Those Wacky Presidents Part Two

There are so many fun facts about U.S. Presidents that aren’t mainstream, like JFK being allergic to Caroline’s pony, Macaroni, and how Teddy Roosevelt’s kids once brought theirs up in the White House elevator.

Speaking of Theodore Roosevelt, who hated being called Teddy, he created the Oval Office Mr. Trump now occupies.

Dwight D. Eisenhower changed the name of the Presidential Retreat in Frederick County, Maryland, from Shangri’La, to Camp David, in honor of his then five year-old grandson, David Eisenhower, who married Julie Nixon, Dick’s daughter, in 1968.

Abraham Lincoln and Teddy were both avid wrestlers, a sport they passed down to their children.

U.S. Grant smoked 20 cigars a day, never having to buy one again, when citizens, after the Civil War, sent him 10,000 boxes in gratitude. No wonder he died of throat cancer in 1885, at age 63.

Andrew Johnson studied to be a tailor. Bet he could hem a pair’a pants.

Chester Arthur, nicknamed, Elegant Arthur, because he was such a dapper dresser, owned 80 pair.

JFK was a huge James Bond fan.

Ronald Reagan had a big thing for jelly beans.

Thomas Jefferson invented the swivel chair.

William Howard Taft, tipping the scales at 350,  known as Big Bill, had to have a special bathtub made, known as, the Taft Tub. Once, he even got stuck, and had to call for help to get him out. He’s also the only other president besides John F. Kennedy buried at Arlington.

Woodrow Wilson’s handsome face is on a $100,000 dollar bill. Try changing that into singles.

Calvin Coolidge had two pet raccoons named Rebecca and Reuben who tooled around the White House like masked dignitaries.

Gerald Ford worked as a fashion model while at college, appearing on a Cosmo cover. No wonder Betty fell for him.

William McKinley always wore a carnation on his lapel, for luck. The one time he sweetly gave it to a little girl, seconds after, was shot in the chest, dying 8 days later.

James Buchanan brought slaves to Washington, then quietly freed them in Pennsylvania.

Andrew Jackson fought in over 100 duels, living to brag about them till he died at the ripe old age of 78.

Kind of like that big block of cheese a dairy farmer named John Meacham sent him that sat decomposing in the foyer of the White House.  Hey John, candy might have been a better choice.

And I’ll end with, good old, modest LBJ, who was known to unzip his pants to show off, Jumbo, as he called his, well…must I say it? 

That’s a hard one to beat, no pun intended.

SB