153 Fun Facts About How I Met Your Mother

In the pilot of How I Met Your Mother, what hits Lily in the eye just after Marshall proposes?

A champagne cork flies into Lily's eye when Marshall opens the bottle to celebrate their engagement, leaving her in an eyepatch.

On How I Met Your Mother, what does Ted insist his friends hold after learning they scrapped one over his engagement?

An intervention was the gang's answer to everything, from Lily's fake British accent to Robin's spray-tan habit, until they held an intervention about holding too many interventions.

On How I Met Your Mother, which blue instrument does Ted steal from a restaurant for Robin on their first date?

Ted's blue French horn bookends the show: stolen from a restaurant in the pilot, it is back in his hands outside Robin's window in the series' final scene.

Which country is Robin Scherbatsky originally from?

Robin moved south for a news job, and her past as a teenage pop star becomes a running joke for the gang.

What was Lily Aldrin's day job for most of How I Met Your Mother?

Lily Aldrin was a kindergarten teacher who painted on the side until season eight, when she became art consultant to a millionaire known as The Captain.

Which band performs 'Hey Beautiful', the theme of How I Met Your Mother, the sitcom created by Carter Bays and Craig Thomas?

The Solids count the show's creators, Carter Bays and Craig Thomas, among their members, so the 'Hey Beautiful' theme was written in-house.

On How I Met Your Mother, which Canadian kids' show had a teenage Robin and Jessica Glitter solving mysteries with math?

Space Teens sent a teenage Robin and Jessica Glitter through space in a curling-stone-shaped ship; when the gang finally watch a tape, they find the script riddled with accidental innuendo.

What is the first name of Barney Stinson's mother?

Loretta Stinson, played by Frances Conroy, raised Barney and James and papered over Barney's lonely childhood with kind lies, which the gang uncover while clearing out her house.

On How I Met Your Mother, which food sends Marshall on a years-long hunt for a restaurant he can't find again?

A burger Marshall ate when he first moved to New York was so good that he spends years trying to find the place again; Regis Philbin, a fellow fan of it, joins the hunt.

Which actor was the uncredited voice of the older Ted who narrates How I Met Your Mother?

Bob Saget voiced Future Ted without a credit for nine seasons; when the older Ted finally appears on camera in the finale, the show's own lead plays him instead.

Which actor plays Ted Mosby on screen in How I Met Your Mother?

Josh Radnor was a little-known actor when he landed Ted, a character that co-creator Carter Bays modelled loosely on himself.

Who plays the suit-loving Barney Stinson?

Neil Patrick Harris played Barney Stinson, earning four consecutive Emmy nominations for the role from 2007 to 2010 and hosting the 2009 Emmy ceremony himself.

On How I Met Your Mother, which song is permanently stuck in the tape deck of Marshall's car?

I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) by The Proclaimers is all the stereo will play, because a cassette single of it jammed in the deck; Ted and Marshall loop it on every college road trip.

How many episodes aired in total over the run of the series?

Nine seasons in the same bar booth: it outlasted most sitcoms of its era by a wide margin.

What is the title of the one-hour series finale of How I Met Your Mother, aired on March 31, 2014?

'Last Forever' turns on the kids' reaction to the whole story, a scene shot back in 2006 during the second season so the young actors would not visibly age.

Where was the alternative ending to How I Met Your Mother released?

A DVD box set of the final season carried the alternative ending, in which Future Ted's voiceover closes the story on his first meeting with the Mother rather than years later.

In How I Met Your Mother's 2030 frame story, Ted's son is named after which Star Wars hero?

Luke Skywalker gave Ted's son his name, a nod to Ted's love of the original trilogy; viewers only learned the names of Luke and his sister Penny in the final season.

On How I Met Your Mother, Ted grew up in which Ohio suburb?

Co-creator Carter Bays is himself from Shaker Heights, one of many autobiographical touches in the show.

Marshall Eriksen was born and raised in which Minnesota city?

St. Cloud is home to the towering Eriksens, among whom 6-foot-4 Marshall is the runt; their Thanksgiving game is 'bask-ice-ball', a no-rules brawl of basketball and ice hockey.

Robin Scherbatsky was born in which Canadian city?

Fittingly, she is a Vancouver Canucks fan, and actress Cobie Smulders is a Vancouver native too.

