05 Jun5 More Things You Didn’t Know About Garfield!

In celebration of Garfield's upcoming birthday!

Sardonic, wisecracking, and lazy, Garfield has been one of the world’s most popular celebrity cats since 1978! Yet there’s still some stuff we bet you don’t know about him. Here are 5 little-known trivia you probably didn’t know about Garfield and his pals!

 

1. Garfield may have gotten his name from the creator’s grandfather, James Garfield Davis, but he was based on one of the 25 cats that roamed the farm Jim Davis grew up on. The “Garfield” who inspired the name was a large and cantankerous man, but Davis adds, “underneath he had a heart of gold.”

2. The comic strip is set in the creator Jim Davis’ hometown Muncie, Indiana, yet that remained largely unsaid. This was intentionally done because Davis wanted people around the world to feel as if Garfield lives next door!

3. There are three countries in the world where Garfield is not named Garfield. These countries are Sweden, Norway, and Finland. “In Sweden, Garfield is known as Gustav,” said Davis.

4. Garfield is the holder of the Guinness World Record for the world’s most widely syndicated comic strip!

5.  Davis wanted Garfield to dance in the TV special “Here Comes Garfield,” but he was having trouble with the scene. Peanuts cartoonist Charles Schulz suggested he make Garfield’s back feet bigger to give him more balance.  From that point on, Garfield was on two feet more often than not.