‘Friends’ Flashback: Weird Things You Never Noticed in Central Perk

Let’s face the facts: there will never be a real-life coffee shop that’s as perfect as Central Perk. In magic Friends land, you could sit there for hours without feeling weird about hogging the couch, it never got too crowded, the music (was there any?) was never too loud, there were tons of magazines, and strangely, table service. It was all too good to be true. But some people haven’t given up hope. Come September, a pop-up version of Central Perk will open for a short time in New York’s SOHO district.

Basically, it will be designed to look just like the set of Friends. Wait, just like it? Obviously, you have to have the orange velvet couch and the coffee table, and the unnecessary but awesome neon “service” arrow pointing to the barista counter. But there are some other crazy details about Central Perk that must be replicated in order to satisfy the most die-hard of fans. Here are some of the random things you probably never noticed in Central Perk.

1. A rocking horse and a random children’s book

2. The mounted head of a bull. What the what?

3. This creepy child ghost

4. Subliminal propaganda!

Kidding. It’s just Uncle Sam pretending he’s art.

5. A lady with a hat on inside

6. Extremely New York-themed coffee roasts

7. People who are totally happy being stuck in the uncomfortable chairs. 

Bonus points if you can spot the saddest houseplant in the world.

8. Is that an ashtray?

It’s probably just a decorative plate, but we can’t be sure.

9. Another couch.

Seriously, this is crazy. Where has this thing been?

Oh Friends, how we miss you.

Images courtesy of NBC