In the first-season finale of How I Met Your Mother, what does Ted learn in a last bid to win Robin?

A rain dance is Ted's last resort: with Robin about to leave on a work camping trip, he learns one from a woman with a doctorate in Native American studies, and the storm duly arrives.

What was Robin's teen-pop stage name, "Robin ___"?

Robin Sparkles was the secret Robin kept from her friends until Barney unearthed her old music video, sure it would be something far more scandalous.

On How I Met Your Mother, which song first made a teenage Robin a minor pop star back home?

'Let's Go to the Mall' was a minor hit that a teenage Robin sang on an endless tour of shopping centres, which is why she can no longer bear to set foot in one.

What stage surname did Robin adopt for her angry grunge phase, 'Robin ___'?

As Robin Daggers she screamed the grunge anthem 'P.S. I Love You'; the persona surfaces in season eight's 'P.S. I Love You' through a mock rock documentary of Canadian celebrities.

What is the middle name of Marshall and Lily's son Marvin?

Waitforit was Barney's price for getting Marshall back to New York in time for the birth, so the boy is Marvin Waitforit Eriksen.

Barney's job title 'P.L.E.A.S.E.' finally turns out to stand for what?

P.L.E.A.S.E. means Provide Legal Exculpation and Sign Everything: Barney was the fall guy for his company's misdeeds while secretly feeding the FBI evidence, revenge on the man who stole his first girlfriend.

Which actor plays James, Barney's half-brother?

Wayne Brady plays James, whose plan to marry Tom and adopt a baby appals Barney until he realises it will make him an uncle.

Robin's teenage sister Katie is played by which actress?

Lucy Hale played Katie in 2007's 'First Time in New York', where the teenager's plans with her boyfriend set the gang swapping stories of their own first times; Pretty Little Liars later made Hale a star.

On How I Met Your Mother, which set of rules does Barney cite to govern how male friends treat each other?

The Bro Code, which Barney quotes whenever it suits him, jumped off the screen when the show's writers published it as a real book credited to Barney Stinson.

Which girlfriend left Ted at the altar on How I Met Your Mother to go back to her ex, Tony?

Stella Zinman, the dermatologist played by Sarah Chalke, left Ted at the altar for her ex Tony, who later turned it into the movie The Wedding Bride.

What instrument does the Mother play in her band?

Tracy plays bass in her band, Superfreakonomics, which was booked for Barney and Robin's wedding reception, bringing her to Farhampton.

Ted finally meets Tracy at a train station as he is about to move to which city?

Chicago never happens: Ted meets Tracy under her yellow umbrella on the Farhampton platform, and the next night he walks back into the bar to tell Marshall and Lily about her.

What subject were the students expecting when Ted accidentally lectured in the wrong classroom?

The room was waiting for Economics 305; Ted rambled about architecture before realising he was in the wrong lecture hall, where the future Mother was sitting.

What make and model was Marshall's beloved first car, a gift from his brothers?

Marshall's Pontiac Fiero, handed down from his brothers, gets an episode-length send-off in 'Arrivederci, Fiero' when its odometer nears 200,000 miles and it dies.

What do Marshall and Lily name their second child, a daughter?

Daisy is named for the flower: in the final-season episode 'Daisy', Ted finds Lily's positive pregnancy test hidden in a daisy's vase, which explains why she had quietly been ordering non-alcoholic drinks.

In season 1, Lily breaks up with Marshall to take a painting fellowship in which city?

San Francisco lasted one summer: Lily came back to New York, but a wounded Marshall kept his distance for months before the pair got back together and married.

What did Ted find on his nightstand after a drunken blackout in a season 1 mystery episode?

A pineapple it stayed, unexplained on air; a deleted final-season scene reveals Ted had swiped it from The Captain's porch, where it sat as a sign of hospitality.

Which actress stars in the 2022 spin-off How I Met Your Father?

Hilary Duff stars as Sophie in How I Met Your Father, the 2022 spin-off narrated by her older self in 2050; it was cancelled after two seasons.

In the How I Met Your Mother finale, Marshall is running for a seat on which body?

The New York State Supreme Court is the seat Marshall says he is running for in 2020, two years after he finally becomes a judge; the gang upgrade his nickname from Judge Fudge to Fudge Supreme.

