1. Sauron didn’t create all the rings, he just forged the One, but he provided the elves with the science necessary to forge the other 19. 16 of them were made under his supervision. The last 3, the elven rings, were made by the master craftsman of the elves, Celebrimbor, alone, and were never touched by Sauron.

2. Originally, the rings were made for only the elves, not for dwarves or men. Sauron took them little after his plan was discovered (all but the three) and gave them away. Seven to the dwarves and nine to the men.

3. Gandalf, Saruman, Sauron and the Balrog belong to a same kind of spirits, the Maiar, beings that were created before the universe itself.

4. Sauron did have physical form by the time of the events in The Lord of the Rings. He just never abandoned his fortress as he wanted to regain full power before showing himself.

5. Unlike in the movie, in the book the journey of Frodo doesn’t begin until 17 years had passed since the party. He was 50 years old by the time he left The Shire, the same age Bilbo had when we began his own journey.

6. Aragorn is 87 years old by the time of the War of the Ring. He is part of a bloodline that is gifted with long life, the Dúnedain. By the time of his death he was 210 years old.

7. In fact, Aragorn wanted to reclaim his right to the throne from the beginning. It was the only thing that could assure him the hand of Arwen.

8. Arwen is 2690 years older than Aragorn and they met when he was 20. By the War of the Ring she was 2777 years old and 2901 by the time of her death.

9. Gandalf is much more powerful than he shows. The only reason he doesn’t use more of his power is because his mission is to merely be a guide for the free people of Middle Earth in their battle against Souron.

10. A common misconception is to think that Mordor is very hot. In fact, Mordor is cold. It is even mentioned several times that Frodo and Sam were shivering in their way to Mount Doom.

11. The hobbits are actually a sub-group of men. They appeared in the First Age and lived by the river, passing unnoticed by other races until the Third Age, when they settled in The Shire with the permission of the King of Arthedain (a kindom of men in the north).

12. The lifespan of a hobbit is longer than that of regular men. The oldest known hobbit to ever live before Bilbo was the OldTook, who reached 130 years. Bilbo outlived the OldTook, by the time of his departure to the Undying Lands he was 131 years old.

13. Hobbits have an innate ability to throw stones with a very accurate aiming. You can see in the movies how this is depicted, as Merry and Pippin throw stones at the orcs in The Fellowship of the Ring and in The Two Towers, and Bilbo does in more than one occasion in The Hobbit trilogy.

14. Arwen is said to be as beautiful as the fairest maid to ever walk the world, Lúthien, and shares many similitudes with her. The biggest one is the fact that both were immortal maids that fell in love with a mortal man, choosing death in order to be with them.

15. Besides Arwen, Elrond has two twin sons, Elladan and Elrohir. They used to ride with the Rangers of the North and deeply hated the orcs, as their mother, Celebrian, was ambushed and tormented by them, damaging her so bad that she had to abandon Middle Earth forever.

16. No part of the books ever mentions Legolas’s hair color. It could be assumed that he is likely to be blonde due to his farther’s golden hair, but chances are that he could be dark haired, as some illustrations depict him.

17. The reason for Boromir’s presence in Rivendell is that his brother, Faramir, had a recurrent dream that little after Boromir dreamt too, so he was seeking the advice of Elrond. In the dream a voice said some kind of prophecy, which basically meant that they should look for Aragorn in Rivendell, the One Ring was about to waken and the war for Middle Earth was about to begin.

18. Gollum’s story has some pretty dark and grim parts. It was said among the Woodmen that there was a blood-drinking ghost that “crept into the holes to find the yound” and “slipped through windows to find cardles” suggesting that Gollum ate human children and babies when he could find them.

19. When the Fellowship is about to leave Lothlórien, Galadriel orders Gimli to ask for a gift (this can be seen in the extended edition of the movie). He asks for a single strand of Galadriel’s hair, she then proceeds to cut three of them and gives them to Gimli. That brings a deep and significant meaning to this gift, is the fact that she was asked for the same thrice by the most badass of all the elves that ever lived, Fëanor, but she always refused.

