There’s no denying that Friends was an iconic television series that made a huge impact on pop culture. It was extremely popular, and even today, fans still can’t get enough of the show.
While there are many hilarious moments and some endearing ones, there are also some mistakes in the series that are easy to miss.
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Whether it’s plot holes or errors in production, here are 10+ Friends mistakes that completely went over our heads.
1. A disappearing foam finger.
In “The One With George Stephanopoulos,” Ross, Chandler, and Joey are at a hockey game, and Ross has a foam finger at first but then it disappears.
This is unfortunate for Ross as he could have used it to protect himself from getting hit in the face with the hockey puck!
2. This inconsistency about Joey’s use of air quotes.
During season 9, Joey doesn’t understand what air quotes mean after Ross uses them.
But, this doesn’t make any sense because Joey uses air quotes in “The One That Could Have Been” which is an episode from season 6.
He could have just been lying to Ross.
3. Chandler seems to call Joey by the wrong name in one scene.
There’s a scene where Chandler is talking to Joey about how he’s worried he will never find love.
At the end of the scene, Chandler walks to the door and it sounds like he says. “I’ll see you, Matt.” While he probably meant to say “man,” it does sound a lot like “Matt.”
4. A magically appearing necklace
During “The One Where Ross Finds Out,” Rachel is in a scene at Central Perk and wearing a white shirt. She doesn’t have a necklace on at first.
Bu then, it suddenly appears out of nowhere only to disappear again across different shots.
5. Phoebe forgot about her relationship with Gary.
When Phoebe is dating Mike, played by Paul Rudd, she says that she’s never had a serious relationship before him.
However, this is a lie because she moved in with the police officer she dated , named Gary, for a while.
So, this is either a plot hole, or she just didn’t tell Mike the truth.
6. Baby Emma’s hat changes colors.
When Rachel and Ross bring their newborn daughter home in the second episode of season 9, Emma is sleeping in her bassinet and wearing a pink hat.
However, in the scene when Rachel picks her up, the hat is totally different. While the hat was pink when she reaches in to get her, it changes to white with a design once Emma is in Rachel’s arms.
7. Who did Ross lose his virginity to?
Ross mentions part of the reason he’s so upset when Carol leaves him for a woman is that she’s the first and only woman he’s ever slept with.
However, in “The One With Rachel’s Assistant,” he implies that he slept with the elderly library assistant when he was in college.
But it could have just been a poor choice of words, and they did in fact, only make out.
8. Barry’s last name changes.
In the first episode of the show, Rachel talks about how she left Barry Finkel at the altar.
However, for the rest of the series, he’s referred to as Barry Farber . It’s weird that they didn’t just leave his last name as Finkel for the entire show.
9. Bottles in Joey’s hands change.
In the 15th episode of season 9, Joey is in Monica and Chandler’s apartment to get drinks from their fridge.
After raiding the fridge, he has three soda cans in his right hand and two bottles in his left. But, then, in that same scene, the bottles in his left hand change suddenly into two cans of soda.
10. Joey’s shirt.
During “The One With Rachel’s Inadvertent Kiss,” Joey is wearing a purple button-up shirt in a scene in a hallway.
Then, his shirt completely changes to a black one with a zipper. The shirts don’t look alike at all, and there’s no way or reason he could have changed them.
11. Ben never meets his sister, Emma.
While Ben’s birth and existence are mentioned often in earlier seasons, he’s barely referenced at all later on.
While maybe it’s more of an omission than a mistake, it’s still really strange that Ben never even meets his half-sister, Emma. That’s just kind of sad!
12. An error with paper towels.
In season 1, episode 12, Phoebe tells Rachel that Paolo hit on her.
Rachel is upset, so she grabs the paper towels to blow her nose and ends up pulling the roll across the kitchen by accident. However, when the camera angle flips to Phoebe and then back to Rachel, the paper towels are rolled back up perfectly.
13. A present that re-wraps itself.
The episode called “The One With the Red Sweater” contains a scene where Monica unwraps a wedding present.
Then, in a later shot, the same present is suddenly re-wrapped again. There’s no explanation for this except it was a small continuity error that no one caught.
14. Joey’s agent delivered Ross and Carol’s son.
In the first season, Carol gives birth to Ben, and the woman who delivered the baby is played by actress June Gable.
