Sherlock Holmes is one of the most popular fictional characters on the earth. We all agree that he is very cool. Sherlock Holmes is also the character which is portrayed the most times ever on screen, 226 times. (Actually, Dracula is the most portrayed character on screen, with around 239 portrayals, but I really do not care about Dracula anyway )
Sherlock has become cooler, solely due to the fact that it is portrayed by Robert Downey Jr. in the movies and Benedict Cumber batch in the TV series. Imagine, a Bollywood hero portraying Sherlock Holmes! (There was a rumour that Anil Kapoor was set to play the role of the Iconic Detective. We all hope that someone does end up playing him, just for the sheer entertainment value)
So, let us get down to reading some absolutely cool facts about the detective which we so love and adore:
1) Sherlock Holmes never says, “Elementary, my dear Watson!” in any of his books. This line was first published in a P.G Wodehouse book. Sherlock only says “Elementary” but never ” Elementary, my dear Watson!”
Creator of Sherlock Holmes Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
2) The very first film adaptation to feature Holmes, Sherlock Holmes Baffled, was made in 1900. This short film is just about 50 seconds long! (This movie is on You Tube, too. Just type “baffled Sherlock Holmes” and you will see the magic unfold in front of your eyes)
3) As shown in 2009 movie, Irene Adler is Sherlock Holmes’s love interest. This is just partly true. Irene Adler never saw Sherlock Holmes as he was (she only saw him in disguise and recognized him immediately). Irene Adler featured in one of Sherlock Holmes’s stories,” A Scandal in Bohemia”. So much for the romance !
4) Holmes has an elder brother, Mycroft Holmes, who is depicted as working for the British Government (Holmes, once remarks to Watson that at times, he is the British Government). Mycroft Holmes only appears once in the Original stories in the adventure of the Greek Interpreter. The TV series creators obviously were too much in love with the character, since Mycroft Holmes is a regular in the series. Again, not a point of surprise, since Mark Gatiss, the person who plays Mycroft is one of the creators of the TV series.
Robert Downey Jr. as Sherlock and Jude Law as Dr. Watson in Sherlock Holmes Movies
5) While we all agree that Watson’s name is John, in one of the stories, he is also referred to as James, therefore, creating a bit of mystery around the character. Interestingly, Watson’s original name was Ormond Sacker. In the early drafts for plot outlines, Doyle must have realized that Watson’s “common mans” status was better suited to “Watson” rather than the difficult sounding “Sacker” and thus he changed it.
6) The BBC show,” Sherlock” is actually banned in China. (No wonder, Google is also banned in China) But the ban on the show has not stopped it becoming a huge hit on the internet, in the country. Despite not appearing on the Chinese Central Television network or other major channels, 69 million viewers have still seen it on video websites. (A huge Number, isn’t it?)
Illustration of Holmes with Doctor Watson
7) There Are Quite a Few People Named ‘Sherlock Holmes’ in the World! We know that Sherlock Holmes fans are everywhere. But are there people crazy enough to name their kids Sherlock Holmes? You bet, they are! According to a website called as Whitepages.com, there are 34 people named Sherlock Holmes in the USA & according to Findmypast.co.uk, there are 9 people named Sherlock Holmes in the UK. (We do not know for sure if there are any Indians who named their kids Sherlock Holmes)
8) Sherlock Holmes is Googled 1 million times a month. Don’t believe it? Ask Google. It will tell you. (Don’t ask me for Sunny Leone though; it is not the correct comparison)
9) Sherlock Holmes’s residence is 221 B Baker street. When the Sherlock Holmes stories were first published, the rooms did not go high as 221. In 1932, a bank named as Abbey National Society occupied the rooms 219-229. For years, they employed a full time secretary to answer to letters from fans all over the world. In 1990, the Sherlock Holmes Museum, situated between 237-241 put up a blue plaque which said” 221 Baker Street” and there followed a dispute between the bank and the museum to the right to receive fan mail. The dispute was resolved in 2005, since the bank went bankrupt ! (So much for challenging the Museum)
Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock and Martin Freeman as Dr. Watson in Sherlock TV series
10) Ironically, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wanted to kill Holmes off, since he felt that too much of his energy was dedicated towards Sherlock Holmes. He also said that,” “If in one hundred years I am known only as the man who invented Sherlock Holmes, then I will have considered my life a failure.” Conan Doyle, tried to kill off Sherlock Holmes in “The Final Problem”. However, there was such a hue and cry among the public that Doyle had to revive Holmes Back !
I hope you enjoyed reading these cool facts. If you like these facts and want to know more, hit the like button– we will get some more of these facts for you till then, as Sherlock Holmes used to say, “ Au Revoir”