25 things you probably didn't know about One Direction

Savanna Swain-WilsonJul 11, 2020, 01:42 IST

One Direction's 10-year anniversary is approaching.Chris Hyde/Getty Images

One Direction was formed in 2010 and they've broken many music records over the past decade.
Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson, Harry Styles, and Zayn Malik have gotten matching tattoos.
One of the band's unreleased tracks is called "Man on a Mission" and Payne has a tattoo of one of the song's lyrics.
Between 2010 and 2017, the British-Irish group won more than 200 awards and accolades.

The British-Irish music group One Direction (1D) is known for being one of the most successful boy bands of all time.

Initially comprised of Liam Payne, Zayn Malik, Niall Horan, Harry Styles, and Louis Tomlinson, One Direction put out five hugely successful albums, participated in four headlining world tours, broke streaming records, and snatched up countless awards — all while earning the devotion of millions of fans around the globe.

Although One Direction has been on indefinite hiatus for the last five years, they still remain relevant as solo artists and alive in the hearts of Directioners everywhere.

With the band's 10-year anniversary approaching this month, now's a great time for fans to brush up on their 1D knowledge in preparation for a potential reunion.

Here are 25 interesting things you may not know about One Direction.

Simon Cowell said it took him 10 minutes to come up with the idea to combine solo artists Horan, Malik, Payne, Styles, and Tomlinson into a group.

One Direction was originally formed on July 23, 2010. Getty Images

They were almost called an entirely different name.

Harry Styles is credited with coming up with the band's name. Getty Images

Their United States debut became a significant part of UK music history.

"Up All Night" was One Direction's debut album. Syco Music

Prior to joining the band, Malik had never flown on an airplane.

Zayn Malik said Louis Tomlinson told him the plane was going to do a loop-de-loop. Rich Fury/Invision/AP

One Direction was once the opener for fellow boy band Big Time Rush.

Big Time Rush had a show on Nickelodeon. Mike Coppola/Getty Images for Nickelodeon

They had secret games that they played with each other to keep themselves entertained during press days.

One Direction had a few games. Ethan Miller/Getty Images for iHeartMedia

They were brand ambassadors for the Pokémon Black and Pokémon White video games.

A still from One Direction's Pokémon ad. YouTube/Nintendo UK

Four out of the five band members have matching tattoos.

Niall Horan doesn't have any tattoos. Zak Hussein/Corbis via Getty

Payne once described One Direction's sound as a "Pink in a boy band form."

Liam Payne said One Direction's sound is guitar-driven. Christopher Polk/Getty Images

In addition to appearing on countless talk shows, the band appeared as themselves on episodes of "Family Guy" and "iCarly."

The 2012 "iCarly" episode was called "iGo One Direction." Nickelodeon

Between 2010 and 2017, they won more than 200 awards and accolades.

One Direction at the 2013 BRIT Awards. Dave M. Benett/Getty Images

Some members of One Direction have had Twitter feuds with members of the UK boy band The Wanted.

The music group The Wanted in 2013. Jonathan Short/Invision/AP

One Direction has collections of office supplies, dolls, singing toothbrushes, and fragrances.

Niall Horan in the ad for the Our Moment fragrance. One Direction/YouTube

One Direction has been longtime friends with James Corden.

Harry Styles and James Corden kissing on "The Late Late Show." The Late Late Show with James Corden/YouTube

British singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran is responsible for writing several 1D hits, including "Moments," "Little Things," "Over Again," and "18."

Harry Styles and Ed Sheeran have a matching tattoo. David M. Benett/Getty Images for Fudge Urban

Tomlinson appears behind the wheel in nearly half of One Direction's music videos.

Louis Tomlinson driving in the "Live While We're Young" video. OneDirectionVevo/YouTube

The band's third album, "Midnight Memories," was the best-selling album around the globe in 2013.

"Midnight Memories" was released in November 2013. Syco Music

According to Forbes, the band's Where We Are tour was the highest-grossing concert tour of 2014.

The Where We Are tour was One Direction's third headlining tour. Theo Wargo/Getty Images

The band was once forced to leave a Trump hotel because, Payne said, the band wouldn't wake up at an "ungodly" hour to fulfill Donald Trump's special requests.

One Direction performed at Madison Square Garden in 2012. Mike Marsland/WireImage/Getty

One Direction's hit single "Midnight Memories" was originally about Kentucky Fried Chicken.

"Midnight Memories" was originally about chicken. One Direction/YouTube

They have been immortalized at Madame Tussauds wax museum.

One Direction and their wax figures. Madame Tussauds via Getty Images

The boys were known to play many pranks on each other.

Louis Tomlinson was perhaps the biggest prankster of them all. Shirlaine Forrest/WireImage/Getty

Their song "No Control" is considered an unofficial single from the album "Four."

"Four" was released in 2014. Al Pereira / Contributor / Getty Images

The band has recorded countless tracks that fans might never get to hear.

Liam Payne has a lyric from one of the unreleased songs tattooed on his arm. Jo Hale/Redferns/Getty Images

One Direction once broke a record for being the most popular music group on Twitter.

Today, Niall Horan has the largest individual Twitter following of the band members. Christopher Polk/Getty Images for Clear Channel

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