Friends. Arguably one of the most loved and celebrated TV shows of all time. Fans around the world re-watch all ten seasons over and over and over again each year, even though the show ended well over a decade ago.
As more fans discover it, and more fans re-watch it for the twentieth time, little "easter eggs" (aka audience treats) come to light. Here are some of our favourites!
Thought you fooled us there? Think again!
Phoebe says that Ross has never chased someone to an airport before, to which he agrees "Not since my copy show got canceled." In fact, he chased his second wife Emily to the airport to tell her he loved her in a very similar fashion to this scene.
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Continuity is key
In the episode where Joey finds out his dad is cheating on his mom, his mom enters the apartment with a bag of groceries and puts them on the stove, where they promptly fall over. The next time you see them, the back is back up. Next scene, down.
3. How can you forget this one?
In season one Monica claims it's her first Thanksgiving in the apartment, however in the fifth season Phoebe tells the story of Monica's worst Thanksgiving which takes place a year before season one with all of them gathered together. Remember, it's the one where Joey puts the giant turkey on his head?
4. Make up your mind!
Rachel's birthday keeps changing! In season four she says she was born on May 5th, making her a Taurus. In season season, when a policeman asks for her driver's license, he remarks that she's an Aquarius meaning she was born in January or February.
5. Wait, now I'm confused
Is it Greene or Green? Ross spelled Rachels last name wrong on his wedding invitation.
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6. Such a hypocrite
Phoebe is superstitious... sort of. In "The One with All the Wedding Dresses" she says she believes that on the wedding day, the groom should not see the bride before the ceremony. However, on her own wedding day, Phoebe and Mike hang out together before the ceremony.
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7. I feel like this might have been a prank actually
In the episode where Monica opens all the wedding presents, the yellow Kitchen-Aid mixer is somehow both unwrapped in the pile of presents AND already unwrapped sitting on the countertop.
8. B-b-b-but you already said it!
Joey says in season eight that it's the first time he's ever truly been in love with someone, but this contradicts what he said when he fell in love with Kate in season three.
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9. I think they just can't be bothered to keep up
Rachel finds out she's pregnant at Monica's wedding in May, putting her at four weeks pregnant, meaning she'd be due in January. But by the time we get to the Christmas episode when she should be busting, she's only four months pregnant. so she probably got pregnant in April, so she'd be due in like January. But in the next Christmas episode, she's only 4 months pregnant.
Jessica Giffin
10. Maybe she just doesn't remember?
Phoebe says that her father ran out on her before she was born, but when Frank actually turns up at a later episode he reminisces about being around when she was a kid and singing her songs at bedtime.
What Culture
11. This is sort of a cute one
Monica's apartment initially has wood boards from floor to ceiling but as time goes on there's only wood board by the fridge. Certain directors of the show enjoyed putting their own mark on the show, and some like James Burrows would move the wood around every time he directed an episode.
IMDB
12. You never know, he might need another one
During "The One In Vegas", Chandler says if he won $5000 he would join a gym and build up his upper body strength. But we already know that he and Ross have gym memberships and can't bring themselves to quit...
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13. This was totally the props crew joking around
The burglar who robbed Chandler and Joey left a note on the Magna Doodle saying Thanks for all your stuff!
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14. It's just basic math, dude
When talking about his mother, Joey says to Ross, "You think it's easy giving birth to seven kids?" This is incorrect because Joey has seven sisters, meaning Joey's mother gave birth to eight children.
15. Maybe Chandler was just trying to make him look cool?
Early on in the series we find out that the first and only person Ross had ever slept with was his wife Carol. Years later, however, Chandler says Ross slept with a woman who cleaned their dorm building while they were in college.
16. Ross has the memory of a goldfish!
When Monica and Chandler are getting married, Ross says it's his first time walking down the aisle knowing it can't end in divorce, but he previously walked down the aisle during Susan's wedding to Carol!
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17. Good point!
Phoebe's mom killed herself when Phoebe was 13, which is often the explanation Phoebe gives when asked her middle name or real birth year. Think about it though. What 13 year old doesn't know their full name and birthday?!
18. My bet is on the second option
In "The One Where Chandler Doesn't Like Dogs," Ross says he doesn't like ice cream because it's too cold but when he starts dating Elizabeth you see them eating ice cream together. Either he changed his mind or someone in the writer's room forgot he's supposed to hate it.
What Culture
19. When you're trying to tell a good story, you sometimes have to change things up a bit
There are multiple flashbacks in the show to when Monica, Ross, Chandler, and Rachel are younger and hanging out together. Somehow this is all forgotten in the first episode where Monica introduces Rachel to the group as if Rachel doesn't know who they already are.
Paige Elizabeth Mansfield
20. There's really no reasonable explanation for this
In "The One with a Dozen Lasagnas", Monica's aunt won't eat the lasagnas because they are filled with meat and she's a vegetarian. Later Phoebe, a strict vegetarian, is seen eating the lasagna with Monica.
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21. This is such a nice easter egg
For several episodes after the 9/11 attacks, the episodes were dedicated to the "The People of New York". If you pay attention you'll notice that the Fire Department of New York logo appears several times throughout the show as well as an homage to those people who dedicated so much. You'll see the logo on Joey's and Rachel's shirts, on the Doodle board, on a baseball cap, on a mug, etc.
Elodie Davoise
22. This doesn't sound like something you'd forget
In season five Joey uses finger quotes to tell Rachel that Monica and Chandler are in the next room "making love", but four seasons later he tells Ross that he doesn't know what finger quotes are.
23. This one escalated quickly!
Phoebe finds out she's pregnant around the time that Ross and Emily meet. Despite the fact that their wedding is only three months later and she would be max. 5 months pregnant, she's somehow so close to labour that she can't fly to the wedding.
24. There are no words
In one episode Joey goes to Central Perk and there's a potato in the cake stand...
Sami Warkow
