People know the ‘I only read Playboy for the articles’ joke but it’s genuinely why the magazine lasted as long as it has. Playboy certainly wasn’t the only one doing nude photography nor was it the most extreme.

But the magazine has had some genuinely great writers over the years. Notable ones like Roald Dahl, Jack Kerouac, Ian Fleming, Ray Bradbury, Arthur C. Clarke, Hunter S. Thompson and a whole slew of journalists and columnists who went on to write great stuff.

Playboy tended to give their writers a lot of freedom and published things others wouldn’t. After all, if you’re already controversial, you might as well publish controversial writing.