Godzilla's distinctive roar was created in the original 1954 film by rubbing a pine tar-coated leather glove over a double bass string. Godzilla's scream has evolved significantly throughout the years, as seen by the video above. 1)
It's now common knowledge that the initial concept for Godzilla intended to resemble a huge octopus. Ultimately, producer Tomoyuki Tanaka (wisely) chose a more dinosaur-like design instead. 2)
In a Nike commercial in 1992, Godzilla and NBA great Charles Barkely squared off. The commercial, which was shot over eight days, was also turned into a comic book. 3)
He debuted in Dr. Pepper advertisements in 1985, although that wasn't their first collaboration: the soft drink was featured in the 1984 film The Return of Godzilla and again in Godzilla 1985. 4)
People began nicknamed Hideki Matsui “Godzilla” in high school, owing to his tremendous hitting skills and a severe case of teenage acne. The acne cleared up, but the term lingered. In 2009, he helped the New York Yankees win their 27th World Series title, and he was voted World Series MVP for his contributions. 5)
The Church of God-Zillah was founded decades before the creation of the radioactive monster, but that didn't stop the congregation from paying homage to the strange coincidence: right behind the church, a steel wireframe dinosaur monument can be seen grasping a cross and sign. 6)
In the English-language version of Godzilla's second feature, Godzilla Raids Again, which was initially released in Japan in 1955, listen for George Takei's deep baritone. Previously, the Star Trek veteran had made his cinematic debut with comparable work on Rodan, another Toho monster feature. 7)
Surprisingly, this material was included in the final cut (fast-forward to the 1:03 mark in the clip above to see it for yourself). 8)
It was stolen, then lost, and then washed up on the beach at random. One of the monster's outfits (worth $39,000) was stolen from a Toho garage in 1992, only to be found washed up on the beaches of Lake Okutama (near Tokyo), where it unwittingly startled a woman out for a stroll. 9)
We can only speculate on how Robin might have responded to the radioactive giant because this concept never saw the light of day. 10)
From 1977 to 1979, Marvel published a 24-issue comic book series starring Godzilla in which he battled both the Avengers and the Fantastic Four. 11)
An enraged T. rex terrorizes San Diego at the end of The Lost World: Jurassic Park. A few Japanese tourists can be seen running for their life at one point during the carnage, one of them cries (in Japanese), “I left Japan to get away from this!”. 12)
Toho created a narrative in the 1960s about King Kong battling a huge lobster named Ebirah. Toho modified the main notion into a new Godzilla adventure when the studio's American partners decided they didn't like the concept. 13)
Though revered by fans, some Western audiences lambasted 1991's Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah as “anti-American.” A particularly contentious image occurred during World War II's Pacific theater, and depicted a regiment of American troops being murdered by a monstrous dinosaur as their Japanese rivals looked on in relief. 14)
Paleontologist Mike P. Taylor argues that a Godzilla-sized animal's limb cartilage would be smashed “like over-ripe watermelons” by its own body weight. 15)