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Even superfans will be surprised by many of these unknown facts.
Think you know Big Brother?
Even superfans will be surprised by many of these unknown facts about CBS' long-running reality series.
Did you know Janelle Pierzina (Seasons 6, 7 and 14) and James Huling (Seasons 17 and 18) were tied for spending the most time in the house? They've each stayed in the house for 177 days. That was, until...
There's a new record-setting houseguest.
Paul Abrahamian (the runner-up of Big Brother Seasons 18 and 19) has spent a record 191 days inside the Big Brother house.
The backyard isn't what it seems.
That grass in the backyard? Fake! It makes it easier for cleanup following messy competitions.
Frankie Grande has won the most Head of Household competitions.
The Season 16 houseguest won five HoH competitions in a single season.
The Big Brother house is located in Studio City, CA.
It gets a makeover each season, but it's still the same house.
A lot of preparation goes into the competitions.
There are more than 100 people who build and shoot each competition, and 3D renderings are made of each game before they're built.
This little guy is a running joke on set.
Known affectionately as "Benny the Squirrel," this cute prop has made several appearances over the years during a variety of competitions.
There's only one room in the house without cameras.
It's the bathroom stall, which has microphones but no cameras.
The oldest houseguest was 75.
Jerry MacDonald, a retiree, placed third on Big Brother Season 10.
Four contestants have been expelled from the house.
Justin Sebik (Season 2), Scott Weintraub (Season 4), Chima Simone (Season 11) and Willie Hantz (Season 14) were all ejected from the series.
The series has only one unanimous winner.
Dan Gheesling was the Season 10 victor. He didn't receive a single vote to evict the entire season and won the final jury vote 7-0.
Victor Arroyo is the only houseguest who was evicted three times in one season.
Arroyo competed on Season 18.
There were no Head of Household competitions in Season 1.
Mike "Boogie" Malin was the first Head of Household in Season 2.
Seasons 18 and 20 are the longest seasons of the show.
At 99 days each, Seasons 18 and 20 share the record for the longest season of Big Brother. Season 10 clocked in as the shortest season at 71 days.
There are dozens of cameras and microphones.
There are 87 HD cameras in the house and more than 100 microphones.
There is a massive cleanup crew for competitions.
Huge trucks are sometimes used to remove water and other messy liquids.
The show began in the Netherlands in 1999.
CBS picked up the show in 2000 for an estimated $20 million.
There are 54 different versions all over the world.
The U.S. isn't the only country to replicate the success from the series. There are Big Brother series in Africa, South America, the U.K. and more regions.
There are 76 fans at live eviction show tapings.
There are giveaways during commercial breaks, and the audience is the first to learn who's voted out, even before the actual houseguests know the tally.
The longest competition on the show lasted 14 hours.
Big Brother's "Pressure Cooker" HoH Competition on Season 6 kept houseguests in a glass case where they had to hold down a button without letting go. Jennifer Vasquez won after 14 hours and 37 minutes.
Before there was Slop, there were peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
Slop was introduced in Big Brother: All-Stars. Before that, houseguests who lost food challenges had to subsist on PBJ sandwiches.