Who is more likely to be elected president - someone who is left-handed or right-handed? Which Detroit firm has a lock on the presidential limo contract? Which president took the longest vacation? Check out Presidential fun facts to learn the answers!
Southpaws Rule The White House
Four of the past five presidents have been southpaws (left-handed): Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama. Only George W. Bush was a rightie.Left-handedness is the preference for the left hand over the right for everyday activities such as writing. Only about 10 percent of the U.S. population is left-handed, but all three candidates in 1992 (Bush41, Clinton, Perot) were.
In 2006, researchers at Lafayette College and Johns Hopkins University reported that college-educated left-handed men are 15-26 percent richer than right-handed men. In his book Right-Hand, Left-Hand, Chris McManus argues that the brains of left-handers are structured differently from right-handers.
GM Rules The Presidential Limo Pool
A Cadillac-based limo, code named Cadillac One, is the official state car used by the U.S. President. The "2009 Cadillac Presidential Limousine" is the first not to carry a specific model name.General Motors has a 90-year history with the presidency. President Woodrow Wilson rode in a Cadillac during a World War I victory parade in 1919. President Calvin Coolidge used a 1928 Cadillac town car. FDR and Harry Truman, however, rode in Lincolns (Ford).
Although the presidential limo is based on the Cadillac, the resemblance ends with the name. Equipped with armor (reportedly 5 inches thick), run-flat tires and explosive-proof gas tanks, Cadillac One more closely resembles an armored tank.
Which President Took The Longest Vacation?
In 1798, John Adams spent seven months on his farm in Massachusetts to care for his ill wife, Abigail. Then Thomas Jefferson, who had spent 10 months away from the capitol while Vice President, took a 3.5 month vacation in 1805. With the War of 1812 over, in June 1816, James Madison left Washington, D.C. in June and didn't return until October. Source: History News Network.Which Presidents Are Pictured On Currency?
Both paper money and coins are marked with the likeness of presidents.Paper currency: Washington ($1), Jefferson ($2), Lincoln ($5), Hamilton ($10), Jackson ($20), Grant ($50), Franklin ($100), McKinley ($500), Cleveland ($1,000), Madison ($5,000), Chase ($10,000) and Wilson ($100,000).
Coins: Lincoln ($0.01), Jefferson ($0.05), Roosevelt ($0.10), Washington ($0.25), Kennedy ($0.50)
Sources: paper, coin
Which Presidents Have Died In Office?
Eight presidents have died in office:- W. Harrison (after having served only one month)
- Taylor
- Lincoln (assassinated)
- Garfield (assassinated)
- McKinley (assassinated)
- Harding
- F. Roosevelt
- Kennedy (assassinated)
Which President Was First ....
... to be photographed? John Quincy Adams... to get married while in office? John Tyler
... to put a telephone in the White House? Rutherford B. Hayes
... to hold his wedding inside the White House? Grover Cleveland
... to have an office in the West Wing? Teddy Roosevelt
... to throw out the first baseball at the start of the season? William Howard Taft
... to give a speech over the radio? Warren G. Harding
... to be born west of the Mississippi? Herbert C. Hoover
... to use a helicopter on the White House lawn? Dwight D. Eisenhower
... to resign from office? Richard Nixon
Source
Other Fun Facts
- The college that has the most presidents as alumni (eight in total) is Harvard: John Adams, John Q. Adams, Teddy Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Rutherford B. Hayes, John F. Kennedy; George W. Bush; and Barack Obama
- The oldest president inaugurated was Reagan (age 69); the youngest was Kennedy (age 43). Theodore Roosevelt, however, was the youngest man to become president: he was 42 when he succeeded McKinley, who had been assassinated.
- Barack Obama is our 44th president, but there actually have only been 43 presidents: Cleveland was elected for two nonconsecutive terms and is counted twice, as both our 22nd and 24th president.