The F.A.Q.E.

[Maeggaladiel]

Q) Why are hobbits so short?
A) So they can fit through the doors of their hobbit-holes.

Q) Why don't hobbits wear shoes?
A) They like the squishy feeling they get when mud gets between their toes.

Q) How come Arwen and Elrond are brunettes but the other elves are blondes?
A) Pfft. Everyone knows that Legolas and Galadriel totally bleach.

Q) Why does Gandalf come back from the dead?
A) He wanted more screen-time than Boromir.

Q) Why do dwarves and elves hate each other?
A) There was a horrible hair-bleaching accident... We don't like talking about it.

Q) Who was that tall blonde dude who stands next to Galadriel in the first movie?
A) Her hair stylist.

[Mithalwen]

Q What is the Gap of Rohan

A The flagship store in Middle Earth of the well known chain. The extensive range of desirable stock was the true reason that Gandalf was reluctant to pass through on the journey south. He knew that they would never get Legolas out of the place. It is also the reason for the Lorian elves somewhat circuitous route home after the wedding of Aragorn and Arwen. Galadriel wanted a new wardrobe for her forthcoming cruise.

[Fordim Hedgethistle]

Q: Do balrogs have wings?
A: No.

Or, even funnier, and certainly more inaccurate...

Q: Do balrogs have wings?
A: Yes, but they don't work.

Q: What shape are Elves' ears?
A: Pointy.

Q: Is Eru God?
A: No.

Q: Was Legolas Blond?
A: Yes.

Q: What do wargs look like?
A: Lemmings.

Q: What really happened at the Cracks of Mount Doom?
A: Gollum just slipped, purely by accident.

Q: Was Celebrian raped?
A: No.

Q: Did Arwen and Aragorn have sex before marriage?
A: No.

Q: Do orcs have belly-buttons?
A: Yes.

[Mithalwen]

You haven't really understood this have you?Most of those answers are spot on....

[Meela]

Q: Who was Denethor?

A: Not who, but what. Denethor is Minas Tirith's most efficient and inexpensive form of lighter fuel, particularly noted for its use in beacons. The popular myth that Denethor is indeed named after a person arose on the night that Faramir almost burnt to death in a freak accident on the night of the annual ceremonial Gondorian Barbeque Contest, when in a desperate bid to win, he emptied an entire container of Denethor onto his barbeque, resulting in the destruction of much of the surrounding city.

Q: Was there really a battle at Minas Tirith?

A: No. The damage was all caused by Faramir's barbeque. The rumoured presence of several thousand orcs has been dispelled since it was confirmed that these were in fact Gondorian children, who had been rolling in the barbeque ash.

[arcticstorm]

Q.what is the Silmarillion?
A. The Silmarillion was the silmarill taken from Morgoth's crown by Beren and Luthien, It is known as such because at some point in its history it recieved an electrical charge, however it is still debated wether it was an silmarillanion or a silmarillcation

[Farael]

Originally Posted by arcticstorm

[...]it is still debated wether it was an silmarillanion or a silmarillcation

Gotta love that....

Back on topic,

Q: What is the real story behind Gollum and his "precious"?
A: In spite of what Bilbo will have you believe, the precious is not really The Ring. What really happened was that, after being alone for centuries, Bilbo was the first non-orkish or edible living form to stumble upon Gollum, who fell in love at the sight of Bilbo's hairy feet. After having a challenging riddle contest, Gollum kneeled and asked Bilbo to marry him, offering him a gold ring. Bilbo took the Ring but didn't take Gollum's hand. Gollum ran after him, still madly in love while muttering that "his precious" was escaping. Later on, when Gollum helps Frodo, it's only because he was trying to revindicate himself on Bilbo's eyes. Still, Bilbo was very embarassed as Gollum was outright ugly and made up this whole story about The One Ring, along with his accomplice "Gandalf" who was a magician that worked entretaining young hobbits for a living.

[Morai]

Q: Who is Gandalf?

A: A professional pryotechnic exhibitor, firefighter *cough*Barlog*cough*, diplomat, also a member of the motocycle gang "The Flying Eagles." His hobbies include smoking, grooming his beard, and pointing his cane at hobbits and reprimanding them for walking on his grass.

[Gothmog]

Q: Who is Gimli?

A: A funny, bearded little guy who worked as a comedian. His slapstick performances included falling of horses and when he did stand-up he burped, drank to much beer and was too short for everything.

Q: Who is Glorfindel?

A: Who? Glor- what?

Originally Posted by Fordim Hedgethistle

Q: Do balrogs have wings?
A: No.

