Learning about the presidency can still be fun
What do we know about the 45 men who claim the honor of being U.S. president?
By Christopher Flowers
It doesn’t always have to be doom and gloom. On occasion, we take it down a notch and look at the lighter side of the news.
Thanks to the fine folks at National Geographic KiDS, we know Teddy Roosevelt was the first president to ride in a car while in office. The first to fly in an airplane was Franklin Delano Roosevelt. As the article puts it, “What's next — the first president in space?”
Presidential fun facts:
Abraham Lincoln was 6 feet, 4 inches (1.9 meters), making him the tallest U.S. president.
The first left-handed president was James Garfield, the 20th president.
Millard Fillmore, the 13th president, was the first president to have a stepmother.
The only president who studied to become a medical doctor was William Henry Harrison, the ninth president.
The 18th president of the United States, Ulysses S. Grant, was given a $20 speeding ticket for riding his horse and buggy too fast down a street in Washington, D.C.
The White House's first website went online in October 1994 during President Bill Clinton's administration.
Over at POTUS dot com, we learn that William H. Taft was our heaviest president, the only 300+ pounder elected. An interesting note about numbers 2 and 3: They are occupied by the only men elected to non-consecutive terms. Though, I’m not sure if number 3 on the list would take solace in ranking so much higher than Barack Obama, tied for 18th with Abraham Lincoln. Four men are tied for 21st on the list, at 175 lbs, and four are also tied for 25th at 174 lbs. George Washington and Richard Nixon weighed the same. The lightest president? A mere 100 lbs; though, you could probably add a pound or two if he were soaking wet.
The pets accumulated at the White House over the years range from cats and dogs to hippos and bears, this from Infobase dot com. “The Kennedys brought a small zoo with them to the White House,” including “several dogs and horses, a rabbit, hamsters, parakeets, and cats that lived with the family. First daughter Caroline Kennedy’s Shetland pony, Macaroni, was allowed to wander freely on the White House lawn.”
In addition to being the heaviest president, Taft was the first to play golf, “and sparked a surge of interest in the game, as well as many critics who felt he should play less golf and do more work.” He also began the tradition in 1910 of throwing out the first pitch at an MLB game; although, the pitch was from his seat.
Inauguration fun facts:
George Washington’s was the shortest inaugural address at 135 words.
John Quincy Adams was the first president sworn in wearing long trousers.
William H. Harrison’s was the longest inaugural address at 8,445 words. Despite a snowstorm, Harrison did not wear an overcoat, hat, or gloves during his nearly two-hour inaugural address. He died of pneumonia one month later.
Abraham Lincoln was the first to include African Americans in his parade.
Women were included for the first time in Woodrow Wilson’s second inaugural parade.
Jimmy Carter’s inaugural parade featured solar heat for the reviewing stand and handicap-accessible viewing.
Barack Obama had to recite the oath of office two times. During the original ceremony, Chief Justice John Roberts incorrectly recited the oath of office, so he readministered the oath the next day at the White House.
An informed electorate
Cobb Collaborative works “to bring the community together to improve outcomes for children as we facilitate comprehensive activities for networking and capacity building in our three focus initiative areas of mental health, literacy and civic engagement.” They have an article on their website about the importance of being an informed voter:
An informed voter, Cobb Collaborative intern Chris Jennings writes, “recognizes the importance of their vote, while also educating themselves on where the various candidates stand on different issues.” To ensure that one is properly informed, “it is important to seek information from as many types of trusted sources as possible,” and Jennings recommends “both news outlets and social media platforms to get information.”
Knowing the facts “will give you the upper hand on avoiding persuasive political advertising.”
Being informed about the candidates “individually instead of solely focusing on their party affiliation” is important, because “voters may be unaware of the candidates running for local offices, and only educate themselves on candidates that are running for higher offices. In an effort to be completely informed, you should research all of the races that will be on your ballot.”
Referendums, Jennings notes, “often don’t get as much attention from mainstream media,” and you will “want to make certain that the votes you are casting accurately reflect your own opinions. Determine what issues you deem are important and construct your own judgements about them.”
Death & Taxes
In another first, no other president has needed to negotiate a deal with his own Department of Justice in order to stop all past and future investigations into accusations of tax fraud.
We’ll end our list of presidential facts with the inevitable. No matter how popular they were, how divisive, what legislation they pass, whether or not they ever achieve peace in the Middle East, every president will one day be featured in this BuzzFeed article:
I’m Weirdly Fascinated By Presidential Graves And Tombs, So Here’s What The Grave Of Every Single President Who’s Died Looks Like (subhead: Some are GIGANTIC and others... are not.)
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