25 Things We Can't Ignore About The Bing Bang Theory

While there have been a number of television shows that have captivated the world over the years, there has been something seriously special about the CBS series, The Big Bang Theory. When it was first introduced to the world in 2007, it wasn't immediately clear whether or not television audiences would be able to relate to a show about a group of geniuses and their beautiful new neighbor. Yet, it didn't take long for the show to garner a huge fan base. Ultimately, there was incredible chemistry amongst the actors on the show and the storyline involving the characters really seemed to resonate with fans.

One of the most interesting aspects of the series was how it seemed to have an ever-flowing storyline that really made audiences feel like they were seeing their lives unfold with each new season. While other shows allowed their episodes to stand alone, The Big Bang Theory often referenced events from previous episodes and implemented these features into each new season. Part of the reason for this was how the Sheldon Cooper character had such a rigid personality that forced the other characters to adhere to his will. This made for a hugely comedic aspect of the show but it seems like there weren't always perfect plots throughout the series. From plotholes with huge contradictions to interesting coincidences that made fans ponder, there have definitely been a few things that have bothered audiences. Check out our list of the 25 things we can't ignore about The Big Bang Theory and see if any of them were ever noticed.

25 Cheesecake Factory Uniform Is Wrong

When The Big Bang Theory first premiered, Penny was working as a waitress at The Cheesecake Factory. She was often seen heading in and out of her apartment wearing her uniform from The Cheesecake Factory and there were numerous episodes that were featured inside the restaurant. Bernadette also spent time working there as a waitress and she was also depicted in her uniform from The Cheesecake Factory. The uniform was depicted as a white ruffled top with a denim skirt and a mustard yellow vest. The waitresses were shown wearing a green apron to complete the ensemble but this is not at all the uniform that real employees of The Cheesecake Factory wear. In fact, none of the elements of the uniform that is shown in the TV series are at all related to the real-life uniforms from this particular chain restaurant.

24 Same Nurse Used For Different Situations

During the very first episode of The Big Bang Theory, Sheldon and Leonard were shown going to a "High IQ Sperm Bank" and the nurse at the front desk was sitting down doing a crossword puzzle. Her name tag said, Althea, and she was portrayed by the actress, Vernee Watson-Johnson (IMDb). Yet, this wasn't the only time she was featured throughout the series. In fact, it seemed like anytime the show needed to have the characters interact with a nurse, it was Althea that was there. She was depicted as the emergency room attendant when Howard had an allergic reaction to peanuts and also when Howard needed a robot hand removed. Yet, she was also the nurse that was used when Bernadette went into labor for the first time. One could argue that Althea may have taken multiple shifts as a registered nurse or perhaps she changed jobs over the years. However, it does bother fans that the characters never bring up the fact that they recognize her and have interacted with her multiple times.

23 Sheldon's Inconsistency With Money

During the very first episode of The Big Bang Theory, Sheldon and Leonard were seen at a "High IQ Sperm Bank" and Leonard stated that it was actually Sheldon's idea. During the episode, he stated that Sheldon chose this activity because he wanted extra money for increased bandwidth for the apartment for faster downloads. During the 7th episode of the first season, Sheldon was speaking to Leonard and stated, "Frankly, if I could afford the rent, I'd ask you to leave." This makes it seem like Sheldon has money woes but that is in direct contradiction with episodes later on in the series. During Season 2, Sheldon wound up lending Penny money and it was shown that he had money hidden around the apartment. In another episode, Howard was amazed at the astounding number of paychecks Sheldon had, which he didn't even cash or deposit and Sheldon responded that he didn't need that money because all of the things he wanted to buy hadn't been invented yet.

22 Penny's Impossible-To-Afford Apartment

When it comes to television sitcoms, The Big Bang Theory isn't the first one to be criticized for featuring apartments that would be impossible to afford in the real world. The characters on Friends were criticized for being able to afford their gigantic (by New York standards) apartments and Carrie Bradshaw's Upper East Side apartment was definitely out of her price range, as well. In the case of The Big Bang Theory, it was completely impossible  to think that Penny would have been able to afford her apartment. She started out as a waitress at The Cheesecake Factory and oftentimes, she referenced having limited hours. With the other people in the building being depicted from time to time, it's amazing to believe that she would have been able to afford the rent (much less afford the rent while having a propensity towards buying shoes).

