The night after the eating-dog-faeces scene was filmed, Divine called a hospital emergency hotline pretending to be a mother whose son ate dog feces; she was told that the worst thing that could happen was that he might get white worms.
According to production designer Vincent Peranio, the art department's budget was about $200. Half went to purchasing the trailer, half to decorating it. "And then after that (running out of money), we would just steal things."
During filming, Divine was arrested for stealing; in his defense he said he was a method actor playing a criminal.
Divine and the party guests are actually inhaling amyl nitrate during the party scene. At the time of filming, it was still legal to buy such "poppers" at drugstores. If you watch Divine's face during the scene, she suddenly starts laughing uproariously. John Waters says that's where "it kicked in".
The film has one of the longest front-credits sequence of all time. Every actor and every single extra featured in the film is listed.
John Waters: [manson] In one of the scenes of Divine sashaying through Baltimore, she walks past graffiti that says "Free Tex Watson". There is also a framed picture of Susan Atkins in Connie and Raymond's apartment.