Betcha Didn't Know This!

In recognition of President's Day (just barely!) here's a little bizarre trivia on some random presidents.

Martin Van Buren, the 8th President:

• Although he was born after the Declaration of Independence was signed (and was the first American-born President), he was of Dutch ancestry and spoke Dutch at home with his wife.
• He presided over the Senate with loaded pistols.
• He had 2 tiger cubs as pets.
• Weirdest fact: His autobiography does not mention his wife once.

James K. Polk, the 11th President:

• He survived a gallstone operation at age 17 without anethesia or antiseptics.
• A week before he died, Polk was baptized a Methodist.

Franklin Pierce, the 14th President:

• He was arrested while in office for running over an old woman with his horse, but his case was dropped due to insufficient evidence in 1853.
• He had the first central heating installed in the White House.
• He was the first one to have a Christmas tree in the White House.

Ulysses S. Grant, the 18th President:

• His real name was Hiram Ulysses Grant. He changed it because he didn't want to enter West Point with the initials H.U.G.
• While president, he was arrested for driving his horse too fast; he was fined $20.
• He ate a cucumber soaked in vinegar every morning for breakfast.

James Garfield, the 20th President:

• He was the only President to have been a preacher.
• He could write Latin with one hand and Greek with the other.
• Garfield was the second president shot in office. Doctors tried to find the bullet with a metal detector invented by Alexander Graham Bell. But the device failed because Garfield was placed on a bed with metal springs, and no one thought to move him.

Calvin Coolidge, the 30th President:

• A man of few words, he was so famous for saying so little that a White House dinner guest made a bet that she could get the president to say more than two words. She told the president of her wager. His reply: "You lose."
• His family spoke in sign language when they didn't want to be heard.
• He refused to use the telephone while he was in office.
• He once said, "If you don't say anything, you won't be called on to repeat it."
• He also once said, "Four-fifths of all our troubles in this life would disappear if we would only sit down and keep still."

John F. Kennedy, the 35th President:

• His right leg was 3/4 of an inch longer than his left, so he wore corrective shoes to make up for it.
• C. S. Lewis died the same day Kennedy was shot.

Richard Nixon, the 37th President:

• He suffered from motion sickness and hay fever.
• His favorite lunch was cottage cheese slathered in ketchup.

Gerald Ford, the 38th President:

• He was right-handed but wrote with his left hand.
• When he proposed to his wife, he was wearing one brown and one black shoe.
• He was the first President to be an Eagle Scout.

Source: http://fs6.depauw.edu:50080/~jkochanczyk/president/index.htm
The disgusting fact about Nixon's cottage cheese and ketchup came from
http://reference.aol.com/mf_history/_a/richard-nixon-who-resigned-from-office/20050126202109990017

Aren't some of those hilarious?! Now you can impress all your friends & family with your new knowledge!

View blog reactions