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Favorite character - His favorite animated character was Pinocchio.

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Favorite books - His favorite books as a child included 'Rip Van Winkle' and 'The Old Man and the Sea.'

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Muscles - He owned a boa constrictor called Muscles.

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Michael Jackson - He was very ticklish.

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Racial barriers - 'Billie Jean' was the first video by a black artist to air on MTV.

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Plant-based - MJ followed a strictly vegetarian diet.

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Food - He was a fan of Mexican food.

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Trickster - He used to put spiders in his sister La Toya’s bed when they were young.

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Hollywood Walk of Fame - He has not one but two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame: one for himself and one for the Jackson Five.

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Llama pets - He once owned two llamas called Louie and Lola.

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Short-lived - He and Lisa-Marie Presley were married for only 19 months.

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Publishing rights - He paid US$47 million for the publishing rights to the Beatles' back catalog in the 1980s. He later sold a share to Sony for US$95 million.

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Grammy - He won eight Grammys in 1984, the highest amount ever won by one person in a single year.

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Middle name - His middle name was Joseph, after his father.

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First performance - He was five years old when he gave his first public performance, singing 'Climb Every Mountain.'

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Skin complaint - In 1993, his dermatologist announced MJ had a skin disease called vitiligo, which causes loss of skin color in blotches.

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Still thrilled - 'Thriller' is the world’s best-selling record of all time, with an estimated 66 million copies sold worldwide, according to the Guinness World Records. However, The Eagles’ 'Greatest Hits' has recently surpassed MJ’s 'Thriller' as best-selling album in the United States.

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'South Carolina on My Mind' - MJ never owned the rights to the state's anthem, contrary to popular belief. He owned a good portion of The Beatles' catalog, possibly including 'Carolina In My Mind,' which is a likely explanation for the confusion.

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Wax figures - His wax figures are found in five Madame Tussauds museums across the world, behind only those of Elvis Presley and Madonna.

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Favorite superhero - His favorite superhero is Morph from X-Men.

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Money from music - It is estimated that he earned around US$500 million from music in his lifetime.

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Humanitarianism - He often wore a black armband to draw attention to the plight of children suffering around the world.

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Mr. Tibbs - He had a pet ram called Mr. Tibbs.

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Little Richard - The musician wanted to be played by Jackson in a biographical film.

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Fanatical - A fan in France committed suicide in 1984 because his mother refused to allow him to undergo surgery to look like the star.

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'Scream' - The video for 'Scream' cost US$10.7 million (adjusted for inflation), making it the most expensive ever.

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Bookworm - A library once accused the singer of owing US$1 million in overdue book fees.

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Royalty -

The Kingdom of Sanwi (found in Côte d’Ivoire) named MJ king in 1992.

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Best Movie Song - He won an MTV award for Best Movie Song in 1994 with 'Will You Be There' from 'Free Willy.'

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Appearence - He has said weight loss and being a vegetarian contributed to the change in his looks.

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Cosmetic surgeries - But he did admit to having had two nose jobs.

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Cough drop tea - Before concerts, he liked to drink Ricola cough drops dissolved in hot water.

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Controversy - In 2002, he set the world ablaze when he dangled his infant son Prince Michael II, commonly known as Blanket, over a hotel balcony in Berlin in front of fans.

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Controversy - He once acknowledged sharing his bed with children but described it as sweet, and not sexual.

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Friendship - He was a best man at Liza Minnelli’s wedding to David Gest.

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Record audience - The largest television audience in U.S. history watched him perform during the 1993 Super Bowl.

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Worldwide phenomenon - A survey in 1997 declared him the Most Famous Person in the World.

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Inventor - Michael Jackson patented a shoe device that allowed dancers to lean forward at gravity-defying angles.

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Michael Jackson - Jackson once described Elizabeth Taylor as "a warm cuddly blanket that I love to snuggle up to."

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Godfather - Macaulay Culkin is the godfather to MJ's three children.

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Godfather again - MJ is godfather to Nicole Richie.

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And yet again - And he is also godfather to Bee Gees singer Barry Gibb’s son Michael.

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'We Are The World' - MJ cowrote 'We Are The World' with Lionel Richie.

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The Jackson Brothers - He was four-years-old when he joined his brothers Marlon, Jermaine, Jackie, and Tito in their band.

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Jackson 5 - The group's number-one hits included 'I Want You Back,' 'ABC,' and 'I’ll Be There.'

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Injured - Jackson suffered burns when an explosion set his hair on fire during production of a 1984 Pepsi advertisement.

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Michael Jackson - Jackson has 13 number-one hits on the US Billboard charts, behind only Elvis Presley, the Beatles, and Mariah Carey.

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Loneliness - In 1993, MJ opened up in an interview with Oprah Winfrey about his traumatic childhood, including the loneliness he felt.

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Religious upbringing - MJ's mother was a Jehovah's Witness and raised him as such.

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Early talent - The family band was originally called the Jackson Brothers.

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Jackson 5 - At age eight, MJ was promoted to joint lead vocals and the group became the Jackson 5.

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"Wacko Jacko" - He initially used his eccentric personality to promote his music, but he disliked the “Wacko Jacko” nickname.

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Crazy stories - Rumors about him included that he slept in an oxygen chamber and that he bought the bones of The Elephant Man.

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Neverland Ranch - He bought the land in California that became the Neverland Ranch for US$17 million in 1988. 

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Humanitarianism - The profits from his single 'Man in the Mirror' went to charity.

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Bubbles - His most famous pet was Bubbles the chimpanzee.

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Bubbles - MJ bought Bubbles when he was three from a cancer research clinic in Texas.

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Artwork - American artist Jeff Koons made a series of sculptures of Jackson and Bubbles.

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