21 What Happened To The Penny Blossoms?

During Season 2 of The Big Bang Theory, Penny was seen telling Sheldon about a new business that she created entitled, Penny Blossoms. She was making hair barrettes and Sheldon tried to modify her manufacturing process in order to help her maximize her profits. It wasn't long before the entire gang got involved and Leonard even created a website for her. Within minutes, she received her first order from the East Rutherford New Jersey Gay, Lesbian, and Transgender Alliance for a thousand Penny Blossoms with a one-day rush. Penny seemed hesitant to try and fill the order but that changed when Sheldon let her know that she would be making $3,000 for one night's work. After completing the order, there was another order for another thousand Penny Blossoms. Penny was seen wearing one of her creations in a future episode but there was never any further mention of this business, which seems pretty odd since it seemed quite lucrative.

20 Raj Sometimes Talked To Women In The Beginning

Part of the signature character of Rajesh Koothrappali on The Big Bang Theory was the fact that he wasn't able to talk when women were present. This was later rectified when he discovered that he no longer had selective mutism once he took a sip of alcohol. Further into the series, Raj was able to overcome this issue and it was a huge milestone for his character. Yet, during those early seasons, Raj was seen completely mute and would only be able to convey his thoughts if he whispered them to Howard and have his friend convey them. However, there were a number of episodes that contradicted this and depicted Raj speaking. During the first episode of the show, Raj spoke when Penny was in Sheldon and Leonard's apartment when he turned to Howard and said, "Smooth." During episode 7 of Season 1, Raj spoke again in Penny's presence when he responded to Leonard wanting to cut him in half.

19 Girlfriend Clause In The Roommate Agreement

During Season 2 of The Big Bang Theory, Leonard began dating Dr. Stephanie Barnett, and their relationship seemed to be moving quite quickly. Before he knew it, they seemed to be living together and it forced Sheldon to bring up The Roommate Agreement. He stated that the document deemed a girlfriend was living with him if she spent "10 consecutive nights, more than 9 nights in a 3 week period, and all the weekends of a given month plus three weeknights." Yet, this is a direct contradiction to a later episode when he referenced that there were no mentions of girlfriends in The Roommate Agreement. During episode 15 of Season 3, Sheldon brought up that The Large Hadron Collider was referenced in The Roommate Agreement. When asked whether or not there was any mention of when either of them get a girlfriend and Sheldon responded, "No, that seemed a little farfetched.”

18 Change In Boss At The University

During the first season of The Big Bang Theory, Mark Harelik was the actor that was chosen to play Dr. Eric Gablehauser at the university where the cast worked. He was the head of the Physics Department and was portrayed as the boss of Sheldon, Leonard and Raj. Yet, his character seemed to completely disappear from the show and he was replaced by Dr. Siebert, played by Joshua Malina (known to many for his hugely popular role in Scandal). He became the new boss and was seen throughout the series as President Siebert, the president of the California Institute of Technology. It's not unheard of for television shows to replace an actor but it's interesting that there was no mention of his replacement, especially since they held different positions at the university.

17 Sheldon's Bathroom Schedule

Sheldon Cooper has consistently been portrayed as being quite rigid and he has been known to keep a bathroom schedule for the majority of his life. During episode 7 of Season 1, Sheldon told Penny that his bathroom schedule is 7:00 to 7:20 in the morning and he tells her to plan her bodily functions accordingly (which meant no liquids after 7 pm). Yet, this was different from a later statement he made during episode 23 of Season 2. Sheldon claimed, "Everybody knows I move my bowels at 8:20" and Leonard responded by saying, "How did we live without Twitter?" (which received a big laugh). The contradictions in his bathroom schedule seem completely odd, especially when taking into account that he's been keeping track of his bathroom activities since he was a child.

16 Change In Raj's Financial Background

A huge aspect of the character, Rajesh Koothrappali, was the fact that he came from a family of wealth. Sheldon said that he once had to notarize some documents for Raj and claimed that he wasn't just rich, "He's Richie Rich, Rich." Yet, there were a number of different comments that were made about him and his family's wealth that seemed to conflict throughout the series. During episode 8 of Season 2, Raj claimed that he only had 4 servants in the house and 2 of them were children. Yet, in episode 15 of Season 4, Raj commented on having more servants than those attending a benefactor event and said his family had more than they could use. Another contradiction was in episode 17 of Season 3 when he desperately tried to sell a ring in order to "afford" a jet ski.

15 Sheldon's Childhood Home

With the popularity of the Sheldon Cooper character on The Big Bang Theory and the series coming to an end, it's not surprising that there would be a spinoff series to feature what his life was like as a child. Yet, those that haven't started to watch Young Sheldon have actually heard and seen a lot of Sheldon's background in Texas. During episode 11 of Season 1, Sheldon told a story about when he was a visiting professor abroad at 15-years-old. During the story, he claimed that this was during a time when his house was on cinderblocks and had slide off of them during tornado season. Yet, this description of an aluminum home when he was 15-years-old doesn't coincide with the times when his home was shown on the series.