On How I Met Your Mother, what wears down Barney and Robin's marriage until they divorce after three years?

Constant work travel as Robin's news career goes global leaves the couple with no life together, and after the divorce she drifts away from the rest of the group as well.

Lily's father Mickey, played by Chris Elliott, is an unsuccessful inventor of what?

Board games consumed Mickey: chasing his company, Aldrin Games, made him an absent and unreliable father, and he and Lily were not close for years.

What is Ted Mosby's middle name?

Evelyn is first heard in 'How Lily Stole Christmas', the episode in which Lily strips the apartment of its Christmas decorations after an old phone message reveals that Ted had called her a very bad word.

At which university does Ted teach architecture?

Columbia changes everything for Ted: teaching there leads him to date Cindy, a graduate student whose roommate turns out to be the Mother.

Which fake name does Barney give a one-night stand, prompting a revenge website?

Barney picked up women as 'Ted Mosby, Architect', and one jilted conquest set up tedmosbyisajerk.com, a site that existed in real life as a tie-in.

What was Ted's radio persona at Wesleyan called?

Doctor X was Ted's supposedly controversial DJ persona on the Wesleyan station WESU; years later he still lists it on his résumé, until in 'The Possimpible' he finally deletes it.

Which ex-girlfriend leaves a man at the altar for Ted when they reunite six years later?

Victoria, Ted's girlfriend from season one, runs out on her wedding to Klaus for him six years later, and a guilty Ted insists she go back to leave the groom a note.

Which game show host does Barney believe is his father?

Barney believed Bob Barker was his father because his mother pointed at The Price Is Right when he asked; in 'Showdown' he competes on the show to meet him.

On How I Met Your Mother, which catchphrase does Barney declare when told something can't be done?

Challenge accepted is how Barney greets anything he is told can't be done: when Ted lists the things he is too old for, Barney vows to do them all within 24 hours, then concedes with a sore back and an infected ear.

Which type of magic trick is Barney's favourite?

Tricks involving fire are Barney's speciality, used mostly to impress women, and they alarm his friends enough that they sit him down and demand he stop.

To which girlfriend does Barney propose late in season 7?

Quinn gets her proposal at airport security, where Barney, held over a mystery box he refuses to explain, finally performs the trick inside it: the box holds an engagement ring.

What is the name of Barney's daughter?

Ellie, born in 2020 to the woman Barney calls 'Number 31', is his daughter; he dreaded fatherhood until the moment he first held her.

What kind of character did the creators originally envision Barney as?

The creators wrote Barney as a large, John Belushi-type lug; casting director Megan Branman invited Neil Patrick Harris to audition anyway, and he won the part.

Which famous actress turned down the role of Robin?

Jennifer Love Hewitt was offered Robin but chose Ghost Whisperer instead, a story the creators told in February 2014; Cobie Smulders then won the part.

What masculine middle name and suffix does Robin carry, thanks to her father?

Robin is Robin Charles Scherbatsky, Jr.: her father wanted a son and raised her as one, which is why she carries his name and suffix.

Which two vices, along with guns, is Robin fond of?

Robin loves Scotch and cigars, along with guns: raised as the son her father wanted, she drinks Scotch at MacLaren's, smokes cigars, and hits the shooting range when stressed.

What kind of reporting was Robin doing when she first met Ted?

Fluff stories at the end of segments were Robin's lot at Metro News 1 when Ted met her; over the series she works her way up to lead anchor.

On How I Met Your Mother, Ted and Robin are shocked to find Barney doing what one Thanksgiving?

Volunteering at a soup kitchen turns out to be a Barney habit: the staff rate him among their best helpers, and he has to vouch for Ted and Robin before they are allowed to pitch in.

Which song did a teenage Robin and Jessica Glitter sing on their kids' TV show?

'Two Beavers Are Better Than One' was the friendship duet on Robin's old kids' show, so heavy with accidental innuendo that the gang cannot keep a straight face when they watch it.

Co-creator Craig Thomas based Marshall and Lily on whom?

Craig Thomas based Marshall and Lily on himself and his wife Rebecca; she warmed to the idea only once Buffy's Alyson Hannigan was cast as Lily.

On How I Met Your Mother, where did Ted first meet his future wingman Barney?

