Every face on a US dollar bill has always been that of a dead guy.

Well...

Except one.

His name was Spencer M. Clark, and you'll hardly believe what he pulled off to get his own damn face on the five-cent bill back in 1866.

The story: We start five years prior...

In 1861.

The American Civil War has begun and Americans - confused, scared, and anxious about the future - begin looking at ways to protect themselves amid the frightening uncertainty.

And where do we flock when we see doom looming upon us?

Gold.

It's 1945, and perhaps the most talented high school baseball team in all of Arizona isn't allowed to compete for the state championship.

Why, you ask?

Because all of the students are detained.

Behind barbed wire.

A story: Before we begin, a heartfelt thank you to Lisa Heyamoto who researched and interviewed near and far to tell this story first for Narratively...

A story that starts on December 7, 1941...

In the small farming town of Guadalupe, California.

Between 2010 and 2013, Vijai Maheshwari routinely found himself on a plane between Kyiv and New York, smuggling something VERY valuable inside his luggage.

And no, it wasn't drugs.

It wasn't weapons, either.

Instead?

It was "Virgin Russian Hair".

The hard-to-believe story: Before diving in, a huge thank you to Vijai himself for sharing his own roller-coaster-of-an-experience first for Narratively...

An experience that starts in 2010...

In the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv.

Yeah the new MSG Sphere in Vegas is super cool.

But have you heard of the Indiana Bell Building?

The eight-story, 11,000-ton tower that rotated 90° in 1930...

Without anyone inside feeling a damn thing?

The full story, below: It's 1929 in Indianapolis, and the Indiana Bell Telephone Company has just bought the Central Union Telephone Company Building where they'll host their new headquarters.

The only problem?

The new building isn't big enough to accommodate all of their staff.

In 1725, Louis Congo - while enslaved - made the most important deal of his life:

He bargained for his freedom.

The catch?

As a free man, he'd be forced to take on a job no one else could possibly withstand...

A job full of punishment, of blood...

And of death.

A story: Before we start, a quick thank you to Crystal Ponti who uncovered this gruesome piece of history first for Narratively...

A piece of history that starts on a gray and gloomy April day in 1721...

In the French Louisianan capital of New Biloxi.

Jean Bédel Bokassa was known for many things.

Like, feeding dissidents to the alligators.

And crowning himself "Emperor of Central Africa."

But perhaps less known about Bokassa was his personal orchestra...

And the man whose live it unexpectedly changed...

Forever.

A story: Before we start, a huge thank you to Inna Lazareva who made several trips to the Central African Republic (CAR) to tell this story first for Narratively...

A story that starts in the late 1960s in...well, you guessed it:

The Central African Republic.

"The Shed at Dulwich" was ranked the top restaurant in all of London on November 1st, 2017.

The only problem?

The Shed at Dulwich...

DIDN'T EVEN EXIST!

Take your seat for this absolutely ridiculous, laugh-out-loud story: It's 2017, and London-based author Oobah Butler seen here has the odd-job of the century:

He writes fake restaurant reviews on TripAdvisor.

Yep.

You read that right.

Fake restaurant reviews. On TripAdvisor.

Literally everything Simo Häyhä did as a sniper defied all odds:

From his body count...

To his method of shooting...

To of course:

His own improbable, miraculous survival.

Sit tight for a movie-like story on the legend better known as "The White Death": Before we begin, a quick shoutout to Michael Stahl for telling this story first for Narratively...

A story that starts with Joseph Stalin and Adolph Hitler...

In August of 1939.

By 14? She had her pilot's license.

By 16? She was flying her country's once exiled Sultan back to Morocco.

But by 19? She was assassinated.

In cold blood.

This is the wildly inspiring yet devastatingly tragic story of the aviatrix you've never heard of...

Touria Chaoui: Before we start, a big thank you to Josh Shoemake for telling this hard-to-believe, barely told story first for @Narratively...

A story that starts on December 14th, 1936...

In the French protectorate in Morocco.

More specifically, the city of Fez, seen here.

What you see here is ACTUAL footage of a 1954 nuclear explosion you've probably never heard about...

And crazily enough?

There were sixty-six others just like it.

A story: Before we begin, a heartfelt thank you to @ZoeSCarpenter for taking the time to research and tell this important story for @Narratively...

A story that starts...

In the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

He flew the King of Saudi Arabia.

Then the Rolling Stones.

And soon enough?

He was flying kilos of cocaine for a guy named Pablo Escobar.

Buckle up and get comfortable for a doozy:

The hard-to-believe, Narcos-like story of the one, the only...

Al Dellentash: Before we take off (sorry for yet another shitty plane pun), a HUGE shoutout to Jeff Maysh who did what no man had done before:

That is:

Sit down with Al Dellentash...

