Write hard and clear about what hurts. ~ Ernest Hemingway
biography / history.com
1. Until Ernest was four his mother dressed him up like a girl.
2. He wanted to fight in World War I, but was denied due to his wretched eyesight.
3. Ernest stole a urinal from his favorite bar.
4. Ernest Hemingway once published a recipe for apple pie.
5. He went under the cover name “Argo.” Edgar Hoover and many FBI officials spied on him for much of his later life.
6. He was accused of War Crimes by Geneva surrounding an event where Ernest lead a group of French Militia against the Nazis.
7. Ernest owned a six-toed cat.
8. During his 62 years, he married four times and divorced three times
9. Hemingway was checked in to the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota under the name Saviers, and the press believed he was being treated for hypertension.
10. Hemingway survived exposure to anthrax, malaria, skin cancer, and pneumonia. He lived through diabetes, two plane crashes, a ruptured kidney, hepatitis, a ruptured spleen, a fractured skull, a crushed vertebra.
11. His death was found to be self-inflicted, but the newspapers called it “accidental.” Five years later, Mary, his wife, publicly disclosed that the cause of death was suicide.
12. Ernest killed himself with his favorite shotgun, purchased from Abercrombie & Fitch.
13. There’s a popular tale circulating about Hemingway betting fellow writers that he could write a short story in just six words: “For Sale: baby shoes. Never worn.” But the story was more likely written by William R. Kane.
14. Ernest experienced a near-death experience during World War I.
15. Ernest's dad wanted his son to become a doctor, but Hemingway refused to even entertain the thought of college. Instead, he became a reporter for the Kansas City Star, earning $15 a week.
16. Ernest Hemingway was known to use a machine gun on sharks to stop them eating his catch.
17. Hemingway’s brother founded a nation off the coast of Jamaica that consisted of a raft and 7 citizens. It had currency, postage, and a constitution.
18. He went on to write seven novels, six short-story collections, and two non-fiction pieces.
19. On the topic of F. Scott Fitzgerald, Scott wrote Hemingway a ten-page letter where he advised that he should end A Farewell to Arms with a passage he wrote. Ernest replied with three short words "Kiss my butt."
20. Hemingway enjoyed hunting big game animals like lions.