Biff, Chip and Kipper aren’t actually called Biff, Chip and Kipper. Their real names are Elizabeth, David and Christopher Robinson – and it’s blowing people’s minds.
The revelation was uncovered on
Twitter, after one person shared a page from one of the books titled, “Meet the Robinson family” – which revealed the three kids’ real names.
And it turns out they all owe their nicknames to Kipper struggling to pronounce his older brother and sister’s names, as well as his own. How old were you when you found out Biff, Chip and Kipper were actually called Elizabeth, David and Christopher? And don’t say 4 years old!!!I was precisely today years old 😂😂😂Now wondering what else is a lie!!! pic.twitter.com/WndJsLMliq— Jo Evans (@JoEvans1976) September 21, 2019People couldn’t get over the news.What?!?!? I have been teaching for 23 years & I had NO idea!! I’ve been living a lie 😩— susannah robert (@sannah71) September 22, 2019So everything that I have just read is news to me. A surname. Real names and twins. Had to go and lie down!— Corrie Hallsworth (@CorrieHallswor1) September 22, 2019pic.twitter.com/A0nNu2OgIv— Jo Evans (@JoEvans1976) September 21, 2019The Magic Key books, which began in 1985, are used in more than 80% of the primary schools in the country thanks to its inclusion in the National Curriculum – and the series has a staggering 800 books in it.
The stories cover both big adventures involving Bigfoots and pirates, and small-scales ones like getting a new jumper. Author Roderick Hunt and illustrator Alex Brytcha might not be household names – but they surely have to be the most-read creators in Britain. Both have received MBEs.
There was also an additional mystery pointed out on Twitter. It seems Biff might once have been Barbara…My lovely friend @MrsAtkin2 just told me that this is a new thing! Buff was in fact Babs once upon a time pic.twitter.com/zSBMoPVNCz— TeacherJude (@jude_teacher) September 22, 2019Roderick Hunt’s son, photographer JJ Hunt, asked his father about the nicknames, and said they were chosen to not have any class associations, as well as to ensure they were unlikely to be shared by children reading them.... having had a chat with my Dad this morning I thought you might be interested that when he was thinking of the characters originally he didn’t want names that had any class associations....— JJ Hunt (@jjhuntphoto) September 23, 2019People have found some interesting details in the books over the years, from cameos from then-celebrities like Jeremy Beadle, to the curious inclusion of building blocks spelling the word ‘hepatitis’.
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