Back in 2014...

To tell this story first for Narratively.

A story that starts all the way back in 1948.

A 147 foot steamship, a straw hat, and an ingenious plan.

That's what it took for Robert Smalls - born this day in 1839 - to execute the most improbable and daring maritime mission the world may have ever seen.

A story: We start in 1862.

Robert Smalls - the 23-year-old from South Carolina seen here - is a "wheelman."

Have any idea what the hell a wheelman is?

Ha.

Neither did I.

Prince Nico Mbarga’s “Sweet Mother” has sold more copies than “Macarena.”

And even The Beatles’ “I Want to Hold Your Hand”.

But chances are, especially if you’re not Nigerian, you’ve never heard of him.

Until now.

His rollercoaster-of-a-life story: Before we start, I’d like to thank Sami Kent who traveled through Nigeria and Cameroon to collect first hand testimony to tell this story for Narratively…

A story that starts in the 1950s…

In a small Nigerian bordertown called Ikom (back then a British colony).

You’ve heard of Pilates.

The exercise, that is.

But what you probably haven’t heard is how it originated:

By a German national named Joseph Pilates…

Who invented it while detained in a World War I Internment Camp.

A story: Before jumping in, we gotta hand it to Jacob Pagano for telling this story first for Narratively.

A story that, perhaps unexpectedly, starts in 1914…

In Blackpool, England.

In 1985, Tommy Thompson knew there was quite a lot of gold in a shipwreck off the coast of South Carolina.

So he built an underwater robot vessel to go get it.

But what he didn’t know?

He’d end up on the FBI’s Most Wanted list very soon after.

A story: Before we begin, a quick thank you to Dylan Taylor-Lehman for digging up (pun very much intended) this wild story first for Narratively.

A story that - for all intents and purposes - starts in 1985…

In Columbus, Ohio.

This is Minik.

It’s 1897, and in this photo, he’s around 7 years old.

But little does he know -

His life will soon tragically take a turn for the worse, all because of a North Pole explorer and a New York City museum.

A story: Before we get started, a quick thank you to Allison C. Meier for telling this gut-wrenching story first for Narratively.

It’s an important and rarely-talked-about history that should not be ignored.

Ok - let’s begin…

And let's begin by meeting Robert Peary, seen here.

With a population of "normally like two people", it’s the world's smallest country (seen here).

But where Sealand lacks in size, it most certainly doesn’t lack in shocking history…

One that includes the Russian mafia, helicopter sneak attacks, and a whole lot more.

A story: We start in 1942.

The United Kingdom erects a series of forts along the coast of England in order to shoot down Nazi warplanes.

But once the war comes to an end, the UK sees no need for the forts, disarms them, and lets them be.

But Roy Bates?

Ha.

He sure as hell doesn’t.

Little did 21-year-old John Cullen know he’d run into a group of undercover Nazi spies on a New York beach one summer night in 1942.

But he did.

And what ensued next is - for lack of a better phrase -

Downright crazy.

The story: Our story starts on a dark, foggy night on June 13th, 1942.

John Cullen, a young coastguardsman, is on foot patrol in Long Island, New York.

He carefully tip-toes around deep divots in the sand, guided only by a dimly lit flashlight that barely makes visible his own two feet.

Many of us know Ulysses S. Grant as former President of the United States.

And as the face of the $50 bill.

But what many of us don’t know about Grant is THIS rollercoaster-of a-story…

One that involves Mark Twain, a Ponzi Scheme, and a man's dire race against his own death: We start in 1877.

Grant has just finished the second of two consecutive terms as US President, and - like most ex-presidents - revels in the stardom.

He parades around town, takes on speaking engagements, and of course , like any rockstar would do…

Goes on world tour.

Her story is gut-wrenching. And devastating.

But it's an important part of our history:

Henrietta Wood - who was born into slavery, freed, kidnapped, and enslaved again - would, against all odds, survive and sue her captor.

And win.

Here's her nearly forgotten story: Henrietta Wood is born somewhere between 1818 and 1820.

Or so we think.

"I can't quite tell my age," she says in 1876.

And she’s not lying.

Because birth records for those born enslaved are hardly kept, Henrietta, like so many others, doesn’t know her birthday.

He impersonated doctors, lawyers, and diplomats.

But in 1921, he pretended to be a US Navy Officer and did the unthinkable:

He snuck an Afghan Princess into the White House.

Here's the wild story of Stanley Clifford Weyman, the most elaborate imposter the world has ever seen: Yes, yes, yes - I promise:

We WILL dive into a whirlwind tale of an Afghan princess and a US president.

But before then?

It's important to - at least try - understand the complicated and confusing psyche of the star of our story:

Mr. Stanley Clifford Weyman.