Not everything featured in JK Rowling's wildly popular novels is fictional. Read on to find out which things are actually true!
JK Rowling used to create the magical world of Harry Potter mythology, legends, ancient languages, botany and astronomy. But did you know that some of the magical objects, places and even people that Rowling has included in her books are actually real?
Alchemy and Nicolas Flamel
Alchemy sounds like a fictional magical discipline, but alchemy and alchemists, like Nicolas Flamel, existed in reality - even a physicist Isaac Newton he practiced alchemy. The medieval forerunner of modern chemistry dealt with by transforming things through experimentation. Its practitioners explored the spiritual and mystical aspects of transformation, which is why they were called “philosophers” as in the title Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone). Perhaps that is also why at the faculty of St. Cloud State University in Minnesota teaches philosophy with the help of Harry Potter.
Nicolas Flamel was over 600 years old in the book. In reality, it was Flamel medieval scholar, philanthropist and activist, who was actually looking for the legendary stone. He did not live to be 600 years old - he died in 1418, and his tombstone was exhibited at the Harry Potter: A History of Magic exhibition in London and New York.
Mandrakes
In Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter and his classmates learn about mandrakes, whose the roots assume human form and whose cry can kill. Although not lethal (unless ingested in large doses), they are still somewhat real, and their roots also look like little people. They are found in the Mediterranean region and the Middle East and have been used for their medicinal properties. Rowling also didn't invent that plant screams can cause madness and death, at least according to legend. Shakespeare he even mentions them in Romeo and Juliet “… shrieks like mandrakes torn out of the earth, that living mortals, hearing them, run mad (screams like mandrakes uprooted from the earth, driving the mortal who hears them to madness)”.
King's Cross Station
Harry and friends board the train to Hogwarts on the platform 9 3/4 at King's Cros Station, and the platform is accessible only to wizards and witches who rush through the wall. Although the platform is fictional, the station is still somewhat real. It is located in London and is one of the main train stations in the city. JK Rowling wrote on the Pottermore website: "Kings's Cross has a very special meaning to me, as my parents met on a train to Scotland that left from this very station." Today, Potter fans from all over the world can in the company of a trolley with luggage, they take photos in front of the famous wall, and then they turn into a shop dedicated to the most famous wizard in the world. But be warned, the queue for taking pictures can be quite long.
Truth serum
In Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Dumbledore uses a truth serum on the evil spy Barty Crouch, Junior.; in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Professor Kalvara Temyna threatens to use it on Harry. A serum that makes people tell the truth would also be useful in the real world, but does it really exist? Although it has its limitations and ga used only in official hearings, certain drugs, such as barbiturates, are said to be used as truth serums. These should cause them to be users more honest or more relaxed in what they have to say.
Cloak of Invisibility
The Invisibility Cloak is one of Harry's most prized possessions. Science actually succeeded add the power of invisibility to some real objects, except that they are not (yet) available to the public. They are scientists from Great Britain managed to develop "mantle of surface waves" which manipulates electromagnetic waves, to hide objects from you - even people can be invisible if placed on top of them wireless sensors, says the author of the research. They also warned in Montreal "spectral mantle", which hides objects by changing the frequency of light.
Hermione Granger
Well, Hermione is not exactly real, but a studious, ambitious and serious Hermione is supposed to be pseudonym for Rowling. "I've said many times that Hermione is like me when I was younger," said Rowling. "I think others have seen me as a 'bit of a know-it-all', but I hope it's clear, beneath her 'nerdy' exterior is an insecurity and fear of failure, as shown by her sidekick in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban." Rowling also said it was hers the favorite animal is the otter, so it's no surprise that Hermione's patron saint is also an otter.
