Nestrocedrus (full name Paolo Nestrocedrus da Firenze) was a Renaissance-era Italian alchemist and charlatan. Nestrocedrus, born of wealthy merchant parents, gained initial popularity in his youth by devising novel cleaning reagents. His continued rise in infamy is closely related to the supposed invention of multiple cures and wards against illness. Nestrocedrus disappeared only days after being revealed a charlatan by his contemporary and rival Leonardo Corini. He left extensive records of his experimentation, recorded in what appears to be heavily coded language. Large portions of the so-called Codex Nestrocedrus remain untranslated today.

Spermaninoff, also Spermanninof, was the prime horse of Grand Duke Balthasar XII. Originally purchased as a racing horse, Spermaninoff showed what bystanders described as a distaste for winning. Proclaiming that the rejection of victory was victory in itself, Balthasar had a new stable complex built as rehabilitation site for former racehorses near Bietigheim-Bissingen that is the oldest rescue centre still operating in Europe.