Presidental Strangeness

In a few days we will have a new President taking office. Although there are plenty of odd aspects of government, I thought I would share some of the strange things that have happened over the years with our past 43 Presidents (Barack Obama will be number 44).

Obama’s inauguration is Tuesday in very warm Washington D.C. with a forecasted high of 33°. He probably has more real teeth than George Washington had at his inauguration. Washington had only one tooth. Instead, he wore dentures made of human teeth, animal teeth, ivory or even lead.

I have never been a huge fan of watching golf, but seeing Gerald Ford play might have been fun. Spectators had to watch carefully since the President was known for bouncing golf balls off people’s heads with wild shots.

Franklin Pierce must not have been a fan of bad smells since he ordered the first bathtub for the White House. Many people were upset since they thought taking baths was not healthy and would make you sick when he took office in 1853. Only 6 years previously, Ignaz Semmelweis was ridiculed and tossed in an asylum for suggesting doctors wash their hands to remove germs after autopsies on cadavers.

There has been talk about what type of dog the Obama family will have in the White House, but I think Calvin Coolidge gets the award for best pet. He had a two pet raccoons that he and his wife took on walks. He also had a bear, a hippo, eight dogs, two canaries, two cats, a bobcat, lion cubs, and a wallaby. I am not sure if he had all of those while in office.

We will see what fun things we find out about Barack Obama, but the only one I know of right now is how many names he has had over the years. Right now, he is Barack Obama Jr., but he has been named Barry Soetoro, Barack Soetoro, Barry Dunham, and Barry Obama.