The 21 Coolest Facts About the CIA (That We’re Allowed to Know)

As one of the world’s most secretive yet public intelligence agencies, the Central Intelligence Agency needs little introduction. Founded in September 1947 in the aftermath of World War II, the CIA, as it is better known, is responsible for much of the foreign intelligence gathered by the United States. 

The CIA’s predecessor, the Office of Strategic Services, was abolished in 1945 by President Truman in favor of a national intelligence directive exempt from Congressional oversight. While the CIA’s failures are public today, its successes are far less. What’s also true is that the CIA has done some incredible things in its time, some more wild and outrageous than others. 

21. Time Capsule

• Source: Factrepublic.com

Interestingly, the CIA has a time capsule that was buried in 1959 at the cornerstone of the original headquarters building in Langley. The capsule is believed to contain mysteries and items from the Cold War agency era and is set to be opened in 2059. 

20. Soccer Fields

• Source: Factrepublic.com

Knowing that Soviet soldiers love soccer, the US became suspicious when it realized that soccer fields were starting to appear in Cuba. In Cuba, baseball is the country’s first love, which meant soccer fields aroused suspicion, leading the US to discover nuclear missiles were placed in Cuba, setting off the Cuban Missile Crisis in the early 1960s. 

19. Venture Capitalists

• Source: Factrepublic.com

Move over, Silicon Valley. The CIA operates its own venture capital fund to purchase any technology it believes will be helpful to national security. Once the CIA purchases something, it generally never becomes available for public use. 

18. Twitter

• Source: CIA.gov

Showing that even intelligence agencies have a sense of humor, the CIA’s first Tweet in June 2014 said “We can neither confirm nor deny that this is our first tweet.”

17. Operation Midnight Climax

• Source: Factrepublic.com

Among the wildest ideas the CIA has had, it hired prostitutes in San Francisco to drug men with LSD and experiment with mind-control research. Known as the “MKUltra program,” it all sounds a little twisted and something of an evil movie plot, but it really did happen. 

16. Dirty Movie

• Source: Factinate.com

Knowing no limits, the CIA produced a dirty pornographic movie in the 1950s containing a look-alike of then Indonesian President Sukarno. The hope was that the film would destroy his reputation and force him from power, however, the CIA never released the film. 

15. Art Of War

• Source: Factrepublic.com

At the height of the Cold War, the CIA secretly paid artists like Jackson Pollock to help promote “American freedom” through “abstract expressionism.” The hope was that this art would dramatically contrast against colder, more rigid Soviet art in an ideological warfare. 

14. Secret Code

• Source: Factinate.com

During the 1980s, the Soviet Union and its KGB intelligence group were building an oil pipeline across Siberia. However, the Soviets needed software to run the pipes, which the US refused to sell. As a result, the Soviets were allowed to “steal” the code, which contained a secret backdoor that allowed the CIA to help explode the pipeline. 

13. Fidel Castro

• Source: Factinate.com

So intent on having Fidel Castro removed from leadership in Cuba, the CIA was willing to explore every possible option, including employing the Mafia to get the job done. Rumor has it the CIA offered more than $150,000 (1960s money) to get rid of Castro once and for all. 

12. Air America

• Source: Factinate.com

Between the 1950s and 1970s, the US operated a secret passenger airline, Air America. This airline flew around Southeast Asia and avoided violating the Geneva Convention as the CIA kept a close eye on Communist China and other nations in the region. 

11. Pigeons

• Source: CIA.gov

During the Cold War, the CIA looked at every opportunity to gather intelligence, and sometimes, the answer was straightforward. The CIA would attach miniature cameras to pigeons and release them over territory the US wanted to learn more about, including secret sites and troop movements. 

10. Project Azorian

• Source: Wikipedia

Disguised as a marine research project, the Central Intelligence Agency and billionaire Howard Hughes combined forces to secretly lift a Soviet submarine from the bottom of the ocean floor in 1974. The project cost around $800 million, making it one of the most expensive undertakings of the Cold War. 

9. Stargate Project

• Source: Watchmojo

In partnership with the US Army, the CIA once explored the possibility of someone using psychic abilities to perform espionage. The study included whether army soldiers could develop psychic abilities, but as one might imagine, it wasn’t successful. 

8. Tradecraft

• Source: Spyscape

Unlike the movies, CIA agents don’t traditionally drive around in expensive cars and suits. Instead, they travel as light as possible with only a few essentials. However, one tradecraft technique agents are trained to take with them in a doorstop to protect their hotel rooms. 

7. Magician Work

• Source: Spyscape

While it might sound crazy, the CIA once employed magician John Mulholland in the 1950s, who was paid $3,000 to write a “to-secret manual of deception.” Copies of the book were said to have been destroyed in 1975, but a copy later appeared after being published. 

6. Operation Acoustic Kitty

• Source: Warhistoryonline.com

In the 1960s, the CIA thought outside the box and attempted to make intelligence operatives out of cats. With a minor surgical procedure, cats were implanted with a hidden microphone and even after spending $20 million on the project, the cats could not complete missions without losing focus. 

5. Secret Museum

• Source: Reader’s Digest

The Central Intelligence Agency has a secret 11,000-square-foot museum inside its headquarters. Unfortunately, only agency members and guests the agency has cleared can step inside. 

4. Starbucks

• Source: Warhistoryonline.com

As one might suspect, CIA workers love their Starbucks to help power through intelligence gathering. As a result, Starbucks built a location inside agency headquarters, and baristas are trained to remember faces so no one needs to give their name. 

3. Area 51

• Source: Warhistoryonline.com

Area 51 is one of the most famously secretive military bases in the United States and is often rumored to be where the US keeps alien spaceships. Drawing even more attention thanks to a Will Smith film, it wasn’t until 2013 when the CIA officially acknowledged the base’s existence as a top-secret site for military aircraft. 

2. Secret Memorial

• Source: Warhistoryonline.com

The wall honoring those who have died in service to the CIA is well-known, as it’s been seen in movies. It is a very real (and sacred) location in the agency’s headquarters in Langley, Virginia. The current understanding is that 140 stars decorate the wall, honoring 140 nameless individuals who paid the ultimate price in service to their country. 

1. ARGO

• Source: CIA.gov

After militant Islamic students took control of the US Embassy in Iran in 1979, the CIA impersonated a movie crew looking for filming locations and successfully exfiltrated six US diplomats from the country. The mission was later popularized in a movie starring Ben Affleck.

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