In a bar bathroom, Barney latched on to Ted with a made-up story, and later that night he announced he would teach him how to live, starting with buying a suit.

What are Marshall and his wife's pet names for each other?

Marsh-mallow and Lily-pad survive nine years of dating, an engagement and even the summer Lily walks out to study art, after which the pair reunite and marry.

Which two mythical creatures does Marshall firmly believe are real?

Sasquatch and the Loch Ness Monster are both real to Marshall, so real that he and Lily honeymoon in Scotland so that he can go looking for Nessie.

Which environmental group offered Marshall his dream job, only for him to join a corporate law firm instead?

The Natural Resources Defense Council offered Marshall his dream job in season three, but a smooth recruiter won him over to a corporate firm by promising his only client would be an amusement park.

Why is Lily the only original main character not in every episode?

Alyson Hannigan took maternity leave late in season four, so the writers had Lily storm off after Barney told her the dirtiest joke Ted had ever heard; the gang did not see her for four weeks.

What is the hiding place for Lily's many secret credit cards called?

The box of shame is Future Ted's name for the stash of cards Lily hides from Marshall; he learns of her debt only at their mortgage application, and buys the apartment with her anyway.

In Ted's college flashbacks, 'eating a sandwich' is a euphemism for what?

Smoking marijuana is what 'eating a sandwich' stands for: Future Ted swaps in the sandwich whenever he tells a college story, so his kids never hear about the real habit.

On How I Met Your Mother, on which holiday are Ted and his future wife in the same club without meeting?

St. Patrick's Day put Ted and the Mother in the same club without meeting; he went back the next day for his phone, left with her yellow umbrella, and later left it in her apartment by accident.

What last gift did The Mother's late boyfriend Max leave her?

A ukulele was Max's last gift, opened after his funeral; years later she plays 'La Vie en Rose' on it on her hotel balcony while Ted, in the next room, listens unseen.

What does the finale reveal happened to the Mother six years before Ted tells the story?

She died of an illness, the finale reveals, which is why the kids decide the story was really about Aunt Robin and urge Ted to ask her out.

Which film marked Josh Radnor's debut as a writer and director?

Happythankyoumoreplease began as a script Radnor wrote to give himself a good film role; he never meant to direct it, yet it won the Audience Award at Sundance in 2010.

On How I Met Your Mother, which footwear does Ted insist he can pull off, however much his friends mock it?

Red cowboy boots are Ted's blind spot: he bought them while he was dating Robin, and only because another woman told him he would look good in them.

Which series earned a teenage Neil Patrick Harris a Golden Globe nomination for its title role?

Doogie Howser, M.D. made Harris a teen star as a boy-genius doctor, and How I Met Your Mother winked at it years later: one episode ends with a diary entry typed to the old theme tune.

Neil Patrick Harris won a 2014 Tony for which Broadway musical?

Hedwig and the Angry Inch began Broadway previews two days before the sitcom's finale aired, so Harris went almost straight from one long-running role to playing an East German rock singer.

Which Marvel character has Cobie Smulders played since The Avengers (2012)?

Maria Hill, Nick Fury's deputy at S.H.I.E.L.D., has been Smulders's Marvel role since 2012; to prepare she hired a trainer who had taught SWAT teams and learned to load, shoot and roll with weapons.

Which ABC crime drama starred Cobie Smulders from 2019 to 2020?

Stumptown ran on ABC from 2019 to 2020 with Cobie Smulders as Portland private investigator Dex Parios; its planned second season was cancelled during the pandemic.

Jason Segel earned an Independent Spirit nomination for playing which writer?

David Foster Wallace is the novelist Segel plays in The End of the Tour (2015), which replays the five days a Rolling Stone reporter spent on the road with him for a profile.

Which two Judd Apatow series launched Jason Segel's career?

Freaks and Geeks and Undeclared, both from producer Judd Apatow, launched Jason Segel's career even though each was cancelled after a single season.

Which CW competition show did Alyson Hannigan host for seven seasons?

Penn & Teller: Fool Us had Hannigan as host from its third season to its ninth; any magician whose trick the duo cannot work out wins a trip to open their Las Vegas show.

Which co-star of My Stepmother Is an Alien later played Alyson Hannigan's on-screen boyfriend on Buffy?

