Comments on: Show Off Your Smarts!

By: Worrals

Worrals — Fri, 10 Nov 2006 20:42:35 +0000

Time for some Canadian content (or can-con as we like to call it up here). Our longest serveing Prime Minister was William Lyon Mackenize King (3 terms in office covering 22 years). He was also one of our strangest. He never married and so his best friend and confident was his dog Pat (and PatII and Pat III). WLMK discussed state secrets, especially during WWII, with his faithful friend. WLMK was also a devoted spiritualist; you can see his crystal ball in Laurier House in Ottawa today (along with one of Abraham Lincoln’s death masks). WLMK spent a lot of time contacting his dead mother and a previous (also dead) Canadian Prime Minister, Wilfrid Laurier. Nevertheless, he helped Canada get out of the Great Depression and he provided strong, clear leadership during World War Two.

By: Allison

Allison — Thu, 09 Nov 2006 18:08:46 +0000

I love this feature! Its like being at a party where EVERYONE is interesting, and I get the feeling that I can join the conversation too.

I love this anecdote about John Quincy Adams. He was the first President to grant an interview to a female journalist. But that isn’t even the cool part. The writer was Anne Royall, considered America’s first woman journalist. (Oh, but it get s better) It seems the Prez turned Mrs. Royall down initially, believing that being interviewed by a lady was beneath his station. What does a resourceful gal do? She finds out that Adams enjoys a morning skinny dip in the Potomac, sneaks up on him and holds his clothing hostage until he consents to the interview. Go girl!

By: Karl Sigren

Karl Sigren — Wed, 08 Nov 2006 18:53:27 +0000

Lot’s of qoutes from the “Great American Bathroom Book”!! Just a quick question, is Bill Clinton the first American president without an estate, ranch, summer house, or the like, to vacation at or retire to?

By: Joe

Joe — Wed, 08 Nov 2006 16:57:20 +0000

Speaking of Coolidge, he was also known for his frugality with words as well as with cigars. There is the famous story of the President at a dinner party. A female guest said that she had made a bet that she could get Coolidge to say more than two words to her. Coolidge looked at her and said, “You lose.”

By: Dan H.

Dan H. — Wed, 08 Nov 2006 15:51:27 +0000

Most people (that I know at least) forget that there was a U.S. President who was the head of a labor union prior to being elected President.

That man was Ronald W. Reagan who headed the Screen Actors Guild from 1947 until 1952 and again from 1959 to 1960.

By: Cameron

Cameron — Wed, 08 Nov 2006 09:00:43 +0000

Deviating from the Presidential facts, did you know that Wyoming was the first state to grant women the right to vote? In 1869 when Wyoming was still a territory they extended suffrage to women, at least to some extent, to ensure enough voting citizens to be granted statehood, which would occur in 1890.
In addition to this Wyoming was the first state to elect a female governor. Nellie Tayloe Ross, a former Kindergarten teacher and widow of the previous governor, took office in January of 1925.
Another former school teacher was the first female Congresswoman. Jeanette Rankin was elected to represent Montana on November 7, 1916. She officially took her seat in the House on April 4, 1917. Rankin served two separate terms in the House; first from 1917-1919 and again from 1941-1943. She has the interesting distinction of being the only member of Congress to vote against United States entry into World War I AND World War II.

By: Karah!

Karah! — Wed, 08 Nov 2006 00:47:51 +0000

Calvin Coolidge was very well known for his frugality. once a White House visitor asked President Calvin Coolidge for a cigar so he could give it to a friend who collected cigar bands from famous people. Coolidge took a cigar from his desktop box, removed the band, gave the visitor the band and kept the cigar.

By: hannah

hannah — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 23:08:38 +0000

i heard once that Truman first met his wife when they were kids, and he liked her then because she was the only girl in his town that could whistle through her teeth.

By: DLF

DLF — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 21:30:38 +0000

Harry Truman’s mother and father could not agree on a middle name for Harry when he was born. Since the 33rd president’s middle initial, S, doesn’t actually stand for anything, legally, in particular, the period after the letter is often omitted when Truman’s full name is printed.

By: Cameron

Cameron — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 20:10:07 +0000

For some reason I have always had an odd fascination with William Henry Harrison, our ninth President.
When he took office in 1841 he was 68 years old. No President would eclipse that number until Ronald Reagan in 1980; Reagan was 69.
During his Presidential bid he concocted one of the best, and most memorable, campaign slogans around – ‘Tippecanoe and Tyler Too.’ This referenced his ‘valor’ in the battle of Tippecanoe.
Finally, after winning the election in a landslide, he took the oath of office on March 4, 1841 which, according to historical record was a very cold day. Opting not to wear an overcoat, he gave the longest inaugural speech in American history. Shortly thereafter he developed a cold which then became pneumonia. He died one month later having served the shortest Presidential term in US history.