Over the past few months, we’ve been granted unprecedented access to the inner workings of the CIA, uncovering 10 CIA documents that reveal their surprisingly lame side. Thirteen million declassified files have been uploaded to a searchable archive, and WikiLeaks has also dumped a massive trove of confidential material, giving us a front‑row seat to the agency’s less‑glamorous moments.

While many of the papers expose shadowy plots and ethically dubious experiments, a handful of files are delightfully ordinary, showing that the world’s most secretive organization is often just as quirky, clueless, and human as the rest of us. Below, we walk through each of those ten eye‑opening (and occasionally cringeworthy) documents.

10 The CIA’s Hacking Team Are Nerds

When WikiLeaks threw open the CIA’s clandestine hacking program, the entire searchable database of their software tools went public. What the leak exposed wasn’t a sleek, ultra‑professional operation, but a crew of unabashed geeks who peppered their codebase with pop‑culture jokes and meme‑filled JPEGs.

One utility borrowed its name from a World of Warcraft trading card, while another, christened after the philosophizing raptor meme, came with a picture asking, “If the zombie apocalypse happens in Vegas, would it stay in Vegas?” The roster also featured a tool named after Ricky Bobby from Talladega Nights, which allegedly worked hand‑in‑hand with a program called Cal. The developer proudly noted, “Cal is RickyBobby’s best friend,” and tossed in the baffling phrase “SHAKE N BAKE!” for good measure.

A separate document listed a collection of “awesome tool names” the coder hoped to use someday because they sounded cool. Suggestions ranged from “Awesome McToolname” to “Starving Weasel,” the latter being a nod to a Weird Al song. A colleague chimed in, confirming the reference and likening the moniker to a “pretty killer punk band.”

10 CIA Documents Highlight Nerdy Hacking Team

9 The CIA’s Guide On How To Identify A Homosexual

Back in 1980, the CIA produced a manual that attempted to teach agents how to detect homosexuals within the workforce. The tone is startlingly earnest, treating the task as a high‑stakes investigative challenge.

The guide warns that “there are few, if any, types of personnel investigation which are more complex than the investigation of homosexuals.” It stresses that spotting a gay individual “demands the full range of investigative techniques.”

Ironically, the authors caution against relying on visual cues, noting that “very few employees come to work wearing eye makeup.” Yet they also claim that gay men tend to drive foreign‑made cars and often enter “front marriages” with lesbians to conceal their private lives, which they describe as “activities disgusting beyond the wildest imagination.”

Perhaps the most baffling recommendation is the reliance on “gay passwords.” The memo asserts that only homosexuals know the words “gay,” “straight,” and “bi.” Therefore, if a prospective operative recognizes these terms when asked, the agency believes it has caught a gay individual red‑handed.

10 CIA Documents Detail Outdated Homosexual Detection

8 Uri Geller And The Stargate Program

In the 1970s, Israeli illusionist Uri Geller rose to fame by allegedly bending spoons with his mind. While many viewers were convinced of his psychic powers, Johnny Carson later exposed Geller as a charlatan on national television.

Before his infamous Tonight Show appearance, Geller was approached by the CIA, which hired him as a “psychic warrior.” The agency poured millions of dollars into experiments designed to test his alleged abilities. In a controlled setting, Geller was shown a series of drawings and asked to reproduce them from memory.Surprisingly, Geller’s reconstructions were remarkably accurate, leading CIA analysts to conclude that he had “demonstrated his paranormal perceptual ability in a convincing and unambiguous manner.”

Geller later claimed that the CIA paid him to erase Russian floppy disks with his mind and even considered using him to stop a human heart or trigger a nuclear detonation. Whether any of those projects ever moved beyond the brainstorming stage remains a mystery.

10 CIA Documents Reference Psychic Spy Program

7 Your Awful Coworkers May Be CIA Saboteurs

During World War II, the CIA released a pamphlet titled “Simple Sabotage,” which outlined a step‑by‑step plan to undermine the Nazi war effort from within. While the premise sounds like a Hollywood thriller, the actual advice reads more like a guide to being a terrible employee.

For rank‑and‑file workers, the manual suggests tactics such as “using a very rapid stroke will wear out a file before its time” and “when you go to the lavatory, take as much time as you can.” Managers receive counsel to “talk as frequently as possible and at great length, illustrating points with long anecdotes and personal stories.”