Seth Green, her co-star in 1988's My Stepmother Is an Alien, later played Willow's boyfriend Oz on Buffy, and in 2012 he joined her sitcom for a night as a college friend obsessed with Lily and Marshall.

Cristin Milioti won a Grammy for which Broadway musical?

Once earned Cristin Milioti a shared Grammy for its cast album; the show has no pit band, so she and the other actors played all the music on stage themselves.

For which HBO role did Cristin Milioti win a Primetime Emmy?

Sofia Falcone in The Penguin won Cristin Milioti the Emmy, and she read her thanks off the back of notes she had taken in therapy days earlier, telling the room not to look at the other side.

On How I Met Your Mother, which landmark do Barney and Ted lick at the end of a wild night?

The Liberty Bell is where a first-season trip to the airport ends up: Barney drags Ted onto a flight to Philadelphia, and a guard they meet lets them in. Ted reports that it tastes like pennies.

Which late-night host's show employed Craig Thomas and Carter Bays as writers before How I Met Your Mother?

David Letterman's Late Show had Thomas and Bays on its writing staff; when they made their own sitcom they wrote it more like a drama, with dozens of quick scenes an episode.

Which director was behind the camera for all but a dozen episodes of How I Met Your Mother?

Pamela Fryman directed nearly every episode, and her answer to scripts with dozens of scenes shaped the show: it was filmed without a studio audience.

On How I Met Your Mother, what does Lily find her long-neglected apartment has been turned into?

A Chinese restaurant now fills the apartment Lily had not visited in three months: her landlady had died, though her dresser is still inside, so she moves in with Marshall and Ted.

In 'Slap Bet', which penalty does Barney pick for slapping Marshall without proof?

Five slaps at any time, forever, is Barney's pick over ten in a row; Ted calls it a horrible call, because Marshall can now strike without warning for years, and does.

In 'Slap Bet', why does Marshall wrongly think Robin avoids malls?

She got married in one is Marshall's theory; Robin plays along and invents a husband, until Marshall finds no marriage record and Barney is awarded three slaps for the premature one.

In the finale of How I Met Your Mother, what do Ted and Barney call their one last high five?

The high infinity is Ted's answer when Barney frets over who he will high-five after Ted leaves town; about 13 million Americans watched it, the biggest audience the show ever had.

What is the real name of the Slutty Pumpkin, Ted's long-lost Halloween crush?

Naomi, played by Katie Holmes, is the Slutty Pumpkin; when Ted finally finds her ten years after the party they have no chemistry at all, and each keeps pretending so the long wait is not wasted.

On How I Met Your Mother, which of Barney's dating ideas lets you end a date within its first five minutes?

The Lemon Law borrows its name from the rule for returning faulty cars, and Barney is desperate for it to catch on; he gets his wish when a date uses it on him, and he could not be happier.

In season five, what is Barney wearing in the bar when Lily warns a woman about his pickup schemes?

A full scuba suit is the bait: Lily's warning and Barney's tearful confession about his breakup are both part of the con, which ends with the friends themselves urging the woman to go out with him.

Which life-size Star Wars figure stands in Barney's apartment?

A Stormtrooper stands in Barney's living room among his pricey memorabilia; it even looms behind the couch when Robin pictures herself telling a story to future kids.

In How I Met Your Mother's pilot, what does Ted blurt out to Robin on their first date?

'I love you' on a first date stuns Robin: Ted's actual words are 'I think I'm in love with you', a blunder his friends keep bringing up in later episodes.

In 'Symphony of Illumination', what news about herself does Robin hide from her friends?

She cannot have children, her doctor says soon after ruling out a pregnancy; she blames her gloom on pole vaulting instead, and Ted, without knowing the truth, cheers her with a Christmas light show.

In the episode title 'Dowisetrepla', the apartment's neighbourhood name is short for what?

'Dowisetrepla' is the broker's coinage for 'downwind of the sewage treatment plant': Marshall and Lily only smell the problem after buying the apartment in the 2007 episode.

In 'Bad News', what are Marshall and Lily struggling to do?

In 'Bad News' Marshall and Lily are struggling to conceive a child, consulting a fertility doctor who looks exactly like Barney, before the countdown ends with news of Marshall's father's death.

