NNDB: Tracking the Entire World

NNDB (Notable Names Database) is an "intelligence aggregator" that contains profiles on over 18,500 people (living and dead) throughout the world. It contains some of the same information as most biographical reference books, such as date of birth, a life story, and other essential facts.

What NNDB adds is an attempt "to document the connections between people, many of which are not always obvious. A person's otherwise inexplicable behavior is often understood by examining the crowd that person has been associating with."

nHumanities thinks this publishing goal sounds similar to warnings that mothers give their young: "Be careful who your friends are!" In NNDB's case, each profile includes interesting but usually omitted information such as slept with, sexual orientation, nervous breakdowns, health risk factors, and incredibly frank executive summaries, along with more pedestrian information. Inquiring minds want to know.

[You can read Frank Zappa's profile at NNDB.]