The document even advises saboteurs to “haggle over precise wordings of communications, minutes, [and] resolutions” whenever possible, effectively turning bureaucratic red‑tape into a weapon. In short, many of the tips read like the behavior of an irritating coworker rather than a covert operative.

One particularly telling recommendation is simply: “Act stupid.” The authors seem to suggest that deliberate incompetence can be a powerful form of sabotage.

10 CIA Documents Reveal Office‑Sabotage Tactics

6 CIA Performance Reviews Are Ridiculous

A handful of declassified CIA employee performance reviews have surfaced, showcasing some of the most bizarre appraisal language on the planet. The comments range from lukewarm to hyperbolic, painting a picture of an agency that takes its internal feedback very seriously—sometimes a little too seriously.

One reviewer wrote, “Subject manages to break even,” while another praised an agent for “conducting a three‑hour conversation in a language he had never spoken before.” Some notes highlight “tremendous hours of uncompensated overtime,” suggesting that agents routinely work beyond the call of duty.

Other entries are downright puzzling. One agent received the note, “She does not flap,” a phrase that leaves most readers scratching their heads. The most flattering accolade, however, reads, “When he stubbed his toe, he recovered with grace,” implying that even minor mishaps are worthy of commendation.

10 CIA Documents Showcase Odd Performance Feedback

5 The CIA Gets Mad At Comedians Who Make Fun Of Them

In a top‑secret CIA meeting in 1968, Director Richard Helms expressed irritation over comedian Mort Sahl’s jokes about the agency on The Merv Griffin Show. The minutes note, “The Director noted that Mort Sahl apparently railed against the Agency… and asked Goodwin to obtain a transcript.”

Following the meeting, the CIA began cataloguing every newspaper clipping that mentioned Sahl, tracking each instance where he poked fun at the organization. One particularly eerie document appears to have a hand‑drawn scratch over Sahl’s eyes, hinting at an obsessive surveillance effort.Another file shows an agent furiously underlining the word “beatnik” beneath a photo of Sahl, suggesting a personal vendetta against the comedian’s counter‑cultural image.

These records reveal that even a light‑hearted satirist could trigger a full‑blown internal response, underscoring the agency’s sensitivity to public perception.

10 CIA Documents Detail Comedy‑Induced Panic

4 Working With Drug Addicts

The CIA’s involvement with LSD is well‑documented, but fewer know about its interactions with the psychedelic evangelist Alfred Matthew Hubbard, often dubbed the “Johnny Appleseed of LSD.” For years, rumors swirled that Hubbard had been in contact with the agency.

Declassified correspondence finally confirms that Hubbard wrote to the CIA, expressing a desire to join their psychic‑research efforts. The agency’s reply was candid: “Quite frankly, we are somewhat confused.” The letter explains that Hubbard’s rambling about psychics and power left the officials baffled.

Hubbard eventually enlisted a friend to write on his behalf. The friend admitted he, too, struggled to grasp Hubbard’s creative process, stating, “His creative process is such that I’m not sure he knows what he would produce.”

Despite the confusion, the CIA appears to have entertained Hubbard’s request. Since Hubbard was not seeking payment—only legal permission to experiment with LSD—the agency may have seen little downside in granting him clearance, even if his motives were unconventional.

10 CIA Documents Reveal LSD Collaborations

3 Keeping Track Of Their Coolest Parties

The CIA’s searchable archive contains countless newspaper clippings, many of which seem to be saved simply because the agency’s name appears alongside a celebrity’s. In several instances, a diligent employee underlined the director’s name when it was listed as a “celebrity” next to icons like Mick Jagger and Donald Trump.

One heavily annotated article, titled “CIA Chief A Cool, Cool Master Spy,” blends references to secret programs such as the U‑2 project with a focus on the director’s social engagements. Rather than safeguarding classified material, the annotator highlighted words like “spectacular achievement,” “triumphs,” and “greatest accomplishments,” suggesting an admiration for the director’s public persona.

These markings hint that, beyond espionage, the agency also kept tabs on its own social cachet, perhaps to boost morale or simply to record moments of personal prestige.

