by Brian GalindoBuzzFeedBuzzFeed Staff 1. The success of Beverly Hills, 90210 inspired MTV to create The Real World. Mikel Roberts / Sygma via Getty Images, Courtesy Everett Collection In the early '90s, Beverly Hills, 90210 proved to networks just how compelling young people's real-life drama could be, and that audiences, especially teens and young adults, would tune in weekly to watch friendships, romances, and conflicts play out over time. MTV was paying close attention, since its core audience overlapped heavily with the show's fanbase. An MTV executive named Lauren Corrao hired TV producer Mary-Ellis Bunim, who had been working on writing a script for its own soap opera called St. Mark's Place, that would be an edgy counterpart to 90210, which they would air five nights a week. However, MTV ultimately killed the project because of the high cost of producing a scripted drama. Bunim then met with Corrao and pitched her the idea of what would happen if they stripped away the scripted part but kept the emotional stakes and youth-focused storytelling. Additionally, it would be low-cost since they didn't have to pay writers or actors. Corrao immediately got the concept since she had once lived in an apartment in New York with various roommates, so she approved the idea and gave a green light to film the pilot for The Real World. 2. Century City (a neighborhood in LA) exists because the 1963 film Cleopatra became one of the most expensive movie productions in Hollywood history. Bloomberg / Bloomberg via Getty Images, Silver Screen Collection / Getty Images The movie's budget exploded due to delays, rewrites, Elizabeth Taylor falling ill, high production costs, and having to relocate the entire film from London, England to Rome, Italy. Because of it, 20th Century Fox, which financed the film, nearly went bankrupt trying to complete it. To stay afloat, the studio was forced to sell off a large portion of its Los Angeles backlot - over 260 acres. That land was purchased by developers and eventually transformed into what is now Century City. The neighborhood's office towers, shopping centers, and condos literally sit on what used to be Fox's studio property. 3. Crocs were originally designed as boating shoes. Boston Globe / Boston Globe via Getty Images In 2002, the founders discovered a foam resin that was non-slip, water-resistant, and buoyant, making it ideal for use on boats. Their first model, the Crocs Beach, debuted at a boat show in 2002 and was marketed squarely to sailors and outdoor enthusiasts. The shoes sold out immediately. But the shoes' ventilation holes, easy-to-clean design, and comfort made them perfect for people who worked on their feet all day, like healthcare workers, who quickly adopted them. Eventually, that led them to go mainstream, appealing to people of all ages. 4. Walt Disney was so determined to cast Julie Andrews in Mary Poppins that he delayed production on the film to accommodate her pregnancy. Disney/ Courtesy Everett Collection Walt Disney flew to New York to watch Julie Andrews in a performance of Camelot, which she was starring in opposite Richard Burton. After watching her performance, Disney went backstage to meet Andrews and her then-husband, Tony Walton. He was so impressed that he told her about Mary Poppins and invited her and Walton to California to see the film's designs and music.
Initially, Andrews thought she wouldn't be able to take on the role because she was three months pregnant at the time, but rather than recast, Disney told her they would wait and chose to delay production so she could give birth and recover. He also hired Walton, then an unknown set designer, to work on the film. The gamble paid off: Andrews' performance became iconic (winning her the Oscar for Best Actress), earning Walton an Oscar nomination for Best Production Design, and helping turn Mary Poppins into one of Disney's biggest successes. 5. Zippers used in clothing were introduced only a little over 100 years ago. Schott's NYC was the first to do it, putting it on their jackets in 1925. Bloomberg / Bloomberg via Getty Images The modern zipper didn't come together until the 1910s, when improved metal teeth and a sliding mechanism made it practical. Even then, zippers were seen as novelty items and were more expensive than buttons. World War I helped change that, since mass production lowered costs and familiarized people with new fasteners. Irving Schott saw the potential of zippers and put one on a jacket in 1925; before then, zippers were mainly used on boots and tobacco pouches. A few years later, in 1928, he used an asymmetrical zipper on what became the classic Perfecto motorcycle jacket, creating a design that wasn't just stylistic but also helped block wind and made the jacket more practical for riders. Schott's move to use a zipper instead of buttons set the stage for zippers becoming normal on jackets and other clothing. 6. Jennifer Aniston HATED her iconic "The Rachel" haircut. N