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15 Mysterious Gravity Falls Facts!

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Beano Facts Team
Last Updated:  August 21st 2024

Only a huge Gravity Falls fan will already know these 15 awesome facts about the most mysterious show out there! We've compiled a page of some of the most weird, fun and interesting facts all about Gravity Falls and its characters! Find out what inspired the show, the significance of the number 618, and which celebs have guest starred! And if you liked this, check out more TV stuff right here! How about this spooky Stranger Things facts? Or maybe you like the look of these awesome Kung Fu Panda facts! You might even like these Curses! facts!

1. Gravity Falls is Inspired by a Real Place

Gravity Falls is a fictional town, but it's inspired by creator Alex Hirsch's real life visits to stay with his Great Aunt in her cabin in the woods during his summer holidays as a kid. The town she lived in was called...Boring! It's in Oregon and it's twinned with Dull in Scotland and Bland in Australia!

2. It's Also a Homage to Twin Peaks

Gravity Falls makes reference to the other famous mystery show set in the Pacific North West, Twin Peaks, in several ways. As well as both being mystery shows set in small towns, the Twin Peaks mountains are shown in the background on a few occasions, and the town diners are eerily similar! Plus, references to speaking backwards appear in both shows!

3. There Are Lots of Easter Eggs

Gravity Falls is full of puns, secrets, clues and illusions to pop culture. For example, there are references to Shrek, Dance Dance Revolution, Bigfoot, Lady and the Tramp and HG Wells. How many easter eggs can you spot?

4. 618 is the secret number

If you pay close attention, you might notice that the number '618' comes up a lot. Well, it's not coincidence - it's a reference to creator Alex Hirsch (and his twin sister Ariel's) birthday - 18th June!

5. There are Lots of Celeb Guest Voices

As well as having a stellar main cast including Jason Ritter, Kristen Schaal and Linda Cardellini, it also has loads of celeb voice guests, including Weird Al, Kyle McLachlan (of Twin Peaks fame), Mark Hamill, Chelsea Peretti, Neil deGrasse Tyson and Coolio!

6. There's a secret message in every episode

Every episode of Gravity Falls contains a secret message, usually in the form of a cryptogram (a puzzle made of encoded letters). During the end credits of each episode, a string of letters will appear. For example; 'GSV RMERHRYOV DRAZIW RH DZGXSRMT'. Once decoded, it reads 'THE INVISIBLE WIZARD IS WATCHING'. Sometimes the message will relate to the episode or be a reference to another show or pop culture.

7. Dipper is Based on Alex Hirsch

Dipper is based on Alex Hirsch, and Mabel on his twin sister Ariel, but his nickname comes from a boy at school who had scars on his face which inspired Dipper's 'Big Dipper' constellation birthmark. Although his real name, Mason, is never revealed in the series, its found in other Gravity Falls media like Journal 3.

8. The Mystery Wheel is Mysterious

At the end of each episode there's a mystery wheel (also known as the Zodiac) with 10 images around the edge. At first, no one was quite sure what they meant, but over the course of the show it became clear that some of the symbols referenced things happening in Gravity Falls. In series 2, its revealed that the Zodiac is the only way to defeat Bill Cipher, if used in a special ritual.

9. Piedmont is a Real Place

Although Gravity Falls itself is a fictional town, Piedmont California is real! It's also where Alex Hirsch grew up in real life!

10. Alex Hirsch Voices a Lot of the Cast

Not only did Alex Hirsch create the show, he also voices lots of the cast, including (according to IMDB) Grunkle Stan, Soos, Additional Voices, Old Man McGucket, Bill Cipher, Jeff the Gnome, Mayor Befufftlefumpter, Nate, Sev'ral Timez, Digi-Cod, Dippy Fresh, Gnomes, Jimmy, Laser Tag Announcer, Mayor Befufflefumpter, Old Man McGurket, Puppeteer...the list goes on!

11. It Made the Name Mabel Popular

After the series started to air, the name 'Mabel' actually shot up the baby naming charts and is still popular today! This is especially funny when you consider that Mabel was supposed to be an old-fashioned and uncool name for the character!

12. Someone Made the 'Dungeons, Dungeons & More Dungeons' Game Real

Alex Hirsch revealed on his Twitter/X page that someone had actually handmade and sent him a version of the in-universe boardgame 'Dungeons, Dungeons and More Dungeons' (based on the real life Dungeons & Dragons). The game included hand drawn illustrations, board and counters!

13. The Start and End Dates Have Significance

Gravity Falls was first aired on the 15th of June, 2015 (written as  6/15/12 in the US date system). The last show aired on 15th February, 2016, or 2/15/16 - which is the first date, backwards! But what does it mean? Turns out, nothing! It's just a huge coincidence, but a very fitting one for Gravity Falls!

14. The Number of Fingers in the Show Varies

You might notice when watching Gravity Falls that not everyone has the same number of fingers...some have four, and some have five! However, the creators say they wish they had just stuck to five, as it looks better!

15. Alex Hirsch Was Only 26 When He Made the Show

Yes, creator Alex Hirsch was only 26 years old during the development of Gravity Falls! Having never run a show before, he found it so stressful and demanding that he wanted to quite after one series. Luckily comedian and show fan Jon Stewart persuaded him to stay for one more series!