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16. John Lennon had an affair with Brian Epstein
According to Albert Goldman's book, The Lives of John Lennon, the Beatle had an affair with the band's manager and close friend, Brian Epstein, from 1963 until Epstein's death in 1967. Two other authors, Peter Shotten and Hunter Davies, claimed that Lennon and Epstein had sex but not a long-term relationship. Lennon denied the rumor, telling Playboy in 1980 "it was never consummated, but we had a pretty intense relationship." Lennon's ex-wife Cynthia also refuted the claim in her memoir, John, saying, "[Like] most lads at the time, [John] was horrified by the idea of homosexuality." — SH
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15. Marlene Dietrich and Greta Garbo had an affair
Marlene Dietrich and Greta Garbo may be a match made in lesbian heaven — but not in '30s Hollywood. In fact, Garbo and Dietrich were known as bitter rivals during their respective careers. Is it possible that in the more liberal environment of Weimar Germany, the two young actresses had an affair? Could their later Hollywood "rivalry" have been a PR ploy to keep their past hidden? Or are the stories only wish fulfillment, bolstered by their fiercely guarded private lives and androgynous screen personas? Dietrich's daughter, Maria Riva, addressed the rumors in her 1994 biography. Though she denies an affair, this interview with The Advocate shows that she, like the rest of us, has engaged in some speculation. — GW
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14. Admission to Yale's secret society, Skull and Bones, involves various sexual humiliations
Some of the nation's most prominent politicians, including George W. Bush and his father, are members of Yale's secret society Skull and Bones. Bonesmen are sworn to secrecy, so no one knows what really goes on in the Tomb (the group's on-campus headquarters), but rumors about bizarre initiation rituals and connections with shady organizations like the Illuminati and the CIA and have circulated through word of mouth and in publications like Esquire, The Atlantic Monthly and the New York Times. According to these reports, to gain admission to the sect, our future president lay naked in a coffin while masturbating and reciting his sexual history, participated in nude mud-wrestling matches, jumped into a pile of shit, kissed a skull and received $15,000 upon becoming a member. Bonesmen give each other secret names; supposedly Bush Sr. received the title "Magog," awarded to the inductee with the most sexual experience. Bush Jr. was allowed to choose his own nickname, but didn't come up with one, so the elders christened him "Temporary." Given W's infamous facility with comedic handles ("Turd Blossom" for Karl Rove, etc), this seems unlikely. — SH
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13. Hitler had one testicle
"Hitler — has only got one ball/ Göring — has two but they are small. . . " That's the classic doggerel verse, set to the "Colonel Bogey March." (MIDI here; thanks, Wikipedia). But what's the truth behind it? While historians generally agree that Hermann Göring's testicles were of average size, the notion that Hitler had but one testicle (or a shrunken testicle, or a retracted testicle, or one smooth blue testicle and one fuzzy green testicle) actually has some grounding in history. A Soviet autopsy report from 1945 written by one Dr. Faust Shkaravski, reports that "the left testicle could not be found. . . "
Very interesting, but dubious. First of all, Hitler's body, of course, was burned, removing any kind of testicular evidence. More importantly, Soviet documents are not noted for their untouched authority. In 1945, the Soviets had plenty of reasons to discredit Hitler. As Ron Rosenbaum writes in his fascinating book, Explaining Hitler, "the lost testicle has become a repository for the hope that some singular solution — an explicatory single-bullet theory — exists somewhere to explain everything ." — PS
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12. Anna Wintour's broken heart belongs to the late Bob Marley
A funny thought, surely; the queen of high-strung hauteur pining away for perhaps the most relaxed musician of all time. In Front Row: The Cool Life and Hot Times of Vogue's Editor-in-Chief, Jerry Oppenheimer claims that in the late '70s, when Marley was on tour in New York, Chris Blackwell of Island Records introduced the two, and Wintour "fell for" the Rastafarian. Wintour's rep gave no comment to "Page Six," but a friend reportedly told Oppenheimer that the editrix acted as if she'd "met God" and she "virtually disappeared for a week" while Marley was in town (presumably, she was back stage puffin' and lovin'.) "When Wintour finally resurfaced, she looked utterly worn out," Oppenheimer writes, "but [she] denied to friends she'd spent the week in Marley's bed." This doesn't seem like the kind of thing you'd deny, even if you were Anna Wintour, but then, who can fathom her frosty heart? — CB
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11. Jamie Lee Curtis is intersex
Jamie Lee Curtis was born with a penis! Jamie Lee Curtis was born with an extra chromosome! We remember hearing these lines on the playground before we had any idea who Jamie Lee Curtis was. Curtis has never discussed her genital status, so let's consult a more entertaining source: the CHUD.com message boards. Writes "Cheese Biscuit," "She has two XXs and a Y chromosome. She's all woman physically, but she can't have kids due to the genetic defect." (According to imdb.com, Curtis' two kids with Christopher Guest are adopted. Gosh, this is getting awfully personal.) Replies "Brian Ross," "Her facial features are rather manish [sic]." In conclusion, arguments are strong on both sides of this important issue; judge for yourself. Incidentally, we're grateful for a job that allows us to spend hours Googling "jamie lee curtis hermaphrodite." — PS
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10. Catherine the Great died while having sex with a horse
In her lifetime, Catherine II dethroned her husband and took control of Russia, guided geniuses like Voltaire and Diderot and cultivated a flourishing Russian art scene. And yet, more than 200 years after her death, barnyard trysts are what she's best known for. The myth stems from Catherine's healthy sexual appetite — she took on several lovers after her husband's death — as well as envy and fear. In the eighteenth century, questioning a woman's sexuality was a vicious and efficient way to shame her. While there weren't tabloids to sully a good name, there were jealous French nobility, whom historians believe spread the rumors about Catherine after her death in an attempt to destroy her legacy. It was basically Mean Girls with fancier gowns. — CJ
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9. Marilyn Monroe + JFK
These days, if the phrase "Happy Birthday, Mr. President," sung in a sultry half-lisp, conjures Wayne's World instead of Marilyn Monroe, YouTube has the remedy: video of Monroe singing "Happy Birthday" to JFK on his forty-fifth — May 19, 1962. The performance is certainly suggestive, as is Kennedy's deadpan response ("I can now retire from politics after having had 'Happy Birthday' sung to me in such a sweet, wholesome way.") Can the rumor be confirmed? A tryst between the two icons certainly seems possible, but since so many people want it to be true, the actual evidence can be hard to judge. For example, Kennedy papers discovered in 1997 included an agreement by Kennedy to buy Monroe's silence on the subject of their supposed affair, but forensics experts quickly showed the documents to be fake. — PS
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