March 5, 2014 2 min read

Bitcoin is a fickle thing. As one U.S. Senator recently admitted, it confuses “the heck out of us.” If you still don’t quite fully “get it,” you’re far from alone.

Ok, so by now most people -- fine, maybe only a few -- understand that Bitcoin is virtual cash that’s generated (“mined”) by computers, lives on the internet and is used to purchase real and digital stuff online and in person.

But where exactly did it come from and why is it suddenly in the news so often? Is Bitcoin really the future of money? If so, what can you buy with it right now?

Related: Bitcoin: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Bitcoin users can purchase thousands of legal items on the straight and narrow with the controversial cryptocurrency, like tickets to a Sacramento Kings Game, fresh beef in Australia or even tuition for the University of Nicosia. And before the takedown of Silk Road, people reportedly swapped bitcoins for countless shady illegal goods, including dime bags of weed, stolen guns, forged documents and possibly even hitman services. Creepy, right?

The more we know about the curious currency, the weirder it gets.

For an entertaining yet educational eyeful of just how bizarre the Bitcoin story is, from its mysterious beginnings to its rise as a kind of, almost, on the brink of mainstream currency around the globe today, take a look at the revealing infographic below from WhoIsHostingThis.com.