Humor in History

Kevin Metry, Reporter

February 12, 2020

With President’s Day coming up on February 17, the Cougar Express staff thought it would be fun to talk about some of the more odd contributions and sometimes downright bizarre moments of former presidents before and during their times in the White House.

WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT (1909-1913)

Weighing 355 pounds, Willam Howard Taft fell into a bathtub and and got stuck. They had to rebuild a new one to fit him when he was taking a bath in the White House. They then replaced it with the regular-sized bathtub when the next president went into office. No matter how good of a president you are, that is the only thing you could be remembered for.

CALVIN COOLIDGE (1923-1929)

Calvin Coolidge adopted many pets during his time in the White House. Some of these pets include Ebenezer the donkey and Smoky the bobcat.

BILL CLINTON (1993-2001)

At one time during his presidency, Bill Clinton lost the personal ID code needed to confirm nuclear launches. His response: “it was no big deal.”

GEORGE W. BUSH (2001-2009)

George W. Bush may not have had a stellar academic record, but he was outstanding at socializing, specifically during his time as head cheerleader in high school at Phillips Academy.