Starz’s “Da Vinci’s Demons” aims to show the true genius and troubled mind of Leonardo da Vinci. While da Vinci himself might be a little re-imagined for the upcoming show, there are still key historical elements of da Vinci that will be explored, elements that many people don’t even know about. Below is a list of the five things you probably never knew about da Vinci.

1. Da Vinci had an estimated IQ of 220. It’s probably safe to say his IQ was higher than yours and mine, but did you know he even beat out heavy weights such as Newton, Einstein, Edison and Darwin?

2. He invented the robot. His inventive mind gave birth to gadgets and machines that we take for granted today, including the ball bearing, the bicycle, helicopter, machine gun, armored tank, parachute, cross bow and yes…even the robot.

3. He was one of the first known animal activists. He was a vegetarian and was known to purchase caged birds to set them free.

4. He was a gravedigger. His keen understanding of human anatomy can be credited to the fact that he dug into graveyards at night to steal and study corpses.

5. Most of his writing is missing. Only 6,000 of his estimated 13,000 pages of writing remain. The missing 7,000 pages formed the basis for “Da Vinci’s Demons”, covering the period during his mid-twenties.

Interesting, right? To go along with the list, we’ve also got a corresponding gallery of images from the show. Check them out and write what you think about them and the list in the comments section below. “Da Vinci’s Demons” airs April 12 on Starz.

da Vinci reimagined-da Vinci's Demons

By Monique Jones

Monique Jones blogs about race and culture in entertainment, particularly movies and television. You can read her articles at Racialicious, and her new site, COLOR . You can also listen to her new podcast, What would Monique Say.

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