14 Sheldon's Eidetic Memory

One of the most interesting aspects of the Sheldon Cooper character on The Big Bang Theory is the fact that he has an eidetic memory, which is sometimes called a photographic memory. It's part of the reason why he's seen as so highly intelligent since it gives him an edge when it comes to memorizing facts and trivia. During one episode, Amy Farrah Fowler asked Sheldon to convey the ingredients of Pringles and was so impressed at how easily he was able to state them. Yet, there were a number of episodes that made fans question his eidetic memory. During episode 17 of Season 1, he couldn't correctly memorize Mandarin Chinese and embarrassed himself when trying to speak to numerous people.

13 Goth Girl Played Two Characters

The actress, Molly Morgan, was seen in episode 3 of Season 3 of The Big Bang Theory when Raj and Howard went to a goth club to try and pick up girls. She played the role of Bethany, a girl with multiple tattoos that claimed to work at The Gap. Yet, the same actress was seen in episode 16 of Season 8. She played the role of an employee working at an escape room, and donned a completely different look. Amy, Leonard, Raj and Emily all went to the escape room together but there was no recognition of the girl. Fans are left to wonder whether or not it was actually the same woman, who just so happened to get a new job or if she was just an actress that was used to play two different roles.

12 Penny's Mother

While Sheldon and Leonard's mother were depicted on The Big Bang Theory early on in the series, it took a while for Penny's mother to be portrayed on the show. Yet, that didn't mean that she wasn't mentioned. During Season 5, Penny was eating takeout at Sheldon and Leonard's apartment and there was a disagreement on who would get the last dumpling. When Penny hurriedly shoved it in her mouth, Sheldon made the snide comment, "I've seen pictures of your mother - keep eating." Yet, that was quite contradictory to when Penny's mother was finally shown on the series. Penny's mother was portrayed by the actress, Katey Sagal, and she wasn't a large woman by any means.

11 Real Actress Referenced On Show

With the characters on The Big Bang Theory constantly watching TV shows and films, they've often talked about different real-life actors. During episode 13 of Season 1, the gang pondered over who would replace Sheldon in their physics bowl challenge for work. Raj suggested, "the girl who played TV's Blossom," and even referenced the fact that she held a PhD in neuroscience. When the character, Amy Farrah Fowler, was introduced into the show, it was the actual actress, Mayim Bialik, and she appeared as a neurobiologist. The series has actually tried to hide a few things to give homage to her Blossom background, including a Venn diagram of costume choices for Sheldon and Amy that included "Blossom & Joey."

10 Amy's Relationship With Penny

When Amy Farrah Fowler was introduced into The Big Bang Theory series, she was seen almost as rigid as Sheldon. In fact, this was a huge reason why the two of them seemed to get along so well. During those early depictions of Amy, she seemed quite distant from Penny. During one episode, she worried that Penny would touch her inappropriately and she even went so far as to ask her if she was a homosexual. Yet, this completely changed later on in the series and Amy was portrayed as almost bi-curious towards Penny. From trying out experimentation during a sleepover at Penny's to busting in on her while she was changing during Bernadette's dress shopping outing, it's interesting how her character changed so drastically in regards to her feelings for Penny.

9 Bert Was Shown As A Side Character

The Big Bang Theory has been known to use the same actors to play different roles but it's always quite interesting when fans get to see the same faces in completely different situations. The actor that plays Bert, the geologist at the university, was actually portrayed in episode 18 of Season 6. Brian Posehn was actually at the library when Raj was setting up a texting date. Bert wound up being featured in a number of other episodes, from asking out Amy Farrah Fowler to go with him to a rock show to introducing his new girlfriend to the rest of the characters after winning a $500,000 MacArthur Fellowship for a research paper he wrote in geology.

8 Change In Amy's Mother

When Amy Farrah Fowler was first introduced into The Big Bang Theory, she claimed that the only reason why she was going on a date was because of an agreement she made with her mother. When she started spending time with Sheldon, she asked him if he would video chat with her in order to convince her that she had a boyfriend. At the time, she was using the video chat as a way to get her mother to stop pestering her about getting a boyfriend and Sheldon wound up helping her in this elaborate ruse. Yet, when Amy's mother and father wound up appearing on the show to attend her wedding, it was not the same actress that was portrayed in the video chat. Instead, she was portrayed by Kathy Bates.