Which musical number from the 100th episode earned an Emmy nomination?

Nothing Suits Me Like a Suit is Barney's answer when a bartender who dislikes men in suits makes him choose: he sings his love of suits in a full song-and-dance fantasy, then picks her anyway.

Which actress plays Cindy, the Mother's roommate, in 'Girls Versus Suits'?

Rachel Bilson played Cindy, whose dates keep falling for her roommate; Ted is no exception, and it is Cindy who later suggests that roommate's band for Barney and Robin's wedding.

Who plays the older Sophie, the narrator of How I Met Your Father?

Kim Cattrall plays the older Sophie, telling her son in 2050 how she met his father; unlike the original's narrator, who was only ever a voice, she appears on screen.

Which streaming service carried How I Met Your Father?

Hulu got How I Met Your Father years after CBS, the original show's home, passed on an earlier spin-off, How I Met Your Dad, whose creators refused to reshoot its pilot.

Which star nearly quit before the final season of How I Met Your Mother, agreeing to return only at the last minute?

Jason Segel, busy with a film career, was the lone holdout and had decided to leave; he was talked round on the very day the cast deals closed, and the show got its last season.

Over what span of time does almost all of How I Met Your Mother's final season take place?

A single weekend, the run-up to Barney and Robin's wedding, fills almost all of the final season, and by the end of it the Mother has met each of Ted's four friends before she meets Ted.

How many episodes were in the first season?

It ran from September 19, 2005 to May 15, 2006.

What is the name of the Canadian bar in Manhattan where Robin feels at home?

The Hoser Hut is where Marshall takes a homesick Robin after exposing her at his Minnesota bar, the Walleye Saloon, where she had passed herself off as a local.

The only season nominated for the Outstanding Comedy Series Emmy premiered in which year?

Season four, which premiered on September 22, 2008, is the show's only season nominated for the Outstanding Comedy Series Emmy, at the 2009 ceremony.

In 'Slapsgiving', what do Ted and Robin both do whenever someone says a phrase like 'major buzzkill'?

Salute: the pair greet any phrase that opens with a military rank, a private joke from their dating days, and doing it by reflex after the breakup shows them they can still be friends.

Which Lost actor plays 'The Blitz', a man cursed to miss notable events, in 'Blitzgiving'?

Jorge Garcia, Hurley on Lost, plays Steve 'The Blitz' Henry, cursed to leave just before something amazing happens; Ted inherits the curse when he goes to bed early.

Which marching band takes over the bar in 'Three Days of Snow'?

The Arizona Tech Fighting Hens pack the bar after Ted and Barney talk Carl into leaving them in charge; the band repays the favour by serenading Lily at the airport for Marshall.

Which celebrity sighting triggers the race in 'Subway Wars'?

A reported Woody Allen sighting at a downtown restaurant sets off the race in 'Subway Wars', while Maury Povich keeps turning up wherever the gang goes.

In How I Met Your Mother's season 8 finale, Marshall and Lily pack to move to which country for Lily's art job?

Italy, and Rome in particular, is where the Captain's art job would take Lily for a year; on the eve of the move Marshall gets a dream offer of his own and keeps it from her.

Which actor plays Vinick, the old professor Ted invites to his skyscraper's opening to prove him wrong?

Peter Gallagher plays Professor Vinick, who told the student Ted he would never be an architect; shown a drawing of the tower, Vinick still calls it hideous, and Ted decides to stop chasing his approval.

What game does the gang take deadly seriously in 'The Final Page'?

Barney once broke a jinx and was promptly hit by a bus.

What forfeit does Barney face if he loses his teppanyaki bet?

Wear the ducky tie for a year is the forfeit, and Barney loses when Lily flashes him at the last trick; he later escapes the tie only by granting Marshall three extra slaps.

In the pilot of How I Met Your Mother, which country does the cab driver Ranjit say he is from?

Bangladesh is Ranjit's answer in the pilot, yet when he breaks into another language it is Persian, the mother tongue of actor Marshall Manesh, who was born in Iran.

Why does Barney draw up a 64-woman tournament chart in 'The Bracket'?

To find who is sabotaging him: a mystery woman keeps warning off his dates, so Barney seeds 64 exes like a college basketball tournament, and his final four all turn out to be innocent.

