GTA V is packed with chaos, satire, comedy, and open-world brilliance — but some of the most underrated gems hide inside the Strangers & Freaks missions. These side quests introduce bizarre characters, weird conversations, and unforgettable moments that give Los Santos its personality.
But buried inside these missions are dozens of random, obscure details that Rockstar never highlights — easter eggs, references, design quirks, and strange development leftovers that only make sense when you look closely.
So today, let’s take a relaxed drive through the world of Los Santos and explore one useless fact from every Strangers & Freaks mission — useless, yes, but fun, fascinating, and surprisingly insightful.
🚗 1. Tanya’s Towing Missions: Pulling Favors & Still Pulling Favors
Let’s begin with Franklin’s most questionable side hustle — towing cars for Tanya.
Before listing the facts, here’s a quick warm-up:
These missions seem simple on the surface, but Rockstar hid a surprising number of small details inside them.
✔ Tanya’s Phone Isn’t a Real Phone
After delivering the towed car, Tanya takes a call. If you stand next to her and pull out your own phone, you’ll notice her screen displays the exact same UI as yours.
It’s a recycled asset — Tanya’s phone isn’t really running anything.
✔ Franklin Mentions 1992 — The Year GTA San Andreas Takes Place
In Pulling Another Favor, Franklin jokes:
“At least I ain’t hittin’ the pipe like it’s 1992.”
1992 is the same year that GTA San Andreas is set — and crack addiction is a major story theme there.
✔ These Missions Only Trigger If You Reply to Tanya
Rockstar knew these missions were… less exciting.
You can only activate them by:
- Getting a text from Tanya
- Calling her immediately
Ignore the text → the mission never appears on your map.
✔ Tanya Says “Don’t Be a Stranger,” Then Disappears Forever
After Pulling One Last Favor, she says:
“Don’t be a stranger, baby!”
And then? She never calls again. Ever.
🏁 2. Shift Work: Racing for Hao
Hao’s street races are simple, but the world around them hides a few neat details.
Before jumping into them, let’s set the scene:
These are pure racing missions — so the facts relate to the world, NPCs, and references around them.
✔ Hao Mentions Franklin’s First Race in the Tuners Update
Years later, in GTA Online’s Los Santos Tuners update, Hao recalls the exact race Franklin won.
✔ The Mechanic Reacts to Franklin’s Wins and Losses
If you’ve raced before Father/Son, the mechanic at Los Santos Customs comments on your performance.
✔ If You Haven’t Raced Yet, He Tries to Recruit You
He’ll encourage Franklin to join “one of the races sometime.”
📸 3. Paparazzo Missions: Beverly, Poppy, Princess & More
The celebrity-hunting missions with Beverly are full of weird trivia.
✔ A Cut Vehicle (The Matador) Was Meant to Appear
Leaks revealed that a car called The Matador was meant for these missions.
You can only see it now on a poster inside Simeon’s dealership.
✔ Poppy’s Cement Crash Is Scripted
In the mission, she crashes into cement tubes and they collapse dramatically.
Try knocking them over in free roam — nothing happens.
✔ Poppy’s Arrest Article Confirms Timeline
After snapping her arrest photo, an online article reveals both missions happen within the same week.
✔ You Can Stand Next to Princess Without Being Detected
Rockstar assumed nobody would do this.
You can literally walk up to her, take the photo, and the mission won’t fail.
✔ Beverly Is Canonically Killed
To get a gold medal in Paparazzo: Reality Check, you must kill Beverly and his crew.
Meaning canonically, he doesn’t survive the game.
🧩 4. The Letter Scraps: Leonora Johnson’s Killer
Once you collect all 50 scraps, Franklin confronts Peter Dreyfuss.
✔ His License Plate Literally Spells His Name
Rockstar wasn’t subtle — his car literally gives him away.
🌱 5. Grassroots Missions: Drug Trips & Hidden References
One of the weirdest mission chains in the game.
✔ “Grassroots” Is a Reference to a Store in GTA IV
Liberty City already had a shop named Grassroots, inspiring the mission name.
✔ The Hallucination Music Is by a Band Called “Visitors”
The song Visitors plays as you shoot aliens or clowns.
The band is also named Visitors — fitting.
✔ Trevor’s Clown Cars Only Exist in This Mission
They spawn only during Trevor’s hallucination.
They were originally meant for a cut heist called The Charmuda Job.
🏃 6. Exercising Demons: Mary-Ann’s Insanity
These missions test cardio more than driving.
