3 - Star Trek: Leonard Nimoy Came Up With the Vulcan Salute on Set
One of the most lasting things to come out of Star Trek is Spock's Vulcan salute --, the one where you raise your palm and separate your fingers like someone's trying to tear your hand down the middle.
But It Was Almost ...
A shoulder rub, basically. The script for "Amok Time" actually called for Spock to kneel in front of another Vulcan, who would then grab his shoulders. That was the "Vulcan salute.
Spock changed it last minute on set, remembering something similar he had seen as a boy, the director loved it and it stuck around. . . for decades really.
2 -Mickey Mouse Was the Result of a Last-Minute Name Switch
Turning a filthy rodent into the most beloved cartoon character in the world is no small feat, and yet that's exactly what Walt Disney managed to pull off with Mickey Mouse. Everything from the character's high-pitched voice to his comical appearance has been carefully calculated to make him look as friendly and marketable as possible.
But It Was Almost ...
Mortimor Mouse - When Disney and his sidekick set out to create a new character to replace their Oswald the Lucky Rabbit series, they based it on a pet mouse that Walt had while growing up, whose name was Mortimer (we're guessing that Walt didn't otherwise have a lot of friends). Presumably his side kick was too shy to tell Disney that the name sucked, because they were actually planning to go ahead with it
Until ...
Fortunately, Disney's wife pointed out what everyone else was afraid to say: No matter how large you make his pupils or how many oversized buttons you put on his pants, no kid will watch a cartoon starring a character named Mortimer. Disney asked if she could think of something better, and his wife replied,"How about Mickey?" . Two theme parks and several major motion pictures later, Disney was probably forced to admit that she might have been on to something there.
1. Scooby-Doo's Name Was Almost "Too Much"
The original series was called Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? because that's exactly what the viewership wondered during every second of footage in which Scooby wasn't on the screen. Also, Scooby's name is way catchier than everyone else's: There are literally no words you can rhyme with Velma.
But It Was Almost ...
Scooby was almost called "Too Much," he wasn't going be the star of the show and would play the bongos. So why did that change? Because Frank Sinatra intervened.
Originally, the show was going to be about a musical group that solved mysteries between gigs, which would actually explain what four teens are doing going around the country in a cramped van painted with psychedelic artwork. The teens had a Great Dane called Too Much, who was also their drummer Too Much had a cowardly personality and was best friends with Shaggy -- he was essentially Scooby-Doo already, only with a terrible name.
Until ...
However, during a plane ride back from meeting with CBS executives (who initially rejected the show), producer Fred Silverman was listening to music on his headphones when he heard Frank Sinatra improvise some gibberish at the end of his song "Strangers in the Night" -- as the song fades away, Sinatra sings "dooby-dooby-doo." Silverman liked the sound of that and decided the dog should be named Scooby-Doo and should also be the star of the show. Just like that.
In order to make Scooby more of a protagonist, the writers dropped the whole music group idea and made the characters just four regular mystery-solving teens with a talking dog. CBS picked up the retooled show, and it's pretty much been on the screen in one form or another since . If it wasn't for Frank Sinatra scatting in the studio, everything from the iconic theme song to Scooby snacks would have been different or, more likely, nonexistent.
