Presidents Day trivia.

[Bugman]

Martin Van Buren was the first president born a U.S.citizen. His predecessors were all born as British subjects.

James Buchanan is the only bachelor to serve as president.

Benjamin Harrison was the first president to have electrical power in the White House. He was terrified of electricity and refused to touch light switches. If no one was around at bedtime he slept with the light on.

President Grant created Yellowstone, the first National Park, in 1872.

William McKinley was the first president to ride in a car.

Warren Harding hosted poker games twice a week while in office. He once bet the White House china on a hand. He lost.

Teddy Roosevelt rode in a plane in 1910 but was out of office.

FDR was the first sitting president to ride in a plane on official business. In 1943 he flew from the U.S. to Africa to meet with Churchill during WWII. He is also the only president elected to 4 terms. The 22nd Amendment was ratified in 1951, limiting presidents to two terms.

After leaving the White House William Howard Taft served as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, the only man to do so.

In 1870 Grover Cleveland was elected Sheriff of Erie County NY. While sheriff he hanged two men convicted of murder. He is the only president elected to non-consecutive terms, as the 22nd and 24th president. He was also the only president to have a child born in the White House, his daughter Esther.

Gerald Ford is the only man to serve as vice-president and president without being elected to either office.

While staying at the Texas White House Lyndon Johnson liked to skinny dip in the pool. He was also known to summon aides or reporters, male and female, to the bathroom and conduct business while sitting on the toilet.

 

[Tenebrae]

This is all super interesting! I didn't know any of these; no doubt they'll impress my friends when I tell them during our next dinner party~

 

[Sensualswitch10]

Thanks for some interesting presidential tidbits, Bugman!

 

[Nedstacey2]

I humbly presume to add another item to @Bugman's excellent list:

• Seven presidents were born in a log cabin, one of whom being the lucky 13th, the illustrious Millard Fillmore.

In fact, an authentic replica of the cabin Fillmore was born in still stands in a state park close by:

A popular recreation spot for me and the locals, my male dog has lifted his leg and yellow-watered that very structure many times in fitting tribute.

 

[milagros317]

You left out that Taft was also the fattest POTUS (so far), peaking at about 335 to 340 pounds in early 1913.
Since he was 5 feet 11 inches tall, this gave him a truly awful BMI of about 46.7. 😱

After getting stuck in the bath tub in the living quarters of the White House, he had an extra large tub installed.

 

[Bugman]

This is all super interesting! I didn't know any of these; no doubt they'll impress my friends when I tell them during our next dinner party~

Thanks for some interesting presidential tidbits, Bugman!

Glad you enjoyed it guys.

 

[Bugman]

Ned, Mils, thanks for your contributions.

Andrew Jackson taught his parrot to swear. During his funeral the bird became so loud and vulgar he was banished from the service.

John Adams and Thomas Jefferson died hours apart on July 4 1826. After leaving office Jefferson sold his 6,000 book library to the federal government. His collection became the basis for the Library of Congress.

William Henry Harrison gave the longest inaugural address in history, lasting 1 hour 35 minutes. He died after a month in office.

Rutherford B. Hayes was the first president to have a telephone in the White House. It was installed by Alexander Graham Bell.

At one time it was possible for anyone to approach the White House and ask to see the president. From his first day in office President Lincoln was hounded by people seeking favors, jobs, and government contracts. He came to dread the endless parade and his staff limited access to twice weekly sessions of three hours each.

John Tyler was our 10th president. He died in 1862 at 71. As of 2017 two of his grandsons were still living.

 

[Vanillaphant]

FDR was the first sitting president to ride in a plane on official business.

So tempted to make a politically incorrect joke here lol. But I won't.

Interesting trivia though. 🙂

 

[Bugman]

So tempted to make a politically incorrect joke here lol. But I won't.

Interesting trivia though. 🙂

I've been waiting for some wise guy to jump on that. 😛 Glad you enjoyed it. 🙂

 

[paracarl44]

President Hoover was not invited to the Dedication of Hoover Dam.

 

[rdhd]

Well that just sucks. ......

 

[Tenebrae]

President Hoover was not invited to the Dedication of Hoover Dam.

I feel so stupid, I thought all my life that it was named after J. Edgar, the FBI Director 😛

 

[DEV]

The scene in Back to the Future, where Doc Brown mocks Marty for saying Reagan was the President was utterly hilarious to the latter.

Obama is a fan of Spider-Man and Conan The Barbarian comics.

When serving in the White House, LBJ drove the man in charge of plumbing to despair with demands to modify the shower, wanting it as powerful as possible. When LBJ left, having driven the man to his last nerve, Nixon took one look at the monstrosity and ordered it to be torn out.

Nixon had a bowling alley installed in the White House, being an avid fan of the sport.

 

[Tenebrae]

Speaking of Reagan, I just remembered a funny one: upon arriving in surgery after being shot, the president would have allegedly told the medical staff, jokingly: "I hope you are all Republicans"