10 CIA Documents Show Party‑Tracking Obsessions

2 Making Jokes About Soviets

One declassified memo contains a short list of jokes that were slated for the deputy director’s inbox. While the tone suggests a light‑hearted attempt to poke fun at the Soviet Union, the content reads like a collection of tongue‑in‑cheek one‑liners.

Examples include an American proclaiming, “To hell with Ronald Reagan,” in front of the White House, only to have a Russian reply, “That’s nothing. I can do the same in front of the Kremlin.” Another gag describes a man in a liquor line declaring, “I’m going to shoot Gorbachev,” only to find the line for his target even longer than his own.

A third joke plays on a grocery store scenario where a customer asks for meat, only to be told the store has no fish, and the neighboring shop has no meat, creating a circular punchline.

These jokes reveal a surprisingly whimsical side of the agency, where even senior officials occasionally indulged in a little humor about Cold‑War rivals.

10 CIA Documents Contain Cold‑War Humor

1 Trying To Find UFOs

One of the most headline‑grabbing revelations from the declassification effort is that the CIA has been quietly investigating unidentified flying objects for decades. The agency’s files include meeting minutes, photo collections, and analytical reports aimed at determining whether extraterrestrials have ever visited Earth.

Despite the sensational nature of the subject, the documents show that CIA analysts approached the UFO phenomenon with textbook skepticism. They cataloged sightings, compared images to known aircraft, and produced guides to assess the credibility of each report.

While a few agents appeared open to the possibility of alien life, the majority concluded that the evidence was inconclusive at best. The agency’s stance mirrors that of many mainstream scientists: curiosity tempered by rigorous demand for proof.

In short, the CIA’s UFO files are less about secret cover‑ups and more about methodical investigation—though the very existence of the files continues to fuel speculation among conspiracy enthusiasts.

10 CIA Documents Examine UFO Phenomena

These ten declassified files paint a portrait of an agency that, despite its reputation for clandestine might, is also capable of being delightfully mundane, absurdly nerdy, and occasionally outright goofy. From meme‑filled hacking tools to earnest (and now outdated) attempts at spotting gay men, the CIA proves that even the world’s most secretive organization has its share of laugh‑able moments.

Welcome to the top 10 unbelievable saga of the CIA’s clandestine forays into the paranormal. Between 1978 and 1995, the agency financed a covert venture known as Stargate, hoping to forge a squad of “psychic warriors” capable of peeking into locked rooms, nudging physical objects, and even glimpsing the future. Below we break down each jaw‑dropping experiment, complete with the original images that accompanied the declassified reports.

10 Psychics Remotely Viewed Confidential Documents

The primary avenue the CIA explored was “remote viewing”—essentially asking psychics to project their minds into sealed envelopes, locked cabinets, or entire buildings and report what they saw. Early trials involved placing a photograph inside a sealed envelope and then prompting a psychic to describe the image. The resulting descriptions matched the hidden pictures with an uncanny degree of precision, prompting the agency to consider the phenomenon a genuine investigative tool.

Remarkably, the operatives managed to transmit a written message across a wall. A note was scribbled on a sheet of paper in one room, and a psychic stationed in another building reported reading the exact wording without ever seeing the paper. In a separate test, a computer inside a shielded chamber generated a random binary string of ones and zeros; several psychics reproduced that exact sequence, suggesting a non‑local information transfer.

The program even escalated to scrutinizing classified CIA dossiers. Psychics described the architecture of the document storage facilities, the hue of the binding covers, the length of the reports, and even identified the individual authors. One subject even noted a construction crew actively working within the building. The declassified files label these outcomes as “surprisingly accurate,” concluding that remote viewing held real operational promise.

In the final assessment, the agency declared remote viewing a “real phenomenon” and noted its “application potential” for gathering intelligence on adversary secrets, effectively endorsing the notion of a psychic‑enabled espionage force.

9 A Psychic Described The History Of Mars

In 1984, the CIA deliberately set a trap to catch a psychic in a lie. Instead of assigning a terrestrial location, the test card read “The Planet Mars. 1 million years BC.” The expectation was that the subject would flounder, describing modern structures on a barren planet. Instead, the psychic narrated a landscape of towering pyramid‑shaped constructs, massive obelisks, ragged mountain ranges, and a strange, oversized sun. He repeatedly emphasized the odd color of the mountains—”yellowish … okra‑colored”—and the sheer scale of everything, noting that all features appeared colossal.

