- Joined
- Feb 24, 2004
- Messages
- 11,353
- Reaction score
- 6
George Washington, despite owning lots of land, still needed to borrow some cash to go to his inauguration.
On their move to Washington, John Adams and family got lost for several hours in the woods north of the city.
The night after getting sworn in as president, Thomas Jefferson returned to his boardinghouse for dinner. He had to eat standing up when he found every seat had been taken.
James Madison wasn't exactly an imposing figure: He was 5-foot-4 and weighed less than 100 pounds.
When he left office, James Monroe was broke. He moved in with his daughter.
John Quincy Adams didn't care how he looked and was said to have worn the same hat for 10 years.
Andrew Jackson believed the world was flat.
Martin Van Buren wrote an autobiography. In it, he never mentioned his wife.
William Henry Harrison couldn't shake hands at his inauguration because his hand was still sore and swollen from shaking hands on the campaign trail.
John Tyler had 15 kids, the last one born after he turned 70.
James K. Polk worked 14 hours a day while in office.
After Zachary Taylor became president, he wore the same clothes he'd been wearing for years on his farm.
Millard Fillmore refused an honorary degree from Oxford because it was written in Latin. "No man should accept a degree that he cannot read," he said.
James Buchanan left a note for his replacement, Abraham Lincoln, that said: "My dear sir, if you are as happy on entering the White House as I on leaving, you are a happy man indeed."
In addition to a wart on his right cheek, Abraham Lincoln sported scars on his thumb from an ax accident and one over his right eye from a fight with a gang of thieves.
Andrew Johnson's wife, Eliza, was 16 when he married her.
Ulysses S. Grant smoked upward of 20 cigars a day and eventually got throat cancer.
Rutherford B. Hayes' wife, Lucy, cracked the whip, banning booze, smoking, card-playing and even dancing from the White House. She wore only high-necked gowns for evening wear.
James Garfield worked as a janitor to pay his way through college.
Chester A. Arthur"" owned about 80 pairs of pants and changed them several times a day.
Grover Cleveland answered the White House phone personally--.
After he got an electric shock, Benjamin Harrison refused to touch the newly installed light switches at the White House.
William McKinley loved stogies but refused to be seen in public or in photos with a cigar. "The children of America," he once said, "must not see their president smoking."
Theodore Roosevelt lost sight in his left eye in a friendly boxing match.
William Howard Taft loved to eat steak for breakfast.
Woodrow Wilson loved golf so much, he hit the links in winter, using black golf balls.
Warren G. Harding gambled away a set of White House china.
Calvin Coolidge was a prankster, often ringing the doorbell at the White House and then hiding.
During Prohibition, Herbert Hoover would often visit the Belgian Embassy. The reason was not exactly diplomatic. Because it was considered foreign soil, the embassy could serve cocktails.
When the king and queen of England visited in 1939, Franklin D. Roosevelt served them hot dogs.
Harry S. Truman once fired off a letter to a Washington Post critic who had panned a performance by Truman's daughter. President Truman wrote: "Some day I hope to meet you. When that happens you'll need a new nose, a lot of beefsteak for black eyes, and perhaps a supporter below!"
Dwight D. Eisenhower enjoyed eating TV dinners while watching Westerns.'
John F. Kennedy's left leg was almost an inch shorter than his right leg.
Lyndon B. Johnson proposed to his wife with a $2.50 ring from Sears.
Before Super Bowl VI, Richard Nixon telephoned Miami Dolphins head coach Don Shula at 1:30 a.m. to suggest the Dolphins try to pass to receiver Paul Warfield on "that down-and-in pattern." The Dolphins lost to the Cowboys 24-3.
When Gerald R. Ford got married, he was wearing one brown shoe and one black shoe.
Jimmy Carter ordered his bodyguards to stop opening doors for him.
Ronald Reagan worked as a lifeguard for years and is said to have made 79 rescues.
George H. W. Bush publicly declared that he would no longer eat broccoli.
Too chubby and slow to get away, 8-year-old Bill Clinton was attacked by a sheep.
As part-owner and spokesman for the Texas Rangers, George W. Bush had baseball cards made of himself.
