Specifically, I'm thinking of the Deathly Hallows and their age. I have a vague memory of either Ron or Hermione commenting on it being unusual that Harry's Invisibility Cloak has worked so well for so long, that the magic normally fizzles out after a few years, once the heard the story about the Deathly Hallows. What I don't remember was how specific it was to that type of magic. Should the magic used in creating it have worn off over time? Offhand, all I can think of that couldn't have been renewed regularly are the horcruxes and their protections - which may have just been powered by the piece of soul in them. If it should have worn off, did (at least one of) the creators of it figure out how to make the magic permanent, like the Deathly Hallows are? Answer There seem to be two sides to this coin, there are some examples of magic wearing out after a period of time, and several examples of magic not wearing out after a period of time. The Marauder's Map seems ...

Two brief excerpts from The Magical Congress of the United States of America (MACUSA) By J.K. Rowling on Pottermore state the following: The Magical Congress of the United States of America, known to American witches and wizards by the abbreviation MACUSA (commonly pronounced as: Mah – cooz – ah) was created in 1693 , following the introduction of the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy. It was in Washington that President Elizabeth McGilliguddy presided over the infamous ‘Country or Kind?’ debate of 1777 . How is this possible since the "United States of America" was not founded until 1776 with the writing of the Declaration of Independence AND Washington, DC was not founded until 1790 ? More to the point how did a team of writers, advisors, editors, etc. not notice this glaring error? Have any comments been made by Rowling or her team regarding this? Answer Probably for the same reason MACUSA is called MACUSA in 1693 , over 100 years before the United States bec...

Why are the Transformers' robot forms so "humanoid"? I understand why their vehicle modes are cars and airplanes: Transformers (or at least, Teletraan I) can scan any vehicle, and then transform into that form. And in the first episode of the Transformers G1 cartoons, I noticed that Bumble's vehicle mode was that of a spaceship... he only transformed into a car after he came to Earth, and Teletraan I scanned for suitable vehicles. But why are the Transformers' robot forms so humanoid, even if they lived on Cybertron millions of years ago... when Australopithecus had only just begun to walk? Answer In the Gen 1 cartoon continuity, The Quintessons created the Transformers. So, the real question is: why did the Quintessons choose a "humanoid" form? But there's a problem there. What are we calling "humanoid"? The fact that they have a body shape that has roughly the same anatomical structure as humans? We never learn just how long ago the Tr...

What is the reason (in canon) for the different colors of lightsabers? I know about purple being specially chosen by the actor Samuel L. Jackson since it's his favorite color, but is there a reason or purpose for the colors, other than "red=sith, blue/green=jedi"? Answer First, there is nothing that was told in the movies about the lightsaber colors, so all information on the subject came from extended universe. The color of the lightsaber come from the crystal used in it's construction. It's a personal choice based on multiple factor like crystal availability, traditional color for a Specialization (undermentioned as class ) or just a personal color preference. Out of universe, the Blue / Red distinction was made during post-production when the lightsaber blades were being rotoscoped, as the original blades were simply white. The color choice might have been influenced by the political climax , the red color being traditionally associated with Soviets and blue...

So basically the boy gets marked as a zero meaning he can’t hold magic and is forced on the run. It starts with what’s basically a day when kids come of age, they get marked by their magic level, and that determines their social rank.

I was wondering; what is the name of the place Gandalf falls to when the Balrog drags him down, after the fight in Moria? What information from the Legendarium is there available about this place? Answer They landed in a lake that's not, as far as I can tell, explicitly named, but is basically the deepest part of Middle-Earth. As Ash notes in a comment , Gandalf says this about it: "Thither I came at last, to the uttermost foundations of stone". And: "at last he fled into dark tunnels. They were not made by Durin's folk...Far, far below the deepest delvings of the Dwarves, the world is gnawed by nameless things". From The Two Towers, Chapter 5. They then fight all the way up the "Endless Stair" to where I believe you (and others viewing this question are likely thinking of: the mountaintop where the battle concluded, Zirakzigil. From the LotR Wikia : Neither he nor the Balrog was killed by the fall, and Gandalf pursued the creature for eight day...

We know that today there are witches and wizards in countries throughout the world (at least in the Potter-verse). But how about before European colonization and immigration? Were there magical people amongst the Incas or Mayans? Or among the native tribes in North America? How about in Australia, Africa, or parts of Asia before Europeans spread to those areas? Or did all witch and wizard bloodlines originate from Europe? Answer They were magical Native Americans, as well as other cultures too. The Pottermore article titled History of Magic in North America showed that there were magical people in The Americas long before the Europeans arrived. Magic appeared all over the globe, not just in Europe. Though European explorers called it ‘the New World’ when they first reached the continent, wizards had known about America long before Muggles (Note: while every nationality has its own term for ‘Muggle,’ the American community uses the slang term No-Maj, short for ‘No Magic’). Various m...