Q: Do orcs have belly-buttons?
A: Yes.

i heard they had belly button piercings, mainly circular, ring shaped in memory of the One

[Morai]

Q: Who/What is Merry?

A: A VERY happy hobbit.

Q: What is a orc?

A: Orc is an acronym:

Obviously
Rank
Cabbage

[Gil-Galad]

Q: Why Did Gil-Galad die?

A: So Gil-galad can say an awesome saying "Zombie Guards! Sieze them!"

[Valesse]

Q: What are "Ents"?
A: Very, VERY good reasons to celebrate Arbor day.

Q: How is Arwen's fate tied to the Ring?
A: ... (This is actually a very good question that I would like an answer for myself.)

Q: What do the Men of Dale do?
A: Whatever the Men of Dale want to do.

[The Squatter of Amon Rûdh]

As any fule kno, Arwen's fate is tied to that of the One Ring with a clove hitch. The idea of tying fates together with binder string dates back to the reign of Tar-Sumuwin the Absent Minded, who was terrified that his destiny would be lost. He changed his mind when he discovered that his destiny was to get lost on a voyage from Umbar to Mithlond and sail around in circles until everyone was dead. By then, of course, it was too late.

Should two fates prove incompatible, they can be separated quite simply with a Mithril pocket knife or the mystic device known as nál scissar. That a sheet of cartridge paper can do the same thing if walked around three times anti-clockwise beneath the stars is a profoundly idiotic superstition.

Q: Where can I find out more about Middle-earth

A: British Library Cotton Vespasian F.CLXVI contains a Latin account, probably translated from Greek, of a journey through what appears to be a part of Eriador made by a group of early ascetic monks. Although its primary interest is in contrasting the eternal joys of Heaven and the ephemeral pleasures of eating mushrooms, it makes for pleasant reading nevertheless.

Corpus Christi College Cambridge MS 999 is a heavily condensed account of the events described in The Lord of the Rings, which nonetheless mentions several details that are omitted by the Red Book of Westmarch. Most interesting among these is an account of the actions of Sharkey's ruffians after they left the Shire. According to this version of events, they used what little money they had left to buy into a pyramid scheme introduced to them by "a certain lord of the Longbeard Dwarves, who appeared to them mounted upon a great wyrm". Although several lines are illegible at this point, the narrative resumes with the narrator's account of the last ragged survivor's rambling lament, so perhaps profits were lower than expected.

Alternatively, you can find some links at Philip Pullman's personal website. He's always happy to answer questions about Middle-earth from enthusiasts, particularly novices.

Q: Are there any more books in the series?

A: Yes. A trilogy of novels was released in 1968-9, entitled The Lord of Gifts, The Shadow in the East and The Last Alliance. These three prequels are not widely known, since most fans hold them to be vastly inferior to The Lord of the Rings. These are sometimes referred to as 'The Breaking of the Fellowship', and in a satirical reference to this phrase, the chapter of LotR originally known as The Parting of the Ways was renamed in the 1975 Swedish edition. The change was taken up in all future publications.

Q: Who began the first 'who's your favourite?' thread

A: Hercules Athelred Grimthorpe of 12 Waterloo Gardens, Churston Magna, Wiltshire. It was begun not long after the publication of the first edition of The Hobbit in 1921, and began with a letter to the editor of The Salisbury Gazette.

Q: I've heard that Elvish is based on real languages. Is that true?

A: Elvish (more accurately Balearic) was influenced by four human languages: Navajo, Old French, Afrikaans and Aramaic.

Q: Who were the Inklings?

A: They were an obscure group of Icelandic marxists, who published a radical left-wing newspaper between 1947 and 1950. When they were eventually arrested for stealing paper clips, a copy of Farmer Giles of Ham was found among the furnishings of their camper van. Due to this association, the book was banned in several European countries, the last to lift the restriction being Luxembourg in 1987.

Q: Are there any translations of the Elvish poetry on the web?

A: No, but Galadriel's song in Farewell to Lórien roughly means

I dreamed a dream next Tuesday week
Beneath the apple trees
I dreamed my eyes were two pork pies
And my nose was Stilton cheese
The clock struck twenty minutes to six
When a frog sat on my knee
I asked him to lend me eighteenpence
But he borrowed a shilling of me.

The verbatim use of this anonymous nonsense rhyme suggests that its author may have been J.R.R. Tolkien himself.

Q: Did Tolkien know C.S. Lewis?

A: They did meet once at a meeting of the Oxfordshire Mothers Union. Both had got the wrong evening for a lecture on the development of the Arthurian tradition in medieval French romance. Owing to the obvious embarrassment of the situation, they avoided each other studiously for the remainder of their careers.