XPost: finet.harrastus.tolkien, rec.sport.pro-wrestling, alt.gal   
   ctically.pointless   
   From: BillV2320@webtv.net   
      
   Celebrate The Hobbit's 75th b'day with 17 lesser known Tolkien facts   
       
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   It was on this day 75 years ago that a little children's book about a   
   reluctant Hobbit and his magical adventure first appeared. Today, more   
   than 100 million copies later, The Hobbit is a touchstone of fantasy   
   literature, the acclaimed and beloved beginning of a literary empire   
   that later spawned what many consider the greatest fantasy saga ever   
   written: The Lord of the Rings.   
   In the world of genre fiction, J. R. R. Tolkien is a superstar, a   
   godfather, a legend among legends, and as a result his life and work   
   have been studied and studied again for decades. But there's always   
   something new to learn.   
   In that spirit, we're celebrating 75 years of The Hobbit by sharing 17   
   facts about Tolkien and his work that you might not have known.   
   Â  Click Image to Enlarge   
   Tolkien was kidnapped as a baby:  Tolkien was born in South Africa,   
   and apparently one of the family's African servants was so fascinated by   
   the cute white baby in his midst that he took the young Tolkien home to   
   show his own family. He returned the child the next morning.   
   Tolkien used to show up to class in Medieval armor:  Tolkien loved his   
   day job as a professor at the University of Oxford, so much so that   
   sometimes when he taught Beowulf to his students, he would begin his   
   lecture by barging into the room in chain mail and shouting the first   
   lines of the poem (in the original Old English, of course).   
   Tolkien may have invented the word "tween":  It's not clear if someone   
   else may have used the word first, but Tolkien coined the term "tween"   
   in The Fellowship of the Ring to describe a Hobbit aged between 20 and   
   33 (33 being a Hobbit's coming of age). Who knows what he would have   
   thought of Hannah Montana.   
   British rock band Led Zeppelin wrote three songs inspired by Tolkien:    
   Robert Plant, the lead singer, is a noted Tolkien fan. Their 1969 tune   
   "Ramble On" mentions both Mordor and Gollum, 1971's "The Battle of   
   Evermore" features a reference to Ringwraiths, and "Misty Mountain Hop,"   
   also from '71, is set in Tolkien's Misty Mountains.   
   Tolkien revised The Hobbit to make it a better prequel:  After his   
   publisher requested a Hobbit sequel, Tolkien began work on the epic that   
   would become The Lord of the Rings. As he cemented the powers and   
   mythology of the One Ring, he decided the first book needed to better   
   reflect his intent. From the second edition on, Bilbo's first encounter   
   with Gollum was darker and more aggressive to show the Ring as a   
   corrupting force.   
   Turns out Tolkien may not have created the word "Hobbit":  Though he's   
   usually credited with the word, a 2003 edition of the Oxford English   
   Dictionary notes that it actually appears in a 19th century book on   
   folklore, in a list of obscure words to describe fairies or little   
   people.   
   The first edition cover of The Hobbit was designed by Tolkien:    
   Tolkien was a prolific illustrator. The black and white maps appearing   
   in The Hobbit were his, as was the design for the now-iconic cover,   
   which is still used in some reprints today.   
   Only 1,500 copies were printed of The Hobbit's first edition:  A copy   
   inscribed to a friend by Tolkien was sold in 2008 for 60,000 British   
   pounds. In the 75 years since its publication the book has sold more   
   than 100 million copies.   
   The decision to publish The Hobbit was made by a 10-year-old:  When   
   the manuscript of The Hobbit made its way into the hands of British   
   publisher Stanley Unwin, he asked his son Rayner to review it. Rayner,   
   who was 10 at the time, submitted a handwritten book report on the novel   
   that was enough to convince Unwin to publish it.   
   Bilbo Baggins' Hobbit hole, "Bag End," was reportedly named after   
   Tolkien's aunt's farm.    
   Tolkien actually created three different "breeds" of Hobbit:  In the   
   prologue of The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien notes that all Hobbits are   
   not the same. Harfoot Hobbits dwelled in mountains, had brown skin, and   
   were smaller than other Hobbits, without beards. Stoors lived near the   
   rivers and were described as "broader." The Fallohides lived in the   
   woodlands, and were described as taller Hobbits with bright skin and   
   hair.   
   Thorin got his nickname because he was a badass in battle:  Thorin was   
   called "Oakenshield" because once, during a battle, he lost his shield.   
   But Thorin wasn't about to let that slow him down. He pulled a branch   
   from a nearby tree and used it as a club for his left hand while   
   swinging his sword with his right.   
   Sauron appears in The Hobbit:  After The One Ring was cut from his   
   hand, Sauron was defeated, but he was not gone. He retreated into the   
   forest, which became known as "Mirkwood" because of the dark energy his   
   presence created. No one knew this was him, though, so the dark presence   
   was referred to as "The Necromancer." This necromancer is referenced in   
   The Hobbit.   
   Tolkien hated Shakespeare:  Though he was a passionate lover and   
   teacher of literature, Tolkien had a blind spot for the Bard. He once   
   said he "disliked cordially" the time he was forced to spend in school   
   studying Shakespeare's work.   
   Tolkien wrote The Hobbit's first sentence while grading papers    
   Tolkien had been writing fiction in some form for a while, but   
   apparently he didn't plan this story. One day, while grading, he found a   
   blank page and simply wrote "In a hole in the ground there lived a   
   hobbit" in a sudden burst of inspiration.   
   Tolkien never said Hobbits have big feet:  Though many depictions of   
   the Shire folk would later give them disproportionately large feet,   
   Tolkien never specified that Hobbits should have unusually large feet.   
   Though he was very clear about the feet having fur.   
   Tolkien didn't want The Hobbit published in Nazi Germany:  Though he   
   was popular in Germany for his academic writing on old Germanic and   
   Norse cultures, Tolkien was disgusted by Nazi Germany, and called Adolf   
   Hitler a "ruddy little ignoramus." When it came time for a German   
   edition of The Hobbit, a German official asked Tolkien to prove that he   
   was "Aryan" enough, in accordance with Nazi law. Tolkien instead wrote a   
   letter back expressing regret that he didn't have Jewish ancestors.   
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