When pressed to travel further back in time, the psychic’s vision shifted to slender, otherworldly beings wearing odd garments. He described a massive vessel resembling a gigantic boat with “very rounded walls and shiny metal,” suggesting a kind of interstellar ark. The narrative grew increasingly frantic as the psychic reported that these beings were “dying” and searching desperately for a way to survive, hinting at a civilization on the brink of extinction.

His descriptions grew more chaotic, with the psychic exclaiming, “Oh God, this is difficult,” as he wrestled with the cosmic scale of his visions. He likened the experience to viewing space photographs, emphasizing the bewildering, almost cinematic quality of the scenes he was forced to articulate.

The CIA documented the episode as a perplexing case where the psychic’s insights ventured far beyond earthly expectations, providing a tantalizing glimpse—if not a confirmation—of potential remote perception of extraterrestrial history.

8 The CIA Contacted Police Psychics

When U.S. law‑enforcement agencies began consulting psychics to crack cold cases, the CIA took notice. While many dismissed these collaborations as fringe, the agency saw a valuable opportunity to broaden its own research. CIA‑funded analysts reached out to police departments that employed psychics, conducting a systematic study of the outcomes.

The findings were striking: out of 11 officers who had relied on psychic assistance, eight reported receiving “otherwise unknown information” that proved useful for their investigations. In three separate instances, the psychics allegedly located missing bodies that had eluded traditional search methods. The report highlighted the potential of psychic input to narrow investigative leads and uncover hidden clues.

Based on the data, the CIA drafted a practical guide for integrating psychics into law‑enforcement workflows. The guide warned that psychic statements tend to be vague and require careful interpretation, yet it recommended deploying them when investigators needed to prioritize leads or locate missing persons. The agency’s endorsement underscored a serious, albeit unconventional, belief in the operational value of psychic consultation.

7 The CIA Used Psychics In Major Hostage Crises

By 1983, the CIA had already logged roughly 700 missions that employed psychics, boasting an 85 % accuracy rate—on par with conventional intelligence‑gathering techniques. These psychic operatives were dispatched to monitor high‑stakes hostage scenarios, aiming to locate captives and assess their conditions without physical infiltration.

During the infamous Iran hostage crisis, a team of remote viewers was tasked with mentally surveying the embassy compound. Their reports detailed the precise rooms where hostages were held, the guard rotations, and even mundane daily activities. When later compared to on‑the‑ground intelligence, the psychic descriptions aligned closely with reality, reinforcing the agency’s confidence in their utility.

Another stark example involved Colonel William R. Higgins, abducted in Lebanon. Psychics pinpointed his detention site, describing the surrounding architecture and the movements of his captors well before field agents could verify the location. Unfortunately, despite this foresight, the CIA did not act decisively, and Higgins was ultimately killed. Post‑mortem analysis confirmed that the psychic intel had been accurate, highlighting both the potential and the tragic missed opportunity.

6 Experiments In Telekinesis

The CIA’s curiosity didn’t stop at remote viewing; it also ventured into the realm of telekinesis and related phenomena. While the public mostly recalls the flamboyant performances of stage magician Uri Geller, the agency’s files reveal a more methodical approach. In a tightly controlled laboratory setting, Geller was asked to bend a metal strip using only his mind. Even the most skeptical scientists recorded a measurable 10‑degree bend, deeming the result “significant.”

Beyond Geller, the CIA recruited younger talent, including a 13‑year‑old boy named Stephen, who demonstrated the ability to deform aluminum with mental intent. Detailed instrumentation captured subtle shifts in the metal’s structure, confirming that an external influence—presumably psychic—had occurred. Another subject, French psychic Jean‑Pierre Girard, showcased a different skill: altering the thickness of a metal strip without any visible deformation, suggesting a novel form of psychokinetic interaction.

These experiments, though shrouded in secrecy, hinted at the possibility that the human mind could exert force on physical matter, opening a speculative frontier for future covert operations.

5 The Superhuman Phasing Powers Of Zhang Baosheng

When rumors surfaced about a Chinese individual named Zhang Baosheng claiming to move objects through solid barriers, the CIA’s curiosity was piqued. Zhang asserted he could make items pass through walls without breaking or damaging the surface. To test this claim, researchers set up a sealed glass bottle containing medication tablets and instructed Zhang to retrieve them using only his mind.

