1 The Fabulous Life of George Washington
As president, ol’ Georgie pulled in a salary of $25K a year. That’s roughly $1 million in today’s currency. Apparently excited by his newfound purchasing power, Washington started living it up, reportedly buying leopard-skin robes for all his horses and spending seven percent of his income on alcohol.
Tire mogul Harvey Firestone gave Calvin Coolidge a pygmy hippopotamus in 1927. Many of the pygmy hippos in U.S. zoos are its descendants.
2 John Quincy Adams’ Naked Swimming Fetish
Forget secret tapes and shredded documents. Back in the early 19th century, there was a better way to get a glimpse of an American president truly exposed. All you had to do was show up at the banks of the Potomac River early in the morning during the warmer months between 1825 and 1829 to catch John Quincy Adams skinny-dipping.
3 Bush Leaves His Mark on Japan
If you remember one thing from the first Bush administration, it’s probably not the 1992 state dinner during which President George H. W. Bush, ill with the flu, lost his lunch in the lap of the Japanese prime minister. Well, a lot of Japanese remember that incident a little better. Turns out, Bush’s faux pas coined a Japanese slang word, bushusuru, which translates as “to do the Bush thing,” meaning “to vomit.”
4 Thomas Jefferson Goes Missing from Office
What do you want on your tombstone? Thomas Jefferson knew, so he took the time before he died to write out the inscription. A rather lengthy memorial, the missive listed Jefferson’s many great accomplishments, from “author of the Declaration of Independence” to “founder of the University of Virginia.” However, he did forget one small achievement. The tombstone fails to mention that Jefferson was once president of the United States.
Washington Wasn’t the First American President.
Your teachers all said G.W. was the first American president, but George “I Cannot Tell a Lie” Washington would have told you differently. During the American Revolution in 1781, the Continental Congress elected Maryland statesman John Hanson to the post of President of the United States in Congress Assembled. After Washington defeated the British at the Battle of Yorktown, Hanson sent him a congratulatory note. Washington’s reply was addressed to the “President of the United States.” Not until he was elected in 1789 did Washington officially take his own version of the title.
Andrew Johnson was buried with his body wrapped in an American flag and his head resting on a copy of the Constitution.