Important Presidential Facts!
1. George Washington had at least four sets of false teeth, which he soaked in port; after being elected President, he had a new pair created from hippopotamus tusk. He also had a fear of premature burial and owned six white horses whose teeth were brushed every morning. He also loved to tell dirty jokes and obscene stories (in the 1920s, J.P. Morgan burned several Washington letters because they were too "smutty").
2. Calvin Coolidge once fell asleep at his desk in the middle of the day. When he awoke, he asked "Is the country still here?". He was also known to have his head rubbed with vaseline while eating breakfast in bed.
3. Franklin Pierce was arrested during his term as President for running over an old lady with his horse, but the charges were later dropped
4. Franklin Roosevelt was so superstitious, that he wouldn't leave town on a Friday and never sat at a table with 13 people.
5. Zachary Taylor refused to violate the Sabbath by taking the oath of office, so under the Succession Act of 1792, Missouri Senator David Atchinson (President Pro Tempore of the Senate) became president of the United States for a day. He appointed his friends to Cabinet positions, had a few drinks, then went to bed.
6. Howard Taft had a pet Holstein named Pauline in a pasture next to the Executive Mansion.
7. Thomas Jefferson is often credited with inventing the coat hanger, the hideaway bed, the calendar clock and the dumbwaiter. However, he wrote his own epitaph without mentioning the fact that he served as President of the United States for two terms.
8. Martin Van Buren refused to mention his wife's name in his autobiography-- on the grounds that a gentleman would not "bandy a lady's name in public."
9. Chester A. Arthur ("Elegant Arthur") owned eighty pairs of trousers and changed clothes several times a day.
10. Ronald Reagan consulted astrologers before making important decisions, including when to invade Grenada and bomb Libya.
*** facts taken from The Mammoth Book of Oddballs and Eccentrics and The Best, Worst & Most Unusual
2. Calvin Coolidge once fell asleep at his desk in the middle of the day. When he awoke, he asked "Is the country still here?". He was also known to have his head rubbed with vaseline while eating breakfast in bed.
3. Franklin Pierce was arrested during his term as President for running over an old lady with his horse, but the charges were later dropped
4. Franklin Roosevelt was so superstitious, that he wouldn't leave town on a Friday and never sat at a table with 13 people.
5. Zachary Taylor refused to violate the Sabbath by taking the oath of office, so under the Succession Act of 1792, Missouri Senator David Atchinson (President Pro Tempore of the Senate) became president of the United States for a day. He appointed his friends to Cabinet positions, had a few drinks, then went to bed.
6. Howard Taft had a pet Holstein named Pauline in a pasture next to the Executive Mansion.
7. Thomas Jefferson is often credited with inventing the coat hanger, the hideaway bed, the calendar clock and the dumbwaiter. However, he wrote his own epitaph without mentioning the fact that he served as President of the United States for two terms.
8. Martin Van Buren refused to mention his wife's name in his autobiography-- on the grounds that a gentleman would not "bandy a lady's name in public."
9. Chester A. Arthur ("Elegant Arthur") owned eighty pairs of trousers and changed clothes several times a day.
10. Ronald Reagan consulted astrologers before making important decisions, including when to invade Grenada and bomb Libya.
*** facts taken from The Mammoth Book of Oddballs and Eccentrics and The Best, Worst & Most Unusual
posted by L at 5:15 PM
9 Comments:
Ha! You so got that Coolidge tidbit from Oddballs and Eccentrics! Teehee.
You are SO right! I got a couple of others there too. A couple I found in "The Best, Worst & Most Unusual"
I am completely addicted to weird and unusual facts that are completely useless... could I have OCD????
:)
actually, I have a small section of my library devoted to Eccentrics, Freaks and Odd Facts.
This is why I will never be the President of the United States of America. Just not eccentric enough. Well, I don't know, maybe I am. Perhaps someday I will manage, against all odds, to become the President, and then they can put in the books that President theomorph [which is not my real name, of course] had a strange penchant for acting out scenes of Star Wars movies while doing the different characters' voices. . . think that would play well in your books? ;-)
--Keep your distance, Chewie, but don't look like you're trying to keep your distance.
--Mwwwaarraaaggh!--I don't know. Fly casual!
Since I'm such an oddball ;), I'd read of some of this trivia. Thanks for a wealth of more fascinating "different" info! gr8 post. :)
L! I have found a blog that you will really enjoy... especailly the last post! Check out the last link on my list of links... Meandering Musings Muster Madness. It is great!
My american knowledge has now quadrupled! I can't believe that the name "Franklin Pierce" rings no bells. It's funny why people thought vaseline was the cure-all salve. I think that Chesebrough guy used to eat 3 tablespoons of it before bed every night. Yuk.
theomorph: Star Wars quotes are SO hot. Guess which movie this comes from: "Poonta Poonta, Solo. Ban du solay..."
jim bliss: you aren't far off there -- I think almost all of them have been wackos.
glad I could help everyone brush up on their important historical knowledge.
However, it may possibly not compare to royal European eccentricities :)
FYI, the 23rd president was Benjamin Harrison NOT John T. Hackenbush. Humoruos story though.
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