During the trial, the bottle began to quiver violently, causing the tablets inside to fracture. In a dramatic climax, the tablets emerged from the bottle intact, despite the container never having been opened. High‑speed cameras recording at 400 frames per second captured a fleeting moment—a single frame—showing a tablet midway through the glass, apparently passing through without tearing the material.

The CIA’s post‑experiment analysis noted that the microscopic structure of both the glass and the tablets remained unchanged, suggesting a genuine, albeit unexplained, paranormal capability. The report concluded definitively that Zhang demonstrated “paranormal abilities,” marking a rare instance of scientifically documented phasing.

4 Faith Healers Produce An Aura Of Heat

Among the CIA’s more eclectic files is a translated Russian memorandum discussing the potential reality of faith healers. The document references “Kirlian photography,” a technique that captures a luminous halo around objects placed on a high‑voltage plate. While many interpret the halo as an aura or “qi,” scientists generally attribute it to a natural electrical discharge.

Intriguingly, the memo details an encounter with a healer named A. Krivorotov, who claimed to cure ailments through touch. When Kirlian examined Krivorotov’s hands, the resulting halo was dramatically larger and more colorful than any previously recorded, suggesting an anomalously intense electrical field surrounding the healer.

Further testing revealed that Krivorotov’s hands possessed three to five times the electrical resistance of a typical human. Moreover, when his hands hovered near a subject, they generated a measurable heat of roughly 50 °C (122 °F). The CIA analysts speculated that this heightened electromagnetic field could influence physiological processes, offering a plausible scientific underpinning for the healer’s reputed abilities.

3 Solar Flares Influence Psychic Abilities

A six‑year longitudinal study sought to determine whether electromagnetic phenomena could amplify psychic performance. Researchers examined a variety of cosmic and terrestrial influences, from stellar alignments to proximity to microwave emitters. Their most striking correlation emerged with solar activity, particularly solar flares.

The data indicated a dual‑phase effect: on the day a solar flare erupted, psychics’ accuracy plummeted, producing clumsy, error‑laden predictions. Conversely, the following day—a full 24 hours after the flare subsided—psychics exhibited a remarkable surge in perceptual acuity, achieving their highest success rates of the study period.

This pattern suggests that solar electromagnetic disturbances temporarily destabilize psychic channels, but the subsequent calm may reset or even enhance mental receptivity, offering a fascinating glimpse into the interplay between cosmic events and human extrasensory perception.

2 CIA Psychics Predicted The Future

The CIA didn’t limit its psychics to present‑day surveillance; several subjects were tasked with foretelling specific future events. In controlled experiments, psychics were instructed to visualize a particular date and location, then describe the scene they perceived. Their reports were later cross‑checked against actual outcomes, yielding a mixture of confirmed hits and plausible conjectures.

One detailed case involved a psychic who described a secret installation receiving “tube‑type objects” and being camouflaged. The agency labeled the description a “very good hit,” while the tube detail remained unverified yet deemed “plausible.” Such nuanced validation underscored the cautious optimism with which the CIA treated prophetic insights.

During Operation Desert Storm, a psychic accurately predicted the timing of initial air strikes, the onset of rainfall, and even the Iraqi incursion into Saudi Arabia fifteen days before it occurred. These successes prompted the agency to integrate psychic forecasting into select strategic planning processes, albeit with measured skepticism.

1 The Russians And The Chinese Were Also Doing It

While the CIA’s Stargate files dominate public imagination, the declassified archives reveal that the United States was not alone in pursuing psychic warfare. The Soviet Union initiated its own covert research well before America, prompting a presidential directive under Jimmy Carter to investigate Soviet capabilities and catch up.

According to the CIA’s analysis, Soviet intelligence devoted substantial resources to psychic operations, potentially surpassing the American effort in both scope and depth. Although exact details remain sparse, indications point to a sophisticated Soviet program that explored remote viewing, telepathy, and other extrasensory techniques.

