Awesomest crazy man ever.

So I’m being a dork, reading comic books, and in one particular issue of Sandman by Neil Gaiman I find a story about Joshua Norton. Turns out that this guy was real and pretty much just as crazy as the story makes him out to be. He lived in San Francisco in the 1800s and declared himself Emperor of the United States and Protector of Mexico in 1849. For whatever reason, the people of that city played along. He was completely poor and yet ate at fancy restaurants and was provided booth seats at every theatrical event. He even issued his own money which became accepted currency and had all the officers in the town salute him when he passed. I had no idea someone that crazy could get a whole city to play along with their fantasy. Truly awesome.