17. Hey, Hey, LBJ, How Many Pranks Have You Pulled Today?
About 4000 Amphicars were made, and President Johnson owned a baby blue one. He kept it in his Texas ranch, where he routinely hosted guests. While there, LBJ would often take his guests for a drive in his Amphicar – without telling them what it was. He would then convince them that they were about to drown. As LBJ drove guests around the Texas backcountry in his Amphicar, he would come close to a lake or pond, and suddenly pretend to have lost control of the vehicle. Then, to the terrified guests’ consternation, he would drive straight into a body of water. As the car splashed into a lake and the terrified passengers screamed, and perhaps soiled their pants as their lives flashed before their eyes, Johnson would double over with laughter.
As one of LBJ’s marks put it: “The President, with [his secretary] Vicky McCammon in the seat alongside him and me in the back, was now driving around in a small blue car with the top down. We reached a steep incline at the edge of the lake and the car started rolling rapidly toward the water. The President shouted, “The brakes don’t work! The brakes won’t hold! We’re going in! We’re going under!” The car splashed into the water. I started to get out. Just then the car leveled and I realized we were in a Amphicar. The President laughed. As we putted along the lake then (and throughout the evening), he teased me. “Vicky, did you see what Joe did? He didn’t give a damn about his President. He just wanted to save his own skin and get out of the car.” Then he would roar [with laughter]”.
