Each year on December 5th people all around the world and social networks celebrate the birthday of one of the most important cartoonist in the world: Walt Disney. Since there are so many things that you probably don’t know about Walt Disney’s life we figured it would be awesome to share with you the most interesting 10 things we discovered on Walt Disney. Here we go:

walt disney life stories 600x450 10 Things you should know about Walt Disney

1) Disney Wasn’t His Last Name

It was actually “D’Isigny.” Thinking about it now, building theme parks and a huge franchise with the word “D’Isigny” is kinda bullsh*t considering people would think they were walking into a hoity toity French villa of some kind. He eventually changed it to Disney to make it easier for us simple American folk.

2) He Killed His Mother

Well, not intentionally. After Walt and his brother Roy founded the Walt Disney Company they had enough money to buy their parents a nice, big ‘ol house. What a pair of great kids, right? No. You would think with all that money they had they would have replaced the faulty heating system, which caused Mrs. Disney to die from carbon monoxide poisoning.

3) He Had Dyslexia

A person who not only had a learning disability but also didn’t go to high school ended up making more money than probably all US households combined. I wish I was around back then to be his sugar baby.

4) He Never Graduated From High School

Your mom pestering you about getting that GED you’ve been procrastinating about? Don’t bother! Walt didn’t finish high school and essentially established the second largest media conglomerate in the world. So the next time you hear her yapping just stick a Disney toy in her mouth and tell her like it is.

5) He Loved Lawn Bowling

I had no idea what the hell this was. I assumed it was just playing bowling on a regular lawn, because knowing Disney- he probably misread the manual and interpreted as such. But it actually turns out to be the lamest sport ever.

6) He Loved Beans

Disney rarely left his office to get lunch. He just had no time. His choice of lunch was chili with beans. I think the real reason he didn’t leave his office is because it turned into a gas chamber filled with his bean butt noxide.

7) Mortimer Mouse

Mickey Mouse was originally named Mortimer Mouse. Not quite the same ring to it, right? Luckily, his wife gave him a quick swift kick in the ass and suggested he change it to Mickey Mouse. Mickey Mouse was inspired by Mickey Rooney’s name.

icon cool 10 Things you should know about Walt Disney He Voiced Mickey

While he originally tried to find someone else to do his mouse’s voice, no one seemed right for the part. As a result, he voiced Mickey for 20 years. His successors until present day include: Jimmy MacDonald, Wayne Allwine and Bret Iwan.

9) Yensid

In the cartoon movie Fantasia, the sorcerer was named Yensid, which is obviously Disney spelled backwards. I’m not going to make fun of his dyslexia…but I just did.

10) His First Academy Award

The first cartoon to ever be produced in color was the first to win an Oscar, by none other than Disney himself. You should check out the cartoon called Flowers and Trees which was released in 1932. Back then, it was a real trip to see things in color so it might as well have been called “LSD and Weed.”

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