China, too, entered the arena with its “All‑China Paranormal Physical Abilities Joint Testing Group,” a state‑run initiative aimed at cataloguing and harnessing anomalous human abilities. The existence of this group suggests that the Chinese government also recognized the strategic value of paranormal research, mirroring the Cold War‑era arms race but in the psychic domain.

These revelations underscore that during the latter half of the 20th century, the world’s superpowers treated psychic phenomena as a legitimate battlefield, investing heavily in experiments that straddled the line between science and the supernatural.

From secret dossiers to solar‑storm‑induced mind‑blips, the CIA’s foray into the uncanny remains one of the most fascinating, if controversial, chapters in modern intelligence history. Whether you view these accounts as proof of hidden talents or as elaborate myth‑making, the sheer breadth of the program makes for a truly top 10 unbelievable look into government curiosity.

When you think of the Cold War, you might picture spy planes and coded telegrams, but the CIA was also busy concocting psychedelic schemes. In this roundup we reveal 10 insane ways the agency turned LSD into a covert weapon, testing it on agents, civilians, animals, and even entire towns.

10 Insane Ways the CIA Experimented With LSD

10 Agents Slipped Each Other LSD

In the infancy of MK‑ULTRA, the program was a low‑key affair: willing operatives took measured doses of LSD, logged their hallucinations, and tried to map the drug’s mind‑bending potential. But the experiment quickly escalated. Every agent who signed up also agreed to be surprised by an unexpected dose at any moment, turning the office into a giant, jittery chemistry lab.

Spiking each other’s coffee became an unofficial “occupational hazard,” a joke that turned dark when a 1954 staff party required a formal memo reminding everyone not to lace the punch. Even then, paranoia ran high—one operative allegedly clutched his own wine bottle like a life preserver, refusing to set it down for a second.

By the end of the decade, the practice had morphed into a full‑blown culture of covert dosing, where a sip of espresso could mean a trip to another dimension, and trust among colleagues was as fragile as a glass beaker.

9 A Magician Taught The CIA Sleight Of Hand

When the agency realized they needed a bigger audience, they hired a professional illusionist. John Mulholland, a seasoned magician, drafted a manual that turned ordinary drink‑pouring into a covert art form. He showed agents how to create a dazzling distraction—like lighting a match—while slipping a tiny LSD tablet into a glass.

The guide even suggested clever tricks such as gluing a pill to a matchbook so it would tumble into a cup unnoticed. Although the foreword claimed these tactics were never employed, declassified documents later confirmed that Mulholland’s sleight‑of‑hand was a cornerstone of MK‑ULTRA’s covert operations.

In essence, the CIA turned a circus act into a weapon, teaching operatives to blend illusion with chemistry to manipulate unsuspecting targets.

8 The CIA Hired Prostitutes To Drug Their Clients

Operation Midnight Climax took the CIA’s curiosity to a seedy new level. The agency set up a brothel, paid women $100 per client, and lured unsuspecting men into a private room. Once inside, the men were offered LSD‑spiked drinks and escorted to a bed positioned next to a one‑way mirror.

Agents watched the scene unfold from the other side, hoping to learn whether a combination of sex and psychedelics could coerce information from a target. While the official line claimed the experiment was about training prostitutes as covert operatives, internal memos reveal a more hedonistic motive: a “fun, fun, fun” environment where agents could voyeuristically observe the effects of LSD on human behavior.

The project painted a lurid picture of Cold War espionage, where the line between scientific inquiry and outright exploitation blurred beyond recognition.

7 Mental Patients Were Drugged Into Comas

Across the border in Canada, the CIA’s reach extended into university labs. McGill professor Dr. Hebb first demonstrated how sensory deprivation and audio loops could reshape belief systems, convincing atheist students that a seven‑day creation narrative was true. Building on this, Dr. Cameron took a darker turn.

Cameron administered a cocktail of psychoactive drugs to institutionalized patients, inducing a ten‑day coma. When they awoke, he intensified their treatment with electro‑shock therapy at a rate nearly five times higher than standard practice, hoping to “depattern” and then rewrite their entire worldview.

These brutal methods later appeared in CIA interrogation manuals, suggesting that the agency was eager to appropriate any technique that could erase and rebuild a mind, no matter how ethically dubious.

6 A Man Was Kept High For 174 Days

Some MK‑ULTRA trials simply asked, “How long can a person stay tripped?” A group of African‑American volunteers with prior drug experience were dosed daily for 77 straight days, with researchers escalating the amount each time tolerance built.

