Skull and Bones
Skull & crossbones (©Bettmann/Corbis)

It was once the ultimate secret club for boys. It counts presidents, Supreme Court justices and other members of the political elite as its members. But now the descendants of Geronimo would like to put a rest to some of the secrets.

The legendary Native American's great-grandson is suing Skull and Bones and others, alleging that the super secret group at Yale University robbed Geronimo's tomb and took some of his remains, which it now keeps in a glass case at its New Haven, Conn., clubhouse. (Learn more here.)

The membership list is one of the few things that the society does not keep secret. (Search for former members.) Those members include three generations of Bushes—Prescott, George H.W. and George W. Bush—and several other Bushes as well.

As are all members, George W. Bush was invited to choose a nickname for himself as part of the group. When nothing came to mind, he was given the name "Temporary," which he apparently never replaced. That's how "bonesmen" still refer to him today.

It is the elder Bush, Prescott, who is alleged to have taken the skull from a cemetery near Fort Sill, Okla., in 1918.

What do they do with the skull? Members are, of course, mum on the subject of anything that happens inside the clubhouse, "The Tomb." But whoever's skull it is, if they even have one, it is believed to play a role in the society's initiation rites, as do nakedness and mud pies, apparently.

Hollywood appears to have made at least two attempts to capture Skull and Bones on film in "The Skulls" and "The Good Shepherd."

Oh, and it's not the ultimate secret club for boys anymore, just the ultimate secret club. Women were admitted in 1992.