Strange Smurf Trivia That Left Me Shooketh!
The strange Smurf trivia I discovered left me kind of “shooketh” as Iike to say on my TikToks.
Now, if you don’t quite understand the concept of Shooketh, I encourage you to pay attention to the first part of the TikTok video below where I attempted to explain it in my best Caucasianese.
The Strange Smurf Trivia That Made Me Say…
Yeah, this strange Smurf trivia made me harken back to my young Gen X days and say, “What You Talking ‘Bout Willis”?!
I mean we all know the Smurfs to be blue, right? Well, apparently there was a Black Smurf. Here’s the strange Smurf Trivia tea.
A Black Smurf?
This bit of strange Smurf trivia goes back to the early days of the Smurfs. And, no, I don’t mean the 1980s when the Smurfs first popped up on Saturday morning cartoons. I mean way, back. Back to the Smurf origin story.
The Smurfs were first introduced in 1958 in a Belgian comic book series by a famous artist known as Peyo. His given name was Pierre Culliford. They were originally known as Schtroumpfs. Translated to English, they became Smurfs.
The Black Smurf Plotline
The image you see below is from the original cartoon strip, translated into English.
The basic plotline of The Black Smurf is a Smurf gets bitten by an insect. The bite causes the Smurf to become infected with something that makes him turn into a Zombie like creature.
Once this happens he no longer acts like a Smurf. In fact, he begins to infect other Smurfs. Collectively they become a group of black Smurfs. They lose all of their vocabulary and are reduced to one word, Gnap. Then, like true zombies, they try to infect other Smurfs.
One might argue, it was kind of like a Walking Dead version of the Smurfs.
From Black Smurf To Purple Smurf
By the time this version of the Smurfs came to Saturday Morning Cartoons in the United States, the zombie Smurf was purple. The change in color was a deliberate decision to avoid inflaming racial tensions. And most Americans were none the wiser.
Strange Smurf Trivia – The Hats
There’s no shortage of theories about the hats the Smurfs wear. Believe it or not, they’re not actually called Smurf hats. They’re called a Phrygian cap. They go way back. Phrygian caps are soft conical hats with the top curled forward. They originated in Ancient Greece in an area called Phrygia. This is now part of modern Turkey.
The red hat Papa Smurf wears also carries a bit of controversy. One theory is it shows Papa Smurf as a bit of a rebel. The reason is because of the history of red versions of the Phrygian caps.
The phrygian cap, also called the bonnet rouge in France, began to be associated with the French Revolution in 1789. By 1792 it had been adopted by the government as an official symbol of the revolutionary state. It had been resurrected at various moments of tension in French political history all the way into the twentieth century.
And then there are more nefarious theories about the Smurf Hats.
Strange Smurf Trivia – The Smurfs and The Klu Klux Klan?
There are some who believe The Smurfs are tied to the Klu Klux Klan. There are some theories that the Klu Klux Klan (KKK) is the reason the Smurfs wear white hats and Papa Smurf wears a red hat.
Why? Well, because of the pointy Phrygian cap hats, they wear among some other things. In case you don’t know, regular members of the KKK wear white hats and the Grand Wizard wears a red hat.
There are some who go down into a rabbit hole with that one. I don’t know. What do you think?
There Are More Named Smurfs?!
I guess I shouldn’t be but I was kind of surprised to find out this bit of strange Smurf trivia but I was.
Did you know there were more named Smurfs than the ones made it to the US in the Smurf cartoons. I mean logically it makes sense. You see a lot of Smurfs and surely they have names too. Check out below to see some of the other named Smurfs.
Yep, there was Alchemist Smurf and Timid Smurf.
Enamored Smurf is the name of the lovesick Smurf who didn’t make it to the US . And then there was Finance Smurf. I was surprised they didn’t have an HR Smurf. But wait, there’s more!
While Handy Smurf made it into the American version of the Smurf, Lumberjack Smurf did not. Nor did Pastry Chef Smurf.
Strange Smurf Trivia – Smurfberries Are Real?
Well, technically, Smurfberries aren’t real but they’re modeled after a real berry. They’re modeled after the Red Sarsaparilla Berry shown below.
Speaking of Smurfberries, remember the Smurf cereal, Smurfberry Crunch? Let’s talk about the little scandal with that next.
You’ll Never Guess Why Smurfberry Crunch Was Discontinued
Surprisingly, this strange Smurf trivia is also gross. The story is, the blue dye made your poop the color of the Smurfs themselves. This caused Post to pull Smurf Berry Crunch and later replace it with the cereal shown below.
in light of the declining popularity of the Smurfs by the time Smurf Magic Berries; the new cereal didn’t last long.
So, there you have it! Shocking Smurf Trivia you need to know! Are you shocked by any of this strange Smurf trivia? Drop me some comments and let me know what you think .
Until next time,
Namaste,
Khadeeja