The record‑breaking case involved a Kentucky mental‑patient who was administered LSD so frequently that he allegedly remained under its influence for a staggering 174 days. After the study concluded, the man appeared to live in a perpetual acid trip, his perception forever altered.

This extreme experiment underscored the agency’s willingness to push human limits, blurring the boundary between scientific curiosity and cruel abuse.

5 They Gave LSD To A Cat

The CIA didn’t limit its psychedelic curiosity to humans. In a documented experiment, a sober cat was placed in a cage with a live mouse. Predictably, the feline pounced and devoured the prey.

When the cat was later dosed with LSD, its behavior flipped dramatically. Instead of hunting, the high cat became terrified of the mouse, scrambling to the corner of its enclosure whenever the tiny creature appeared, as if the drug turned predator into prey.

The footage of this bizarre reversal was circulated to the Army as proof of the program’s breadth, showing that even domestic animals were not exempt from the agency’s mind‑altering ambitions.

4 They Overdosed An Elephant

In 1962, researchers at the University of Oklahoma, collaborating with the CIA, attempted to trigger violent behavior in a 3,200‑kilogram elephant by injecting a massive 297‑milligram dose of LSD via a dart.

The result was far from a rampaging beast. The elephant let out a mournful trumpet, collapsed, soiled itself, and then suffered a prolonged seizure that lasted an hour and forty minutes before it finally died, despite attempts to revive it with 2,800 milligrams of Sparine poured into its ear.

This tragic episode highlighted the agency’s reckless experimentation, proving that even the largest mammals could not survive the psychedelic onslaught.

3 They Drugged A French Town

In 1951, a small French community was besieged by bizarre hallucinations: one man believed snakes were devouring him and leapt into a river to drown; another swore his heart was crawling out of his feet; yet others reported red flowers sprouting across their skin. Hospitals filled, and at least five residents died.

The official explanation blamed ergot‑contaminated bread, a known psychedelic mold. However, investigative journalist H.P. Albarelli Jr. claimed insider CIA sources confirmed the bakery’s loaves were deliberately laced with LSD, turning an entire town into an accidental drug trial.

Although the allegation sparked fierce debate and accusations of fabrication, the CIA’s refusal to deny the other items on this list lends weight to the possibility that the agency was behind this tragic, town‑wide trip.

2 They Tried To Drug Fidel Castro

The CIA’s obsession with Cuban leader Fidel Castro extended beyond assassination attempts. One outlandish scheme aimed to surreptitiously dose Castro with LSD during a televised speech, hoping the hallucinogen would cause him to lose composure on live television.

When the plan was deemed too risky, the agency shifted focus to outright murder, but the notion of drugging world leaders resurfaced later, with discussions about applying the same tactic to Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser.

This episode illustrates the lengths to which the CIA would go—using psychedelic sabotage as a political weapon—even if the idea never materialized.

1 They Only Stopped Because They Found A Better Drug

In 1962, a new regulation forced CIA operatives to obtain FDA approval before administering LSD, effectively curbing the agency’s most blatant psychedelic experiments. While the formal program, MK‑ULTRA, lingered for another decade, the agency’s appetite for mind‑altering chemicals shifted.

Researchers turned their attention to a more potent agent known as BZ, abandoning LSD for what they perceived as a stronger, more controllable tool. The change didn’t make the program more ethical; instead, it simply swapped one dangerous substance for another.

Ironically, some MK‑ULTRA subjects later influenced pivotal cultural moments: one participant sparked the Electric Kool‑Aid Acid Test, fueling the 1960s hippie movement, while another became the notorious Unabomber. The program’s legacy, therefore, is a tangled web of unintended consequences.

+ Further Reading

Shockingly, this list scratches only the surface of the CIA’s darkest deeds. For more chilling revelations, explore these archives:

• 10 Dirty Secret CIA Operations
• 10 Secret CIA Prisons You Do Not Want To Visit
• 10 Real Victims Of The CIA’s MK‑ULTRA Program
• 10 Things You Should Know About The CIA’s Torture Program

Delve deeper, and you’ll find that the agency’s shadowy history extends far beyond the psychedelic experiments highlighted here.