Since its establishment in 1947, the Central Intelligence Agency has operated largely in the shadows, building a reputation for secrecy, influence, and high-stakes covert action. With a mission centered on gathering intelligence and shaping foreign outcomes, the CIA has often worked behind the scenes to steer events without public awareness. While most of its activities remain classified, sporadic leaks, declassified files, and insider revelations have occasionally pulled back the curtain—revealing stories of intrigue, manipulation, and unintended consequences.
What follows is a glimpse into some of the CIA’s most secretive operations—and the lasting impact they’ve had on global politics.
The CIA spent $20 million on Operation Acoustic Kitty
In the 1960s, the CIA embarked on one of its more unusual projects: using cats to listen in on sensitive conversations. That’s right—a single cat was the subject of this bizarre experiment before the entire program was abandoned.
During a brief, hour-long surgery, agents implanted a microphone, transmitter, and antenna inside the feline, hoping it could carry out its spying duties unnoticed. Unfortunately, training the cat proved impossible, as it consistently ignored its mission and followed its natural feline instincts instead.
Known as Operation Acoustic Kitty, the effort was officially shut down in 1967, after the CIA had spent $20 million learning the obvious lesson: cats simply do what they want.
The only Starbucks where you don’t need to give your name
CIA agents work long hours, so it’s not surprising that the agency’s headquarters in Langley, Virginia, has its own Starbucks. But this Starbucks is different than the average franchise you find in other places.
The staff here are trained to identify faces instead of using names, and they go through much tougher security checks than the average Starbucks employee.
Agents’ names are kept on a secret memorial
Many people may not realize that the CIA has a memorial dedicated to agents who have died in the line of duty. Located at the agency’s headquarters in Langley, Virginia, the memorial features a star for each fallen agent, with a new one added for every loss. Currently, there are 140 stars on the memorial.
Interestingly, many of these stars are not accompanied by names, preserving the secrecy of the agents even after their deaths.
Using popular music for… torture?
The CIA and its agents are no strangers to strange and controversial methods related to torture. Of the methods we know about, one of the strangest is the use of popular music—and it’s not just one kind of music that’s been used.
According to a report called Out of the Darkness, songs by the Irish pop group Westlife were used to torture a man at a CIA “black site.” Another report from Human Rights Watch described the use of songs by rappers Eminem and Dr. Dre, and it’s also been reported that music by the Red Hot Chili Peppers was played.
The Red Hot Chili Peppers’ music, with its heavy guitar riffs, was said to cause distress for those held captive.
Is the CIA to blame for the Unabomber?
Ted Kaczynski, widely known as the Unabomber, stands as one of America’s most notorious criminals. Over nearly twenty years, beginning in the 1970s, he terrorized the nation by sending homemade bombs through the mail, causing widespread panic until his capture in the 1990s.
A lesser-known aspect of Kaczynski’s history involves his involvement in a CIA-funded study while he was a student at Harvard University. As a sophomore, he took part in a study that required students to write deeply personal essays, which were then subjected to harsh and anonymous criticism. Researchers closely monitored the participants’ emotional and physical responses throughout.
David Kaczynski, Ted’s brother, later speculated that the profound humiliation Ted experienced during this study may have played a role in fostering his profound mistrust of authority—a factor that possibly contributed to the violent path he eventually took.
The CIA only confirmed Area 51’s existence in 2013
Area 51, long the focus of extraterrestrial speculation and government secrecy, remained wasn’t officially acknowledged for decades. That changed in 2013, when the U.S. government finally acknowledged the facility’s existence. Despite hopes of alien revelations, declassified documents painted a far more grounded picture: Area 51 was simply a top-secret site used for developing and testing advanced military aircraft.
Still, the mystique hasn’t faded. In 2019, an internet joke snowballed into a viral campaign when millions jokingly planned to “storm” Area 51 and “see them aliens.” Though the event was ultimately peaceful, the mass interest sparked a national security stir and reminded the world how deeply the legend of Area 51 has embedded itself in popular culture.
The CIA may have hired Saddam Hussein
Some people think the CIA hired Saddam Hussein in the 1950s, hoping to eventually make him the leader of Iraq. Back then, the U.S. government was concerned that Iraq’s Prime Minister, ‘Abd al-Karīm Qāsim, might support Communist ideas, and they wanted to remove him from power to prevent that.
United Press International reported this story after speaking with former diplomats, U.S. intelligence officials, and scholars. Notably, the CIA declined to comment on the matter.
Giving unsuspecting individuals illicit substances
The CIA has a famous history of experimenting with LSD, especially through Project MKUltra. The agency wanted to know if it was possible to control someone’s mind, so they began a secret project in the 1950s called “Operation Midnight Climax.”
Instead of giving people LSD themselves—which would have been illegal—the CIA hired female street workers in San Francisco to administer the substance for them. These women would bring men back to specially prepared safe houses. There, the men were unknowingly dosed with LSD before any other activities took place. The houses were equipped with one-way mirrors so CIA agents could secretly watch and record the effects of the drug.
Not surprisingly, this operation was full of serious ethical problems. The CIA ultimately abandonded this line of research in 1963.
Using Viagra as a bargaining chip
In exchange for information, the CIA has a long list of payment methods that can be used as an alternative to money. An example of this comes from the Vietnam War, when Vietnamese farmers hired by the agency were paid in tools, rather than money, as the items were of more use.
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Another notable example occurred during the War in Afghanistan, with agents offering an Afghan chieftain Viagra in exchange for information on Taliban activities in the region. This was a much safer option than money and weapons, as the latter could fall into the wrong hands.