Moammar Gadhafi: 6 Weird Facts from the Tyrant's Dossier

Libyan tyrant Moammar Gadhafi's four-decade rule came to an end Thursday as he was killed by the Libyan rebels he once ridiculed as rats. Gadhafi was dragged from his hiding place in a drain in Sirte before he was killed, according to reports.

An autocrat condemned for tyrannizing his own people and sponsoring terrorism abroad, Gadhafi will be remembered not only for his cruelty, but also for being an unmatched weirdo.

Here are some of the lesser-known weird facts about Moammar Gadhafi.

His Crush on Condoleezza Rice: In August, Libyan rebels dug up Gadhafi's abandoned compound in Tripoli and discovered a photo album completely filled with pictures of former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

In 2008, Rice visited Tripoli and reportedly had a late-night dinner with the Libyan leader to break the Ramadan fast. Gadhafi also presented Rice $200,000 worth of gifts, including a diamond ring, a signed copy of his personal manifesto (The Green Book) and a locket with an engraving of himself inside.

In an interview with Al Jazeera television in 2007, Gadhafi called Rice his darling:

I support my darling black African woman. I admire and am very proud of the way she leans back and gives orders to the Arab leaders ... Leezza, Leezza, Leezza. ... I love her very much. I admire her and I'm proud of her because she's a black woman of African origin.

Aviophobia - The Fear of Flying: According to U.S. documents revealed by WikiLeaks, Gadhafi feared flying, and because of that he preferred shorter flights. He didn't like to travel by air for more than eight hours at a time. He didn't like heights either and always preferred accommodation on the ground floor, which often created logistical headaches for his staff.

Bunga Bunga: While investigating Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi in 2010, Italian prosecutors exposed one of Gadhafi's strange pastimes. A Moroccan underage girl named Karima el-Mahroug, better known as Ruby, revealed a mysterious ritual called bunga bunga, practiced by Berlusconi and his female guests during the parties.

Silvio told me that he'd copied that formula from Moammar Gadhafi, Ruby told prosecutors according to La Repubblica.

His Ukrainian Nurse, a Voluptuous Blonde: Gadhafi almost never traveled without a Ukrainian nurse at his side. He had a team of nurses, but relied heavily on Galyna Kolotnytska, his longtime Ukrainian nurse. Described as a voluptuous blonde, Kolotnytska was said to be one of Gadhafi's closest aides. According to one source, blacked out by the New York Times, Gadhafi couldn't travel without Kolotnytska, as she alone knows his routine. She was also rumored to have a romantic relationship with him.

Amazons, His Female Virgin Bodyguards: They were possibly not around when Gadhafi needed them most on the last day of his life, but on every foreign trip he made, he was always surrounded by a 40-strong and well-trained retinue of female bodyguards, who he insisted must be virgins. The female bodyguards, called Amazons, were handpicked by Gadhafi. Trained at an all-female military academy, the bodyguards were seen in elaborate uniforms, makeup and high-heeled combat boots, ABC News reported.

Libya's Ambitious Irrigation Systems: According to a report in The First Post, Libya has one of the world's most ambitious irrigation systems. The Great Manmade River is a huge network of pipes, viaducts and wells. This network, at times 500 metres beneath the Earth surface, transports more than 6 million cubic meters of water every day from below the Sahara to the country's northern regions.