Barack Obama collected "Spider-Man" and "Conan the Barbarian" comic books.
On their move to Washington, John Adams and family got lost for several hours in the woods north of the city.
The night after getting sworn in as president, Thomas Jefferson returned to his boardinghouse for dinner. He had to eat standing up when he found every seat had been taken.
James Madison wasn't exactly an imposing figure: He was 5-foot-4 and weighed less than 100 pounds.
When he left office, James Monroe was broke. He moved in with his daughter.
John Quincy Adams didn't care how he looked and was said to have worn the same hat for 10 years.
Andrew Jackson believed the world was flat.
Martin Van Buren wrote an autobiography. In it, he never mentioned his wife.
William Henry Harrison couldn't shake hands at his inauguration because his hand was still sore and swollen from shaking hands on the campaign trail.
John Tyler had 15 kids, the last one born after he turned 70.
James K. Polk worked 14 hours a day while in office.
After Zachary Taylor became president, he wore the same clothes he'd been wearing for years on his farm.
Millard Fillmore refused an honorary degree from Oxford because it was written in Latin. "No man should accept a degree that he cannot read," he said.
James Buchanan left a note for his replacement, Abraham Lincoln, that said: "My dear sir, if you are as happy on entering the White House as I on leaving, you are a happy man indeed."
In addition to a wart on his right cheek, Abraham Lincoln sported scars on his thumb from an ax accident and one over his right eye from a fight with a gang of thieves.
Andrew Johnson's wife, Eliza, was 16 when he married her.
Ulysses S. Grant smoked upward of 20 cigars a day and eventually got throat cancer.
Rutherford B. Hayes' wife, Lucy, cracked the whip, banning booze, smoking, card-playing and even dancing from the White House. She wore only high-necked gowns for evening wear.
James Garfield worked as a janitor to pay his way through college.
Chester A. Arthur"" owned about 80 pairs of pants and changed them several times a day.
Grover Cleveland answered the White House phone personally--.
After he got an electric shock, Benjamin Harrison refused to touch the newly installed light switches at the White House.
William McKinley loved stogies but refused to be seen in public or in photos with a cigar. "The children of America," he once said, "must not see their president smoking."
Theodore Roosevelt lost sight in his left eye in a friendly boxing match.
William Howard Taft loved to eat steak for breakfast.
Woodrow Wilson loved golf so much, he hit the links in winter, using black golf balls.
Warren G. Harding gambled away a set of White House china.
Calvin Coolidge was a prankster, often ringing the doorbell at the White House and then hiding.
During Prohibition, Herbert Hoover would often visit the Belgian Embassy. The reason was not exactly diplomatic. Because it was considered foreign soil, the embassy could serve cocktails.
When the king and queen of England visited in 1939, Franklin D. Roosevelt served them hot dogs.
Harry S. Truman once fired off a letter to a Washington Post critic who had panned a performance by Truman's daughter. President Truman wrote: "Some day I hope to meet you. When that happens you'll need a new nose, a lot of beefsteak for black eyes, and perhaps a supporter below!"
Dwight D. Eisenhower enjoyed eating TV dinners while watching Westerns.'
John F. Kennedy's left leg was almost an inch shorter than his right leg.
Lyndon B. Johnson proposed to his wife with a $2.50 ring from Sears.
Before Super Bowl VI, Richard Nixon telephoned Miami Dolphins head coach Don Shula at 1:30 a.m. to suggest the Dolphins try to pass to receiver Paul Warfield on "that down-and-in pattern." The Dolphins lost to the Cowboys 24-3.
When Gerald R. Ford got married, he was wearing one brown shoe and one black shoe.
Jimmy Carter ordered his bodyguards to stop opening doors for him.
Ronald Reagan worked as a lifeguard for years and is said to have made 79 rescues.
George H. W. Bush publicly declared that he would no longer eat broccoli.
Too chubby and slow to get away, 8-year-old Bill Clinton was attacked by a sheep.
As part-owner and spokesman for the Texas Rangers, George W. Bush had baseball cards made of himself.
Barack Obama collected "Spider-Man" and "Conan the Barbarian" comic books.
