6 Everyone Receives Money


It would suck to drop your friends, family, and job, fly out to some God forsaken island in Oceania, starve yourself for 35 days, and come in third or fourth. Luckily, everyone who participates on the show is paid on a sliding scale, depending on how well they do. The winner obviously gets $1 million, the runner-up typically receives $100,000, and third receives $85,000. We also know that Sonja Christopher, the very first person voted out of Survivor, received $2,500. We also know that each contestant receives $10,000 for the reunion show. So even if you're the first to be voted out, you should be guaranteed $12,500. Where do we sign up?

5 It Has Generated Controversy


Survivor is certainly not without controversies. In All-Stars, Richard Hatch rubbed himself against Susan Hawk, causing the latter to quit the game in protest. Cook Islands infamously split the tribes by their race, allegedly resulting in some dropped sponsorship deals. Some seasons, including Gabon and Caramoan, feature shots of uncensored nudity. And Fiji utilized many recruited players (like unemployed actors looking for fame and fortune) rather than taking from the viewer applications.

4 The First Winner Was Busted By The IRS


Seriously people, pay your taxes! The very first winner of Survivor was a man named Richard Hatch. Unfortunately, Hatch failed to pay taxes on his $1 million in earnings, was convicted on charges of tax evasion, and went to federal prison for four years! He was thrown back in prison for an additional nine months after failing to amend his 2000 and 2001 tax returns (the same year he won Survivor).

In 2013, it was also discovered that Hatch had failed to pay property taxes on his Nova Scotia property for more than six years. We don't think this guy likes the concept of forking over his money...

3 Phil Keoghan Was Nearly The Host


You cannot separate Jeff Probst from Survivor. Like Alex Trebek, Pat Sajak, and Bob Barker, he is intrinsically linked to the show, and it seems like replacing him is just...wrong. Amazingly, we almost didn't get him at all. While the producers were casting Survivor, Probst was in the running for hosting duties alongside Phil Keoghan. The producers and CBS executives obviously went with Probst, but they were so enamored and impressed with Keoghan that they offered him another show - The Amazing Race.

2 Production Was Affected By 9/11


As was the case with many things, production of Survivor was impacted by 9/11. The show was scheduled to begin filming its fourth season in Jordan in November 2001. However, the September 11 attacks caused the producers to change locations at the last minute, and production was moved to their back-up location - the Marquesas Islands. Unfortunately, this location was an utter nightmare for the cast and production crew, as it was swarming with painful no-no flies.