On this day in 2005, the notorious and celebrated and madman Hunter S Thompson took his own life. Just about every word available has been written about the man, and the myth. (All except the word "dull".)
So instead of writing about how he changed journalism – and lives – or how he was an unhinged genius or a magician with the English language or how good his fashions were, we just decided to put together a bit list of trivia about the man.
It's like a Dummies Guide To Hunter S Thompson, and we're positive Dr Thompson would have truly hated it.
Let's begin:
The S stands for Stockton.
Thompson said "If you're going to be crazy, you have to get paid for it or else you're going to be locked up."
On that note, here's a voicemail Thompson left for a company who installed a new entertainment system for him.
In high school, Thompson was arrested for stealing a man's wallet. He also robbed the same gas station three nights in a row.
When given the choice between prison and the military, he chose the latter but was eventually "honourably discharged". He says he was banging his superior's daughter.
In the '50s, when working for Time Magazine, he re-typed
The Great Gatsby and Hemingway’s
A Farewell to Arms in full.
Gonzo Journalism was invented when he had to write about the Kentucky Derby. The result wasn't about the actual event, but about Thompson's experience being there.
When crazy meets crazy: Hunter S Thompson interviews Keith Richards.
He had plenty of ideas: "I have a theory that the truth is never told between the nine-to-five hours."
In 1970 he ran for Sherriff in Pitkin County, Colorado as part of the Freak Power ticket. Amongst his platforms were the decriminalisation of drugs (but not dealing), turning streets into grass-covered knolls and renaming Aspen Fat City.
Best seller
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas began as a feature assignment for Sports Illustrated that, clearly, went haywire.
He started calling himself Dr Hunter S Thompson after buying himself a mail-order doctorate in Divinity.
What about when the Hell's Angels didn't like Thompson's book he wrote about spending a year with them? Tense.
(Also what about how Thompson came to the aid of a woman being beaten up by her husband but the crowd applauds the Hell's Angel saying you need to keep a woman in line by punching her? That is grim.)
He compared Nixon with Hitler.
But then when George W Bush was running for election, Thompson said "If Nixon were running, I would happily vote for him instead."
He didn't like disco: "I feel the same way about disco as I do about herpes."
Thompson was sent to cover the notorious 'Rumble in the Jungle' fight between George Foreman and Muhammad Ali but he missed the fight and floated around in his hotel pool instead. Then he threw over a pound of pot in there.
Here's Mr Thompson on Letterman:
He liked to fill barrels with explosives and shoot them.
Thompson's suicide at 67 years old, after a few stages of poor health, seemed to fit with his loony antics but then his suicide note emerged and it was heartbreaking: "No More Games. No More Bombs. No More Walking. No More Fun. No More Swimming. 67. That is 17 years past 50. 17 more than I needed or wanted. Boring. I am always bitchy. No Fun – for anybody. 67. You are getting Greedy. Act your old age. Relax – This won’t hurt."
By The Ticket, Take The Ride with Mr Hunter S Thompson.
At his request, his ashes were shot out of a 47-metre high cannon to the soundtrack of Norman Greenbaum's 'Spirit in the Sky' and Bob Dylan's 'Mr Tambourine Man'. So rest in pieces and in peace, Mr Thompson.
What a human.