Which actor plays Robin's ex Simon in 'Sandcastles in the Sand'?

James Van Der Beek plays Simon, who dumped a teenage Robin just after she loaded his band's gear into the van; reunited years later, he dumps her again, at the same van, for the same girl.

Robin comes back from a holiday in which country with a new boyfriend, the windsurfing masseur Gael?

Argentina is where Robin went to get over Ted; she came home with Gael, played by Enrique Iglesias, and a stung Ted set out to prove he had moved on too.

Which philandering anchor did Alyson Hannigan's husband Alexis Denisof play?

Sandy Rivers, played by Hannigan's husband Alexis Denisof, is the anchor who pesters Robin for years; a final-season flash-forward has his office conduct catch up with him and sends him to Russian television.

The actor who plays Barney's brother James began hosting which game show in 2009?

Let's Make a Deal came back in October 2009 with him as host, revived to fill the daytime hour left empty when the long-running soap Guiding Light was cancelled.

Which pop star played Abby, Stella's receptionist?

Britney Spears played Abby, the receptionist smitten with Ted while he chases her boss; she came back later that season and teamed up with Barney in a scheme to get even with Ted.

Ted meets dermatologist Stella while getting what removed?

A butterfly tattoo on his lower back was Ted's impulsive souvenir of trying to outdo Robin's new boyfriend; the ten laser sessions to remove it gave him ten chances to ask Stella out.

How many Emmy nominations did the show receive overall?

Neil Patrick Harris also earned Golden Globe nominations.

Which company, taken over by Barney's firm, ends up employing Barney, Marshall and Ted?

Goliath National Bank is swallowed by Barney's company in a hostile takeover; he then lands Marshall a job in its legal department, and the bank later hires Ted to design its new headquarters.

Which object of the Mother's does Ted Mosby unknowingly take home after a St. Patrick's Day party?

A yellow umbrella passes between them for years: Ted later forgets it at her flat while dating her roommate, so she has it back by the time they meet.

Which Breaking Bad star played Ted Mosby's condescending boss, Hammond Druthers, in season 2?

Bryan Cranston played Druthers in 2006, shortly before Breaking Bad began. The character ends up demoted and forced to work under Ted.

Bill Fagerbakke, who plays Marshall Eriksen's father, voices which SpongeBob SquarePants character?

Patrick Star and Marvin Eriksen share a voice: Fagerbakke, who also played Dauber on Coach, appeared as Marshall's dad in 12 episodes.

Which Dawson's Creek star played the Slutty Pumpkin, Ted Mosby's long-lost Halloween crush?

Katie Holmes arrived in 2011 for The Slutty Pumpkin Returns. In the story, Ted had spent a decade hoping to run into the stranger again.

Which Latin pop star played Gael, the man Robin Scherbatsky brings home from Argentina?

Enrique Iglesias played Gael as a guitar-playing surfer and massage therapist, a rebound romance that lasted just two episodes.

Barney Stinson insists the true hero of which 1980s film is its blond bully, Johnny Lawrence?

The Karate Kid is Johnny's story to Barney, so Ralph Macchio's visit to his bachelor party falls flat until the party clown unmasks as William Zabka, who played Johnny.

Barney Stinson coined which term for people seeming more attractive in a group than they do alone?

The cheerleader effect began as a bar theory and became real science: in 2013 researchers Drew Walker and Edward Vul reported that faces are rated slightly higher in a group.

Where do Marshall Eriksen and Lily Aldrin rush off to elope in season 2 of How I Met Your Mother?

Atlantic City keeps pulling the couple back: seasons later, Marshall is drunk in one of its casinos with Barney when Lily goes into labour.

Which dated election-themed costume does Ted Mosby wear to the same Halloween party year after year?

A hanging chad is how a woman he met at the party years before would know him, so Ted wears the same outfit every Halloween hoping she comes back.

Which buried keepsake does Ted Mosby hunt down before Robin Scherbatsky's wedding day?

A locket she had buried years before nearly derails the ceremony: learning of his search, Robin takes it as a sign from the universe that she chose the wrong groom.

Which actor played the Captain, the wealthy husband of Ted Mosby's love interest Zoey Pierson?

Kyle MacLachlan's Captain outlasts his marriage to Zoey: seasons later he hires Lily as his art consultant.