7 Amy Met Penny Before

Prior to starting a relationship with Sheldon, Amy Farrah Fowler had an agreement with her mother that she would date once a year. It seemed like she didn't really have much interest in actually having a romantic relationship and that was even evident during her first meeting with Sheldon. She also referenced experimental tests that she volunteered for in order to reach the pleasure centers of the brain. Yet, fans got to see a glimpse of what life was like for Amy prior to meeting Sheldon during the flashback episode, "The Bitcoin Entanglement." During Season 11, fans saw Amy on a date at The Cheesecake Factory and it was Penny that was her waitress. Penny was even seen taking a picture of Amy, so it's interesting that neither one of them would remember this odd encounter.

6 Amy's Stance On Costumes

During episode 11 of Season 4, the entire gang was set to compete in a costume contest for a New Year's Eve party at the comic book store. They were going as The Justice League and they asked Penny if she could dress up as Wonder Woman. She tried to blow off the request and asked why Sheldon wouldn't just as Amy Farrah Fowler. Sheldon claimed that Amy didn't believe in dressing up in Halloween costumes and claimed, "She isn't the free spirit I am." Yet, in episode 5 of Season 6, Amy could be seen pressuring Sheldon to dress up in a matching costume for a Halloween party at the comic book store. She claimed that it was one of the ways that people prove to the world that they're in a couple and she seemed even more enthusiastic about it than Sheldon.

5 Contradictions In Sheldon's Knocking

One of the most distinct features of the Sheldon Cooper character on The Big Bang Theory series is how he's quite fixated on knocking three times. He's been seen knocking on Penny's front door in this exact sequence on a number of occasions throughout the series and he even talked about its origin once. He claimed that he walked in on his father with another woman and that was when he began knocking three times to allow for people to get their clothes back on. Yet, there were a few instances in the series where Sheldon didn't knock just three times. On episode 23 of Season 2, Sheldon repeatedly knocked on Penny's door and wouldn't stop because of her repeating the knocking sequence. On another occasion, Sheldon said that he was knocking like The Flash by repeatedly knocking over and over on Penny's door.

4 Sheldon's Weird Quarantine

There have been a few times in The Big Bang Theory when the characters were put into quarantine because of being exposed to viruses. Yet, the time when Bernadette was put into quarantine was far more believable than when it happened to Sheldon. During episode 23 of Season 4, the entire gang went to the hospital because Howard's mother had to be rushed for either having a heart attack or a heart attack-like event. Sheldon was more than just a little bit hesitant to go since he feared for drug-resistant viruses. While trying to get away from a coughing patient, he pushed through a swing door and was said to be exposed to a virus. The people were in hazmat suits but it's not like the room was completely sealed off from the rest of the hospital and the swinging door wasn't exactly locked.

3 Sheldon's Sleeping Habits

With the Sheldon Cooper character being portrayed as completely rigid in the way he lives his life, it's not surprising that he would be portrayed as an odd sleeper. In a number of episodes, he is seen in his bed and it is described as "coffin sleeping" in the uniform way he is positioned. The blankets are placed in a specific way and he's tucked in quite tightly so that he is fully encompassed. On top of that, it doesn't ever look like he moves during his sleep. Yet, this is in direct contradiction to how he was portrayed sleeping when he starting to share a bed with Amy Farrah Fowler. He tossed and turned so badly that Amy was thrown from the bed at one point during the night.

2 Winnie Cooper Was Referenced By Raj

During episode 13 of Season 1, Raj began throwing out suggestions on who they should ask to join them as a member of their team for the physics trivia contest at the university. After mentioning Mayim Bialik, he also mentioned "the girl from The Wonder Years." The girl he was referring to was Danica McKellar, who played the role of Winnie Cooper on the series. McKellar wound up appearing on The Big Bang Theory during episode 12 of Season 3 and even interacted with Raj as a potential girlfriend. She played the role of Abby, a girl he met at a university mixer and it was said "They were kind of getting busy" at the end of the episode.

1 Reused Clips Of Mrs. Wolowitz

While Howard's mother was never actually seen on the show, she was still an ever-present member of the cast. She was often heard calling out inside her home or on the telephone and there were even Thanksgiving episodes at her house. A great deal of Howard's storyline actually revolved around his relationship with his mother and her voice became completely recognizable on the show. However, the actress that played Mrs. Wolowitz, Carol Ann Susi, actually lost her battle with cancer in 2014. The show released a loving tribute to her that stated, "Every time you spoke, we laughed. You're in our hearts forever." When the series needed to feature her again in a flashback episode, they actually used clips of her voice from previous episodes and spliced them together.

References: IMDb, Big Bang Theory Fandom, Hello Giggles, CBS, Better Help, Fanpop, Daily Motion, Recap Guide, Cool Spotters, Daily Mail