There’s a whole treasure trove of wild, wonderful and just plain weird facts about the 45 presidents of the USA, even though they had no great impact on history as we know it.
First in, first out (FIFO); George Washington had terrible, decaying teeth so he wore dentures made from hippopotamus ivory, bone, animal and human teeth, lead, brass screws and gold wire. Some records suggest that those teeth came from the mouths of slaves and impoverished people.
Thought friendly in their personal lives, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams were great political rivals. On his deathbed, Adams is believed to have uttered, “Thomas Jefferson still survives,” in a final act of rivalry. Little did he know that Jefferson had actually died hours earlier. As fate would have it, both Adams and Jefferson died on the same day, July 4, 1826, the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. The last surviving Founding Father, James Monroe also died on July 4th, five years later. The Fourth of July is also the birthday of a president: Calvin Coolidge in 1872.
Andrew Jackson’s pet parrot began shouting obscenities at his funeral and had to be kicked out. The president was a former war hero and known for his tough exterior, so it surprised no one that he had taught the bird its colourful language.
James Garfield was ambidextrous, but his capabilities went far beyond this. He developed the unique talent of simultaneously writing in Greek with one hand and in Latin with the other.
William McKinley often wore a red carnation on his lapel for good luck. On September 6, 1901, he gave a little girl the carnation from his lapel and, moments later, he was assassinated.
Despite being unable to use one of his legs, George H W Bush celebrated his ninth decade of life by making a tandem parachute jump out of an airplane, about 6,000 feet near his home in Maine. He also celebrated his 80th birthday in this fashion.
When Barack Obama briefly lived in Indonesia as a child, his family owned a number of unusual pets including numerous alligators, a turtle and an ape named Tata. Herbert Hoover’s son had two pet alligators, which were occasionally permitted to run rampant through the White House.
Obama’s experience working at a Baskin-Robbins as a teen has made him hate ice cream. Obama’s high school nickname on the basketball team was ‘Barry O’Bomber,’ which he earned due to his awesome jump shot.
And now some presidential trivia for today, January 20. On this day in 1945, Franklin D Roosevelt was sworn-in for an unprecedented (and never to be repeated) 4th term as US president. On the same day in 1981, Ronald Reagan became president at the age of 69, the oldest to take office. Barack Obama was inaugurated as the 44th and the United States’ first African-American president on this day, exactly 10 years ago. Historic moments, indeed! Facts like these are often the ones that provide the most memorable insight into the actual person behind the presidency. Well, they are people too, and just like us.
Welcome to ‘Nutty’s Infotainment. YAYS!’. And your time starts NOW!
During one of their visits to William Shakespeare’s residence in England, they chipped off a piece of his chair as a little souvenir from the renowned poet and playwright. Name these two people who later became presidents of USA.
John Adams and Thomas Jefferson
Which common expression in English language derives from US president Martin Van Buren’s birthplace and nickname?
OK. The origin of ‘OK’ derives from the election campaign for Martin Van Buren in 1840. Buren had adopted the nickname, Old Kinderhook, after his birthplace Kinderhook, New York. His supporters used to shorten the name to OK during rallies.
Name the three US presidents to have won Grammy Awards for Best Spoken Word Album.
Bill Clinton (2005), Jimmy Carter (2007) and Barack Obama (2006, 2008).
Name the American president who is in the Wrestling Hall of Fame because of his skills in the ring. As a young man, he only lost one match out of approximately 300 he participated in.
Abraham Lincoln
He had a side gig as a model, and in 1942, shortly after joining the Navy, he landed an uncredited spot on the cover of Cosmopolitan, in his uniform. Identify this model who, later on, before became the president of USA.
Gerald Ford
Name the Belgian-born star, known for her style and sophistication, who once said, “For beautiful eyes, look for the good in others; for beautiful lips, speak only words of kindness; and for poise, walk with the knowledge that you are never alone.” She died this day (January 20) in 1993.
Audrey Hepburn.
A lunar eclipse happens when the Sun, the Earth, and the moon are precisely aligned, with the Earth situated in the middle. The only total lunar eclipse of 2019 is happening today (or tomorrow) and the total phase will be visible from North and South America, and western parts of Europe and Africa. Central and eastern Africa, Europe, and Asia will see a partial eclipse. What is the astronomical term for when three celestial bodies are configured in a straight line?
Syzygy
What did soldiers during WWII use condoms for?
To cover their rifle barrels from getting damaged by salty water and sand.
An iconic and famous photo of Albert Einstein taken on his 72nd birthday features the famous scientist doing what?
Sticking out his tongue.
The image below is the logo of national football team of which country?
(Answer to last week’s photo-quiz: Reddit.)
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