Curated playlist

United States Army soldiers

Jimi HendrixJimi Hendrix's first guitar was a one-string ukulele found in the garbage. He learned by ear to Elvis songs.
Edgar Allan PoeEdgar Allan Poe's executor used forged letters to paint him as a drunken madman.
Al GoreAl Gore won the 2000 popular vote but lost the presidency by 537 Florida votes.
Robert DuvallRobert Duvall died at his farm in Middleburg, Virginia, on the 15th of February 2026, at the age of 95. His wife, Luciana Pedraza, announced his death in a public statement. He had worked for seven decades, and on screen he rarely seemed…
Clint EastwoodPresident Reagan quoted Clint Eastwood's line "Go ahead, make my day" to Congress.
Dean CorllDean Corll was the man whose death a frightened caller reported to the Pasadena Police Department at 8:24 on the morning of the 8th of August 1973. The operator who answered was named Velma Lines. The caller was a teenager, and he blurted…
Buster KeatonBuster Keaton's deadpan face began when he stopped laughing in his father's vaudeville act.
Edgar Rice BurroughsEdgar Rice Burroughs wrote Tarzan after failing as a mine manager and pencil-sharpener wholesaler.
Sammy Davis Jr.Sammy Davis Jr. once answered a simple golf question with a line that became his signature. Playing a round with Jack Benny, he was asked what his handicap was. Davis replied, "Handicap?" and then went on: "Talk about handicap. I'm a…
Jack KirbyJack Kirby was drafted in 1943 and became a scout who drew reconnaissance maps in towns.
Steve DitkoSteve Ditko covered Spider-Man's face because it looked too young. He reasoned a full mask would add mystery.
Edmund WilsonCritic Edmund Wilson mailed strangers a postcard listing over two dozen things he would not do.
George LowAfter three astronauts died in the Apollo 1 fire, George Low took charge of fixing the spacecraft.
Jeffrey DahmerJeffrey Dahmer killed seventeen men and boys between 1978 and 1991. He became known as the Milwaukee Cannibal and the Milwaukee Monster. On the night of the 22nd of July 1991, police officers in a Milwaukee apartment pinned him to the…
Henry HillIn 1955, an eleven-year-old boy named Henry Hill crossed the street from his Brooklyn home and wandered into a dispatch cabstand, hoping for a part-time job after school. The men who gathered there were local mobsters, and Hill had admired…
Timothy LearyTimothy Leary escaped prison in September 1970 by climbing a telephone wire over the wall.
Rodney AlcalaRodney Alcala walked onto the set of the television game show The Dating Game in 1978, and host Jim Lange introduced him as a successful photographer. Lange promised that between takes he might be found skydiving or motorcycling. The…
Ice-TIce-T got his stage name when friends heard him recite novels by Iceberg Slim.
Chelsea ManningChelsea Manning is an American activist and whistleblower who, as a young Army intelligence analyst in Iraq, copied nearly 750,000 classified or sensitive military and diplomatic documents and passed them to WikiLeaks. To carry the files…
David BerkowitzDavid Berkowitz was sitting in his parked car outside a Yonkers apartment building at about 10:00 on the night of the 10th of August 1977 when Detective John Falotico aimed a gun at him. A second detective, Sergeant William Gardella,…
John List (murderer)John Emil List left behind a mansion in Westfield, New Jersey, that blazed with light in the autumn of 1971. Every room was lit, day and night, and yet nobody seemed to be living there. Neighbors waited and watched. Then the light bulbs…
Saul ZaentzSaul Zaentz won three Best Picture Oscars, a feat almost no one else in Hollywood has matched.
John McCarthy (computer scientist)John McCarthy coined the term "artificial intelligence" in the summer of 1956. He also created the language Lisp.
Thomas P. StaffordApollo 10's lunar module spun out of control after Thomas Stafford flew it within nine miles of the Moon.
Earl LloydEarl Lloyd became the first Black player in an NBA game on Halloween night, 1950. He scored six points.