However, June Gable is better known for playing Joey’s agent, Estelle Leonard. It’s a pretty hilarious mistake, and it makes us wonder what’s really going on with Estelle’s life story!
15. Did Monica think Chandler was attractive or not?
When it comes to Monica and Chandler’s relationship, there is a major plot hole.
In flashback episodes such as “The One with All the Thanksgivings,” Monica is clearly obsessed with Chandler when they were younger. However, in other episodes later on, she thinks the idea of him being hot is ridiculous.
Maybe she just said that to cover up all those feelings she always had for him?
16. The mysterious case of the disappearing “Poop.”
This happens in season 4, episode 20, “The One With All the Wedding Dresses.” As Ross walks into Chandler and Joey’s apartment, you can see the word “Poop” is written on the write/erase board.
But as soon as the camera cuts to Joey and then back to Ross, the writing has changed!
Now all of a sudden, it reads “get out!” How in the heck did that happen?
Normally, I’m pretty forgiving when it comes to errors in continuity, but this one was literally written on the walls!
17. Joey switches the hand he’s pointing with.
During the gang’s trip to Vegas, Joey meets someone he believes is his identical hand twin. He rushes to tell Chandler the news, who is understandably confused.
Joey then points with his left hand and accuses Chandler of not believing in him (again).
Watch carefully as the camera changes angles, and you’ll notice Joey is now pointing with his right hand.
Notice that before, the camera was from Chandler’s vantage point. Had Joey kept pointing with his left hand, we wouldn’t have been able to see it.
More than likely, this was caused by a scene reset, but it is still pretty funny to look at.
18. Did they just replace Monica with a different actor?
In season 8’s “The One With Rachel’s Date,” Phoebe becomes infatuated with Monica’s disastrous new sous-chef.
As the two sit talking about it on the couch, you can clearly see that Phoebe is talking to Monica.
So what in the heck happened to her?
Did Courteney Cox have a prior engagement? Was she unavailable for reshoots on that particular day?
Because I can’t think of any reason why the creators would try to dupe us in such an obvious manner.
19. Who lined up the shot glasses?
In season 3, “The One With the Flashback,” Ross is explaining to Phoebe how he just found out that Carol is gay.
He reaches behind the bar and pulls four shot glasses from underneath.
Now all of a sudden, they’re in a straight line!
Call me crazy, but there were only four glasses in the first photo. Where did the other two come from? And why do you need so many glasses in the first place, there are only two of you?
20. There’s no way that Ross and Rachel would have named their daughter Emma.
Think about it, it’s literally one syllable removed from being Emily, the person who nearly ended Ross and Rachel’s entire relationship.
You’re telling me neither of them ever put two and two together?
21. Why does Chandler laugh at Ross’ “Sound”?
Without a doubt, one of the funnier moments in all of Friends is when Ross performs his music (his Sound) in front of the entire gang.
It is somewhat strange that Chandler finds it so amusing, considering he was in a band with Ross in college.
22. How does Monica not recognize her grandmother’s ring?
Monica spots the ring on Rachel’s hand after Joey mistakenly “proposes” to her. If you remember, the ring Ross has was given to him by his grandmother.
It’s also the same one that he used to propose to Emily, which seems a little tacky.
23. There’s no way that Monica and Chandler couldn’t have known they were having twins.
Think back and remember when Monica and Chandler first meet Erica; she shows them the sonogram of the baby.
Wouldn’t they have noticed if their baby had two heads?
24. Phoebe would never wear leather pants.
Yet in season 4, that’s precisely what Monica and Rachel get Phoebe for her birthday. For the entire series, Phoebe was a dedicated vegetarian.
The idea of wearing an animal’s skin would make her want to vomit.
25. Ross doesn’t know how to spell Rachel’s last name.
Take a look at the name on the envelope in Ross’ hands: he’s spelled Rachel’s last name with an “e” on the end.
Her name is Green, just like the color. There is no possible way that Ross wouldn’t have known that.
26. How did Phoebe learn to speak French?
Early on in the series, Phoebe reveals that she doesn’t even know the meaning of the term sous-chef.
Yet not even two full seasons later she’s somehow comfortable enough to teach Joey French before his audition?
27. The table underneath the mirror disappears.
In the episode where Rachel is babysitting Marcel, there’s a shot of Ross and Rachel arguing from outside the apartment window. From this vantage point, you’ll see a small dressing table under the mirror.
Later on, when animal control arrives on the scene, the table vanishes.
