Mata Hari: Good Spies Don’t Get Famous By Michael A. Stusser

The Cheat Sheet is designed to give readers a After a nasty marriage to a Dutch mil- cult to tell if she was a for quick overview of sophisticated topics, making itary officer, ending when both of her the French, a German lackey or just a Conversation Starters: you look smart without all that annoying, stu- • Mata Hari’s prosecutor, Andre dious effort. Use it as a conversation starter—all children were poisoned (perhaps from divorcee with an overactive imagina- a badly-treated servant), Margaretha Mornet, said in an interview 40 years you gotta do is keep a straight face. “Go get ‘em, tion. One thing’s for sure: Her courte- after her death: “There wasn’t enough Einstein!” dumped the chump and moved from san work didn’t pay the bills. Despite a (evidence) to whip a cat.” to gay . Hoping for a new slew of wealthy patrons, Mata Hari Mata Hari: The name’s synonymous • Mata Hari met her husband through a with sexy femme fatales, but she was a life, she reinvented herself as exotic was coming up short each month, so to dancer Mata Hari in 1905 (kinda like personal ad in the newspaper (just terrible spy. Maybe if she’d been a bet- make ends meet, she made deals to think if there’d been online dating ter dancer…. when Prince became the Artist deliver information for cash. Formerly Known As Prince). back then…) • She never removed a cotton garment Namedropping: Margaretha quickly emerged as the EXTRA CREDIT: Madonna of her time—a talented, covering her chest—even with Hari, Mata (1876-1917) Not to be outdone by French or “clients”; a tattoo, perhaps? No, aka Margaretha Geertruida MacLeod, world-famous dancer who could really German intelligence, the British gov- move her hips. according to her doctor, she was just nee Zelle ernment arrested Mata Hari, claiming shy about her small breasts. (pron. maw-ta har-ee) she was actually a spy named Clara • The French confiscated an unusual Benedix. They had to let her go not ointment from her apartment and The Basics: mental_floss presents: long after though, due to a complete tried to prove it was disappearing ink. Working under the guise of an exotic lack of evidence - a setback that didn’t The truth? Lab results confirmed it dancer, legend has it that Mata Hari stop the French from having her exe- was birth control. (her stage name, Malayan for “eye of cuted. • Mati Hari, like Elvis, had a reputation dawn”) joined the German secret serv- for turning up years after her death. In ice in 1907. She acquired military Legend has it that Mata Hari stopped reality, she was dissected at the secrets from Allied French officers by the firing squad in their tracks by University of Paris Med School. seducing them and betraying their unbuttoning her dress at “Aim!” In (Thankyouverymuch.) secrets to the Germans. (Talk about pil- actuality, she died bravely but was • Sometimes called the “second-oldest low talk.) Never fully trusting her, the the cocktail party cheat sheet never properly buried; no one had the profession” (Mata Hari practiced Germans eventually sold her out to guts to claim her body. both), spying has been going on since where she was executed in Biblical times. 1917. In the years following Mata Hari’s • Speaking of heating up the oven, death, the dancer/courtesan/spy believe it or not Julia Childs had a Margaretha grew up in the In her late thirties, the dancing gave became a legend—“the world’s great- turn in the service. Prior to slicing . Growing to a height of way to hooking, and Mata Hari slept est woman spy.” , Marlene and dicing, Childs had a turn in the 5’10” she had long, thick black hair, with more than a few German military Dietrich, Sylvia Kristel and Jeanne OSS during World War II. olive skin, exotic looks, grace and officers. Lo and behold, it led to a mil- Moreau all portrayed her on screen. • Can’t get enough spy stories? Visit style. Imagine a Dutch Salma Hayek itary job. The facts about her Secret agent or not, she makes for a The International Spy Museum in and you’ll get the picture. activities are a bit hazy, and it’s diffi- great story. Washington, D.C.