So . . . last year I did a special Canada Day edition of the blog, in which I gave interesting and lesser-known facts about each of Canada's twenty-odd Prime Ministers. I thought, seeing as how a significant portion of my readership (at least five people) are from south of the border, that this year I would do the same for the US Presidents. Problem is that there are twice as many, so I will only be giving a factoid or two about each. Enjoy!
George Washington: rendered sterile by smallpox, he raised Martha's two kids from a previous marriage. His false teeth were not wood, but rather hippopotamus and elephant ivory, with bits of horses' teeth too.
John Adams: Thought the President should be addressed as "His High Mightiness" or "His Majesty the President." Was actually called "His Rotundity."
Thomas Jefferson: Spoke five languages, read more, and wrote over 16,000 letters. Invented a clock powered by earth's gravitational pull. Possibly smoked hemp.
James Madison: Generally sickly, he never weighted more than 100 pounds.
James Monroe: First president to be inaugurated outdoors. Died a pauper, living with his daughter.
John Q. Adams: Was the first president to be photographed. Liked to go skinny-dipping. Not at the same time.
Andrew Jackson: Enjoyed cockfighting. Was the first president to ride on a train.
Martin Van Buren: Was nicknamed "little squirt." Spoke Dutch at home. When Vice-President, he presided over the senate while wearing pistols on his belt.
William Harrison: Gave the longest inaugural address of any president, over 2 hours in freezing cold. Died thirty days later, from giving the longest inaugural address in freezing cold.
John Tyler: He was playing marbles when informed that Harrison died. Had 15 kids.
James Polk: Worked so hard while in office that he died 3 months after leaving it.
Zachary Taylor: Nicknamed "old rough and ready." Did not accept "postage due" correspondence, including news of his own nomination for president.
Millard Fillmore: Refused an honorary degree from Oxford, saying he didn't deserve. Makes sense - he hadn't read anything but the Bible until he reached adulthood.
Franklin Pierce: Alcoholic. Didn't use a bible for his inauguration. Both of these because his son was accidentally killed, right in front of him.
James Buchanan: Never married. Hosted sauerkraut and mashed potato parties. Coincidence?
Abraham Lincoln: Called two-faced by a rival, Lincoln responded, "If I had another face, do you think I'd wear this one?" Related: grew his beard because a little girl wrote him and told him he'd look better that way.
Andrew Johnson: Taught himself to read. Married at 18 (to a 16-year-old).
Ulysses Grant: Once got fined $20 for speeding in his horse and carriage. Favorite breakfast was pickles.
Rutherford Hayes: Won the most disputed election in history (well, until 2000). Had a dog named "Weejie". Installed the first phone in the White House.
James Garfield: First left-handed president. Had a dog named "Veto."
Chester Arthur: Quite a dandy, he had 80 pairs of pants. Had kidney stones.
Grover Cleveland: Had a love child. Lied about having surgery to remove a tumor from his jaw, instead saying he went on a fishing trip. Answered the White House phone himself.
Benjamin Harrison: Afraid to touch the switches, he had servants turn on and off his electric lights.
William MacKinley: First president to ride in a car. Teddy Roosevelt insulted his courage, saying that he "had no more backbone than a chocolate eclair."
Theodore Roosevelt: Had a pet snake named "Emily Spinach." Tried to get "In God We Trust" removed from U.S. currency, as he thought it was unconstitutional.
William Taft: Enjoyed milk to the point that he brough a cow (named "Mooly Wolly") to live at the White House. Only president to also serve on the supreme court. Very fat.
Woodrow Wilson: Didn't learn to read until he was 11, and later became president of Princeton. It is supposed that during the last months of his term, after suffering a stroke, Wilson's wife ran things.
Warren Harding: Wore size 14 shoes. Once lost the White House china while gambling.
Calvin Coolidge: Nicknamed "Silent Cal," was once challenged by a journalist who claimed he could get him to say three words. His reply: "You lose."
Herbert Hoover: Didn't want to see White House servants, who would jump and hide in closets if he approached.
Franklin Roosevelt: The first president to appear on TV. Was made to wear a dress until he was five years old.
Harry Truman: Beat Thomas Dewey to become president, and then had a pet goat named "Dewey's Goat." Woke up at 5AM every day to practice the piano.
Dwight Eisenhower: Was the first president of all 50 states. Had a heart attack while president. Liked to eat TV dinners while watching westerns.
John Kennedy: Was the first boy scout to become president. Had a pet pony named Macaroni. Was given a cool million bucks by his dad when he turned 21.
Lyndon Johnson: Liked to show off his scars on his belly. Gave electric toothbrushes as gifts so that people would think of him in the morning and in the night. Had pet beagles named "Him" and "Her."
Richard Nixon: Would have a fire in the fireplace and run the air conditioner at the same time. Financed his first congressional campaign with poker winnings.
Gerald Ford: Named Leslie Lynch King Jr. at birth, and was renamed when his mother remarried. Worked as a fashion model in the 1940's. Only president to not be part of a winning electoral ticket.
Jimmy Carter: Can read 2000 words a minute with 95% accuracy. Only president who commanded a submarine.
Ronald Reagan: The oldest person to be elected at 73 (for his second term), but he lived another 20 years after that. Announced Chicago Cubs games when he was younger.
George Bush (I): Called for Nixon's resignation in the name of the Republican Party. Liked to play horseshoes and not eat broccoli. Only president to vomit on a foreign head of state.
Bill Clinton: Only sent two e-mails during his term in office. Goodness knows what would have happened if Twitter was around then.
George Bush (II): First president to have run a marathon. Former alcoholic, though he denies he was ever addicted.
Barack Obama: Only president to have won two Grammys (spoken word for his books). Was nicknamed "Rock" and "Bama" by his predecessor.
That's it - enjoy the 4th!
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