Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious! Top 13 Fun Facts About Mary Poppins You Never Knew

1. Wind vs. Umbrella Travel

Hold on to your umbrellas and brace for impact – or should I say windpact? Mary Poppins' commute is about to take a surprising twist: In the original book series, our beloved nanny didn't actually use the wind to travel, but rather, the East wind delivered her to the Banks' doorstep, and when it was time to leave, she opened her umbrella to be whisked away by the West wind. It was the 1964 Disney film that popularized the notion of her umbrella-assisted flights!
Source => en.wikipedia.org

2. Polio Vaccine Inspires Song

Who knew Mary Poppins was a master of vaccinations before it was cool? Blowing away the fear of shots with a spoonful (or cube) of sweetness: The iconic song "A Spoonful of Sugar" was actually inspired by the polio vaccine being given on a sugar cube. The songwriting duo's son, Jeffrey Sherman, once refused a booster shot, which sparked the creation of this infectious little ditty to make medicine more palatable for children. Talk about sugar, spice, and everything nice!
Source => upworthy.com

Did you know that a green-hearted misanthrope dethroned a pigeon-loving kid as the highest-grossing Christmas movie ever? Find out how "The Grinch" surpassed "Home Alone" by raking in over $526 million worldwide! 🎄💰

=> Fun Facts about Christmas-Movies

3. Eight Enchanting Novels

Hold onto your umbrellas and get ready to be swept away, as we dive deeper into the magical world of a beloved nanny: Mary Poppins originated as a character in a book series by P.L. Travers, with eight enchanting novels published between 1934 and 1988, waiting to be discovered beyond the Disney movie, which only borrowed elements from the first book.
Source => sarahscoop.com

4. Bird Woman's Oscar Win

A bird in the hand is apparently worth an Oscar in Hollywood: Jane Darwell, the actress behind Mary Poppins' endearing little old bird woman outside St Paul's Cathedral, bagged an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1940 for her role in The Grapes of Wrath.
Source => exploring-london.com

5. Bittersweet Oscar Success

A spoonful of Oscars helps the bitterness go down: Mary Poppins, a delightful Disney movie, raked in five Academy Awards and became Walt Disney's most successful live-action production, while the disenchanted P.L. Travers, the original book's author, took her $100,000 and 5% of the gross earnings but refused to have any more playdates with Disney after her fantastical nanny was turned into a more whimsical version for the big screen.
Source => smithsonianmag.com

6. Mary's Vanity and Temper

Before Mary Poppins became a spoonful-of-sugar sweet, she practiced the art of looking fabulous and swatting pests with her magical umbrella of attitude: In the original book series, she displays quite a bit of vanity, often admiring her reflection in various surfaces, and exhibits a surprisingly volatile temper, marking a stark contrast to the likable and compassionate character we know from the Disney film adaptation.
Source => cannonballread.com

7. Poppins in the Kitchen

Forget MasterChef Junior, Mary Poppins had her own pint-sized protégés stirring up a storm in a spoonful of laughter: In "Mary Poppins in the Kitchen," our beloved nanny educates the Banks children on culinary magic, using ingredients like sugar that morphs into diamonds and bowls that stir themselves autonomously.
Source => en.wikipedia.org

8. Revised Stereotypical Chapter

You know those awkward moments when a classic story has an offensive hiccup?: In the 1934 version of "Mary Poppins," a chapter called "Bad Tuesday" saw Mary and the children exploring various global cultures using a compass, though it infamously contained stereotypical depictions of different ethnic groups. Eventually, the chapter went through two revisions, with the 1981 update swapping out people for animals like a polar bear, a macaw, a panda, and a dolphin, which then appeared in a 2004 BBC Radio adaptation.
Source => en.wikipedia.org

9. Babies Communicating With Elements

Believe it or not, there was a time when Mary Poppins taught Goo-goo-ga-ga in ESL (English for Supernatural Learners) classes: In one chapter of the book, infant twins John and Barbara Banks briefly possess the magical ability to communicate with the elements, even conversing with a chatty starling, only to be warned that their newfound skill will fade before their first birthday, just as all other humans' natural connection to the world does—except, of course, for Mary Poppins herself.
Source => salon.com

10. Sugar's Sticky Situation

Mary Poppins, ever the sweet talker, once prescribed a spoonful of sugar to help the medicine go down—but it seems the good ol' days are over, and the dentist is knocking at our door: The 1960s to 1980s saw research exposing the not-so-sweet health effects of sugar consumption, turning public opinion against the saccharine substance and leaving our magical nanny in a slightly sticky situation.
Source => chocolateclass.wordpress.com

11. Poppins and Mythology

Did you hear about the time Mary Poppins fell down the rabbit hole? She stumbled upon a cocktail party filled with the myths and fairy tales of the world: P.L. Travers, the genius behind "Mary Poppins," was a devoted scholar of mythology, drawing from an eclectic mix of Australian, Celtic, Native American, and Indian folklore to weave the enchanting and whimsical adventures that captured our hearts.
Source => fembio.org

12. Mary Poppins in Space

Behold the Super Nanny from the Cosmos, who not only wisps away chimney soot but also knows how to spice up her celestial tea parties: In the fourth installation of the Mary Poppins story, Mary Poppins in the Park, our beloved nanny takes the Banks children on a fantastical adventure of discovering tiny people living under a dandelion, journeying to another planet, and hobnobbing with chatty feline inhabitants.
Source => en.wikipedia.org

13. Movies Inspired by First Four Books

Spoonfuls of sugar and over-ambitious chimney sweeps aside: Mary Poppins was distilled into the beloved Disney musical we know today from just the first four books by P.L. Travers, with the film taking its primary essence from the series' debut novel.
Source => amothersrandomthoughts.com