I get a kick out of watching deep dives into Tom Bombadil lore. Folks go nuts trying to explain his and Goodberry’s roles in the LotR universe.

Tolkien himself said Tom was based on a Dutch doll that his kids threw in the toilet. He wrote a poem for his kids about Tom in 1934 and it also includes Goodberry and Old Man Willow.

They ended up in Lord of the Rings as a kind of gift to his kids.