✔ Mary-Ann Reacts to Michael’s Outfit
If he wears:
- A suit → she gets embarrassed
- Sportswear → she accuses him of dressing to flirt
✔ Her Voice Actor Won an Award
Don McGee won “Best Actress” in 2013 for this role.
✔ Franklin’s Race Contains the Only Bicycle Stunt Jump
The bridge jump is the only official stunt jump that can be completed on a bike.
🔵 7. The Epsilon Program: Seeking Truth Through Nonsense
This cult storyline is packed with references and cut content.
✔ The Red Truck Phrase Comes from GTA San Andreas Lore
It’s a recreation of an old Epsilon myth.
✔ Marne From GTA IV Returns
Remember her strange clinic emails?
She shows up again… in a cult.
✔ The PK Device Is a Ghostbusters Prop
The device Jimmy gives Michael is based on the original 1984 Ghostbusters PK meter.
✔ Wearing Epsilon Robes Makes NPCs Greet You With “Kifflom”
Store owners and clerks say “Kifflom, brother!”
✔ You Can Steal the Mission Helicopter
Kill the guards → wait for mission complete → helicopter unlocks.
🎯 8. Hunting & Shooting With Cletus
✔ Target Practice Is Crucial for Speedrunning
A glitch called OM0 Skip makes this mission one of the most important in GTA V speedruns.
✔ A Cougar Can Randomly Attack You in Fair Game
It’s extremely rare, but you can get suddenly mauled and fail instantly.
🇺🇸 9. Civil Border Patrol: The Minutemen
✔ Joseph Is the Same Guy From Trevor’s Bar Fight
You can see him earlier in Trevor Phillips Industries.
✔ The “Minutemen” Name Comes From U.S. Colonial History
It refers to 1770s militia soldiers ready to fight in under a minute.
How this relates to these fools… unclear.
✔ Joshua Claims Joseph Knows No English — Then Joseph Proves He Does
He actually speaks several words during the missions.
⚓ 10. Abigail’s Missions: Diving for Truth
✔ Frank’s Death Appears in News Reports
You can hear legit radio coverage about the “accident.”
✔ $10 Reward — Lowest Mission Payout in GTA History
No mission has ever paid less.
🇬🇧 11. Nigel & Mrs. Thornhill
✔ Their Bowing Scene Parodies Wayne’s World
“We’re not worthy!”
Perfect imitation.
✔ You Can Follow Josh Into the House Later
He does nothing interesting — but yes, he can be killed.
💼 12. Real Estate Missions
✔ Trevor Can Ask a Jogger for Avery’s Location
The jogger gives directions and even mentions a past deal.
✔ SURREAL Estate Cannot Be Completed Above Certain FPS
High FPS = fuel drains faster
Thus the jerry can trail becomes impossible.
👽 13. Omega & The Space Docker
✔ His Device Is the Same PK Meter Model from Epsilon Missions
Rockstar reused the design intentionally.
✔ The Space Docker Is Styled After a Star Wars X-Wing
Lights, wings, the works.
🐕 14. Dom’s Extreme Sports Missions
✔ The Dog Is a Reference to an 1859 Short Story
A nod to The Half-Brothers, where a dog guides people to save a trapped man.
✔ Liquidity Risk Mirrors GTA San Andreas’ Stowaway Mission
Plane + bike + jump = nostalgia.
✔ Shaken, Not Stirred
Dom quotes James Bond.
✔ Leap of Faith Gold Medal = Assassin’s Creed
The joke?
It doesn’t work for Dom.
👵 15. Mrs. Phillips
✔ Her Voice Actress Is Believed To Be Geraldine Moffett
Dan & Sam Houser’s mother.
🦍 16. The Last One (Bigfoot)
✔ The Sasquatch’s Lines Are Copied From Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare
Word-for-word identical.
🧪 17. Dr. Friedlander
✔ Whether You Spare Him or Kill Him… the Game Reports Him Dead
Weasel News always publishes his death article.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. Are Strangers & Freaks missions required for 100% completion?
Yes. You must complete the required ones. Some optional branches do not count.
Q2. Are all these facts confirmed?
Yes. These come from in-game triggers, hidden files, the GTA Wiki, and known leaks.
Q3. Can you replay S&F missions?
Only through saving before them or using mods. GTA V does not offer built-in replay.
#GTA5 #StrangersAndFreaks #GTAVFacts #GTAEasterEggs #RockstarGames #LosSantos #dtptips
