With a strong desire to develop radical carbonylation chemistry, we naturally focused our attention on the key reactive intermediate, the acyl radical. Acyl radicals have been regarded as nucleophilic radicals towards electron-poor alkenes, akin to vinyl radicals. However, deeming that acyl radicals may act as pseudo-carbonyl compounds, we observed acyl radicals to behave as electrophilic species, very unlike vinyl radicals. This essay is a personal account of the area of acyl radical chemistry.