David Burtka, husband of the actor behind Barney Stinson, plays which high-school ex of Lily Aldrin?

Scooter never gets over being dumped at the prom: he tries to win Lily back at her own wedding and later resurfaces as a waiter in a smart restaurant.

Which made-up buzzword from Barney Stinson's video résumé became the title of a season 4 episode?

Possimpible, Barney explains, is the nexus where the possible meets the impossible. Robin spots that his whole video is built from buzzwords just as empty.

Unable to recall a girlfriend's name in 'How I Met Everyone Else', what does Future Ted call her?

Blah Blah is all he can manage for a woman he met playing World of Warcraft. Barney rates her on his Hot/Crazy Scale as she grows more paranoid through the evening.

What do Ted Mosby and Barney Stinson name the bar they open in Ted's apartment on New Year's Eve?

Puzzles opens because the New Year's Eve crush makes their usual pub impossible to reach. The pair had first dreamed up the idea in season 4.

Which real tavern near the Ed Sullivan Theater helped inspire the bar on How I Met Your Mother?

McGee's had a mural the creators liked so much they worked it into the set. It was one of four favourite New York haunts blended into the gang's local.

Which Wizards of Waverly Place star sits on the couch as Ted Mosby's son, hearing the whole story?

David Henrie and his on-screen sister filmed their reaction to the ending back in 2006, years before it aired, and had to sign non-disclosure agreements.

Which actress, later a celebrated film director, led the unaired spin-off pilot How I Met Your Dad?

Greta Gerwig's pilot died when the creators declined to reshoot it, and she went on to direct Lady Bird, Little Women and Barbie instead.

Which decrepit hotel does Zoey Pierson fight to save from demolition, against Ted Mosby's plans?

The Arcadian loses in the end: Ted testifies against preserving it, his romance with Zoey ends, and her fight, with Marshall as her lawyer, proves futile.

Barney Stinson and Robin Scherbatsky's wedding takes place in which hamlet in the Hamptons?

Farhampton is invented, but its railway station matters most of all: Ted meets the Mother on its platform only hours after the wedding.

Which drawn-out question does Barney Stinson use to launch his wingman at strangers in bars?

"Have you met Ted?" came from real life: co-creator Craig Thomas says a one-time friend of his used a similar line to meet women.

Barney Stinson meets any supposedly impossible task by saying 'Challenge' and which second word?

Accepted completes it: 'Challenge accepted' became so tied to Barney that the season 6 finale took the phrase as its title.

Which two-word sign-off does Barney Stinson tack onto the end of his tales and theories?

True story is his seal of authenticity, stamped on claims that are generally anything but, which is exactly the joke.

Which one-word courtroom-style boast does Marshall Eriksen shout after winning an argument?

Lawyered caps a season 1 debate in which Marshall proves to Barney that the world's oldest profession must really be fishing.

The pilot of How I Met Your Mother ends with Future Ted revealing it was the story of meeting whom?

Aunt Robin is the twist: after a whole episode of Ted falling for her, the closing line tells his children she is not their mother.

Which filler phrase of Robin Scherbatsky's do Ted Mosby's students turn into a drinking game?

"But, um" punctuates her interviews so often that a sip per utterance gets Ted and Barney drunk. When she finds out, Robin repeats it on purpose to floor the players.

Which cheerful colleague does Robin Scherbatsky keep snapping at with the line 'Nobody asked you'?

Patrice gets yelled at even when she has said nothing, yet she later helps Barney's long con to win Robin back by pretending to date him.

Which word completes the rule Barney Stinson tells Ted Mosby to live by: '___ is always better'?

New is always better, he argues, because Ted clings to classic things no one cares about. The rule comes up as they debate knocking down an old building.

Ted Mosby's 'Murtaugh List' of things he is too old for takes its name from which film series?

Lethal Weapon gave the list its name through Roger Murtaugh, Danny Glover's cop who keeps saying he is too old for this. Ted later rewatches the films and notes Murtaugh does it all anyway.

Which misheard coffee-cup name does the whole bar shout at Barney Stinson, Cheers-style?

Swarley is what a barista scrawled on his cup, and the gang never let it go. The episode even runs its closing credits in the Cheers typeface.