+odd presidential facts
This Presidents Day, we're vetoing trite trivia about cherry trees and log cabins. Read up on some lesser-known presidential tidbits that may make you look at these Oval Office occupants in a different light.
A songbird fan
This president preferred pet songbirds to first felines and presidential pooches. He collected and trained many specimens of mimus polyglottos on his Virginia estate, but his favorite was "Dick."
Which president?
Thomas Jefferson
The president got the nickname, "The Last of the Cocked Hats," because he was the last president with Revolutionary credentials. (The hats were fashionable in the field.)
Which president?
James Monroe
Pint-sized president
He's regarded as the smallest leader in U.S. history, reportedly weighing less than 100 pounds and standing no taller than 5 feet 4 inches.
Which president?
James Madison
Skinny dipper-in-chief
He loved collecting his thoughts with early morning nude swims in a nearby river.
Which president?
John Quincy Adams
A foul feathered friend
This president trained his pet parrot, Poll, to be such a potty-mouth that the bird had to be removed from its master's funeral proceedings.
Which president?
Andrew Jackson
An OK guy
He often gets credit for originating the term "OK," thanks to a nickname associated with him and his hometown.
Which president?
A White House horse
This president brought his war steed, Old Whitey, to live and graze on the grounds of the White House. PETA wouldn't have approved of the horse's grabby fans.
Which president?
Zachary Taylor
The solo leader
He is the only elected president to remain a bachelor.
Which president?
James Buchanan
A different kind of leftist
Legend has it that he was the first southpaw president and could simultaneously write a dead language with one hand and Greek with the other.
Which president?
James Garfield
The big boss
He was large and in charge, weighing in at more than 300 pounds and earning a reputation as the heaviest president.
Which president?
William Howard Taft
President on the mound
He was the first sitting president to attend the World Series and he threw out the first pitch .
Which president?
Woodrow Wilson
A scandal magnet
Despite his "normal" campaign promises, this president appointed the first Cabinet member to be imprisoned and was scandalized by rumors of gambling and multiple extra-marital affairs.
Which president?
Warren Harding
A hands-on kind of guy
Rumor has it that he liked to have morning scalp massages at breakfast (his salve of choice?).
Which president?
Calvin Coolidge
The middle man
His middle initial doesn't stand for anything at all; it was given to him in honor of his two grandfathers.
Which president?
Harry Truman
A pin-up president
This president was a dashing cover model for a 1942 issue of a long-running women's magazine.
Which president?
Gerald Ford
A serious bibliophile
It's been said that he read three to four books a week, thanks to a speed-reading course he took at the White House.
Which president?
Jimmy Carter