20. Many think that all the good guys in The Lord of the Rings are white-skinned and beautiful and all the bad guys are black/dark-skinned and ugly. That’s not true. There was a tribe of men called the Drúedain that lived in a forest within the borders of Gondor. These men were short, dark skinned and, in the eyes of elves and other men, ugly. Yet they were never corrupted by evil, hated the orcs and his actions were key in the outcome of the Battle of the Pelennor, as they aided the Rohirrim to arrive on time through the woods.

21. The three elven Rings of Power are named Vilya, Nenya and Narya. All of them gave the bearer the power to “ward off the decays of time and postpone the weariness of the world”. Vilya, the Ring of Air, is kept by Elrond and has a sapphire encrusted. It originally belonged to Gil-galad, the last king of the High Elves, and passed to Elrond when Gil-galad died. Nenya, the Ring of Water, is kept by Galadriel and has an adamant encrusted. Originally belonged to Celebrimbor, the maker of the three, but later he gave it to Galadriel. Narya, the Ring of Fire, is kept by Gandalf and has a ruby encrusted. It belonged first to Gil-galad, then he gave it to Cirdan, the Shipwright, and he gave it to Gandalf to serve as an aid in his mission when he arrived to Middle Earth.

22. The Nazgûl cannot see the world of the living in broad daylight, they depend on their mounts (horses and fell beasts) to do so for them. Nonetheless, they can smell the blood of the living creatures and perceive the presence of their prey, as it casts a shadow upon their minds. In the darkness they can sense signs and forms that the living ones can’t, that’s the reason why they are more fearsome and dangerous at night.

23. Gollum was captured by Aragorn about a year before the Council of Elrond. He brought Gollum to Thranduil, who imprisoned him in his dungeons. Legolas’s task in the Council was to tell the news of Gollum’s escape, which took place after a group of orcs attacked the guards that were watching over him one day in Mirkwood (they let him climb trees under supervision from time to time).

24. Dwarves are very though race. Sauron never could submit them through the rings like he did with men. The only effect the rings had upon them was to increase their greed and make them lust gold and precious jewels to an even greater extent, which ultimately brought ruin upon them.

25. Saruman’s initial plan was to join Sauron and convince Gandalf to do the same, and when the time was right, turn against Sauron and take control. When Gandalf refused, he then changed his plans and decided to deceive Sauron into thinking he was his ally while he looked for the One Ring in order to gain power to supplant him. But Sauron ended up manipulating him and turning him into a puppet for his own purposes.

26. Gandalf is carried by Gwaihir, the Lord of the Eagles, thrice in the novel. The first time is when he was trapped in the top of Orthanc, the towers of Saruman, The second one is when he “resurrects” after his fight with the Balrog in the top of a mountain. The last one is when he’s at the battle of the Black Gate and then he’s picked up to head towards Mount Doom in search of Frodo and Sam.

27. The Argonath, the two statues the Fellowship pass when they travel by the river, represent Isildur and his brother Anárion and both of them hold an axe in the right hand. In the movie, though, Anárion is replaced with Elendil and the statue is holding Narsil (Elendil’s sword) instead of an axe.

28. Gandalf and the Witch King were about to fight right after the enemy broke the door of Minas Tirith. The only thing that prevented them from doing so was the arriving of the Rohirrim. As soon as he heard their horns, Witch King left in order to lead the charge against them. Unlike in the movie, the Witch King never attacks Gandalf and it’s almost certain that he would not be powerful enough to defeat him.

29. Sauron benefited from Shelob living at the entrance of Mordor, for she would eat the intruders, preventing them from entering the country from that side. He called her “his cat” (although she never acknowledged him as her master), and from time to time he would sent prisoners to the tunnel just for them to be eaten by her. He also didn’t care if she ate some of his orcs now and then, as he had plenty of them to spare.

30. The eagles were never a choice to bring the One Ring to Mordor since the mission relied in stealth and secrecy. Even if it was just one, a big eagle entering Mordor would have been spotted right away abd brought down, spoiling the mission and delivering Sauron the Ring at his very doorsteps.

31. In Edoras, Gimli says to Éomer that if he ever sees Galadriel and doesn’t acknowledge her as the fairest of ladies, their friendship will end. When the war is over and Aragorn marries Arwen, they finally got to solve their conflict. Éomer then says he cannot acknowledge Galadriel as the fairest lady, as Arwen is even more beautiful in his eyes. Gimli accepts his answer and they remain friends.