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1. 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.
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. 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.
4. 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 slang word, bushusuru, which translates as “to do the Bush thing,” meaning “to vomit.”
5. 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.
Comments (16)
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Good list!
I also like the anecdote about Taft getting stuck in the White House bathtub.
posted by Dave A. on 7-17-2008 at 1:38 pm
What most people don’t realize is that Jefferson left President of the United States off of his epitaph on purpose. He was so disillusioned with setbacks in his second term that it left the ultimate distaste in his mouth and he thought it better to be remembered for what he did list there.
posted by Dan Friedman on 7-17-2008 at 2:00 pm
Yes, I believe Jefferson decided not to mention his presidency on purpose, but I always heard it was because he didn’t believe it was an accomplishment. He thought the acts the president does was what was important, not becoming a president in the first place.
posted by Kinglink on 7-17-2008 at 4:28 pm
#2 – well, it isn’t as though they had Speedos back then….
Amy
posted by Amy on 7-17-2008 at 7:15 pm
Re: #3 — It was actually quite common to spend money on alcohol in those days. Among other things, it was guaranteed to be pure due its distillation process, as opposed to the questionable water supply. It’s conceivable that the large amount of money he spent on alcohol was connected to the distillery that he established after his presidency.
Or he just really liked boozin.
posted by Pete on 7-17-2008 at 8:24 pm
John Hanson cannot truly be considered the first president of the US, as the US didn’t really come into being until the Consitituion. To quote wiki-
“The origin of the claim that Hanson is the “forgotten” first President stems from a 1932 book by Seymour Wemyss Smith titled John Hanson – Our First President. Officially Hanson was the third President of the Continental Congress, and he considered himself a successor to the first two men to hold the office, Samuel Huntington and Thomas McKean. He was the first to serve a full one-year term, and the first to formally use the title President of the United States in Congress Assembled.
The office of the President of the United States in Congress Assembled was, despite the name, not an executive post. It bears a closer resemblance to the modern Speaker of the United States House of Representatives or Vice President of the United States. The office was in existence from 1781 to 1788, under the Articles of Confederation, and was replaced by the modern office of President of the United States when the Constitution took effect in 1789. The modern office is significantly more powerful as an executive position.”
Way to perpetuate a UL, mental floss!
posted by Dave on 7-17-2008 at 9:08 pm
My favorite part about the JQ swimming naked story, is the time when Anne Royall, a female reporter whose requests for an interview were repeatedly turned down by the White House, sat on top of the President’s clothes and refused to give them back until he had answered her questions. Good interview tactic.
posted by Julia on 7-18-2008 at 2:51 am
The Japanese have good idea with “Bushusuru. We need to remember this Bush presidency with a commemorative verb like “to Bush something” meaning to take a post of high esteem and turn it into a disaster. We already have “Bushism” for a word made out of ignorance of the native language. But that doesn’t seem to go far enough”
posted by Phil Slattery on 8-24-2008 at 10:17 am
Wow, just a tiny bit of research shows that mentalfloss didnt do any research. He wasnt president, and he wasnt the first. He was more like a speaker of the house, and he was the third. Washington did sent send the note.
posted by Scott on 8-24-2008 at 10:51 am
Mental Floss never mentioned that Hanson was the first American President. They simply mentioned that George Washington was not. There doesn’t seem to be anything to evidence that Mental Floss disputes Samuel Huntington and Thomas McKean holding the position.
They further mention that Washington replied to Hanson’s note and addressed it to the President of the United States.
There could have been thirty presidents of the continental congress, but Washington only addressed one as the President.
posted by Michael on 8-24-2008 at 7:24 pm
Dave, haven’t you learned anything? Never ever quote “wiki”
posted by H on 8-24-2008 at 10:37 pm
H,
I quote wiki for EVERYTHING and I am about to graduate here soon with two majors and a 3.5 GPA (school in Cali). The bad press that is given to wikipedia has got to go. If you ever need info on ANYTHING wiki is sure to have it.
posted by M on 8-25-2008 at 2:10 am
M, you should never quote Wiki in anything academic. You should also not quote encyclopedias but instead quote source material. Wikipedia has been shown to be as accurate as some encylcopedias but it is still open to editing at any time.
The internet is a wonderful resource for academia, but it has to be used correctly.
posted by C on 8-25-2008 at 8:13 am
H…M….get a life!
posted by Frank on 8-25-2008 at 2:12 pm
Hanson (and the others before him) could more accurately be described as “President of the Assembly of the States.” Where the Congress was the Assembly of distinct, sovereign States. It was not until the ratification of the Constitution (and good ‘ole GW) that the sovereignty of the US as a whole developed, and could thus be presided over by a single executive President.
posted by Ben on 9-17-2008 at 2:46 pm
“bushusuru, which translates as “to do the Bush thing,” meaning “to vomit.””
Well, it would be more accurate linguistically to say it translates as “to Bush”, like, “oh god, get me a wastebasket I think I’m gonna Bush!”, but yeah, ultimately “to vomit”. Haha.
posted by itsalljustaride on 10-2-2008 at 10:02 pm