of original cartoons, Li'l Folks, which ran from 1947-1950.
3 Snoopy was inspired by Charles Schulz’ dog, Spike Schulz originally wanted the iconic beagle's name to be Sniffy, but that name was already being used in a comic strip. So he changed the name to Snoopy, and it paid off.
4 Charles Schulz not only didn’t choose the name “Peanuts”, but he wasn’t a fan of it It was decided that Li'l Folks sounded too similar to other comics at the time, so the name was changed to Peanuts. Schulz didn't like it because he thought it made his strip sound too insignificant.
5 Charles Schulz regretted not letting Charlie Brown kick the football Anyone who knows Peanuts knows the Football Gag, where every year Lucy tricks Charlie Brown into thinking she's going to let him kick the football only for her to pull it away and have Charlie Brown spin up and land flat on his back. At first, Schulz thought the joke was too iconic and Charlie kicking the football would not be taken very well by the audience. But after making his final strip, he started to regret not letting him kick the football.
6 Fergie voiced Sally Brown from 1983-1985 Fergie was 8 years old at the time, long before her music career and her National Anthem comedy at the NBA All Star Game.
7 The women Charles Schulz knew inspired many of the female characters The Little Red-Haired Girl was inspired by a woman Schulz had a crush on. Schulz actually proposed to her, but she said no and married another man. Lucy was inspired by his first wife, and Peppermint Patty was inspired by his cousin.
8 TV executives thought the Christmas Special would flop They expected the Christmas Special to appear once and then immediately fade into obscurity. Instead it drew a large audience, won an Emmy award, and became one of the most iconic Christmas Specials in history.
9 Lucy wasn’t always the same age as Charlie Brown and even had an innocent crush on him in the early days of the strip Yep, Lucy wasn't always picking on Charlie Brown, though she would always get on his nerves in the early days. The Football Gag originated when Lucy pulled the football away because she didn't want her new football to get dirty. Right after, she holds the football for him, but Charlie Brown's own misfortune causes him to miss the kick and land flat on his back.
10 Many of the Peanuts characters were inspired by real people and events
The Contenders
11 The strip wasn't an instant hit
12 Schroder, Sally, and all three van Pelt children (Lucy, Linus, and Rerun) were introduced as babies Yet Charlie Brown was already the age he was going to be forever.
13 There’s a museum devoted to all things Peanuts It's in Santa Rosa, California, where Schulz lived and worked for decades. The museum is filled with comics and you can learn all about Charles Schulz and the Peanuts Gang. It has a gift shop and some nice restaurants with good food.
14 A POC character, Franklin, was introduced in the late 1960s, but Schulz didn't make a big deal out of it
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