In honor of the cult classic Star Wars, many have celebrated May 4th as Star Wars Day because the date sounds like a pun on the popular phrase “may the force be with you.” And of course there’s an after party, appropriately titled Revenge of the Sith celebrated on May 5th. In honor of this celebrated movie series, here are ten facts about Star Wars.

1. Yoda was voiced by Frank Oz, who you also may know as Miss Piggy from the Muppets.
2. George Lucas denied Harrison Ford’s request for Han Solo to die due to carbon freezing at the end of The Empire Strikes Back.
3. The Emperor was played by an elderly female stand-in. Later in production chimpanzee eyes were superimposed over her face to give her a more eerie feel.
4. In The Empire Strikes Back, the asteroids in the asteroid scene were made of a variety of materials, one of which was a potato.
5. Up to ten puppeteers using both hands gave life to the galactic mercenary Jabba the Hutt.
6. George Lucas planned for Yoda to be played by a monkey wearing a mask and using a cane.
7. The name “ewok” was never uttered in the original trilogy.
8. Luke Skywalker almost became the new Vader at the end of The Return of the Jedi. The movie was also going to have dthe name The Revenge of the Jedi.
9. Chewbacca’s iconic growl/roar is a mix of bears, walruses, lions, badgers, and other animals.
10.  The South Pacific island Niue accepts Star Wars collectible coins as currency.