Though often blamed for the Great Depression, Hoover was a self made millionaire and famous humanitarian. White House
30 Hoover starred in America’s first long-distance television transmission
Before he became president Herbert Hoover was a highly successfully mining engineer, a self-made man who had been a member of the first graduating class of Stanford University. He became internationally famous for his humanitarian work feeding refugees in the aftermath of World War 1 (an act he would repeat following World War 2). As Secretary of Commerce under Coolidge, Hoover was the subject of the first television transmission, with him speaking in Washington DC and the image and sound sent to an audience of reporters and others in New York City. “Human genius has now destroyed the impediment of distance”, he said.
Specially modified cars allowed FDR to indulge his love of driving, despite not having the use of his legs. Library of Congress
31. Franklin Roosevelt was a devoted stamp collector and loved to drive
Franklin D. Roosevelt’s devotion to his stamp collection is well known, and he was working over his collection on a December day when word of the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor reached the East Coast of the United States. FDR, despite being restricted for the most part to a wheelchair, nonetheless loved to drive his own car. Most of his driving was restricted to his estate at Hyde Park, though he did from time to time drive his own vehicle before reporters. A specially modified Ford Phaeton which allowed FDR to drive using hand controls was kept at Warm Springs, and while there the president loved to drive around the area, attempting to elude the Secret Service.
Poker was a popular form of relaxation for President Truman, along with sipping bourbon. Truman Library
32. Harry Truman was a fan of bourbon and poker
Harry Truman and his wife Bess enjoyed bourbon at the end of the work day, and Harry was known to take a setting up shot in the morning before he had his breakfast, a practice he continued almost to the day he died. He was also a devoted poker player, and during presidential trips by train, airplane, and presidential yacht the time was passed in poker games. On one trip the President was accompanied by Winston Churchill, and Truman noted that Churchill was not a particularly good player, losing steadily. During a break Truman warned the other players to go easier on the former Prime Minister, allowing him to win a hand here and there.
Eisenhower’s love of golf is well-known but he was equally as passionate over the game of bridge. White House
33. Ike was a well-known devotee of golf and bridge
Dwight Eisenhower was an accomplished athlete in his youth, excelling at baseball, football, and horseback riding. He later famously focused his athletic competiveness into the game of golf, which he played as often as he could, both as president and in retirement. He was also, as were many presidents, a lover of cards, but Ike preferred bridge over poker. Eisenhower learned the game in his youth, and during his war years in Europe it was his main source of relaxation. He continued to use the game to keep his mental faculties sharp as president, with Saturday nights at the White House set aside for bridge games with guests.
JFK and family at Hyannisport in the summer of 1962. JFK Library
34. Kennedy was another president deluged with pets
As would be expected of an astute political operative with a highly photogenic family, JFK’s White House was another in which the press of numerous pets was visible. Several were gifts from dignitaries and foreign leaders for JFK’s daughter Caroline, among them a pony named Leprechaun, given to her by Irish President Eamon de Valera. Another was a dog by the name of Pushinka. The dog was a puppy of the Soviet space dog Strelka, which had orbited the earth in 1960. Pushinka later had pups of her own, fathered by Kennedy’s dog Charlie, and which the president referred to as pupniks.
Lyndon Johnson did several unusual things which startled aides and friends unaccustomed to his habits. White House
35. LBJ didn’t let calls of nature interrupt meetings
Lyndon Johnson was known to reach out during meals, with hands, fork, or spoon, and help himself to the contents of one of his fellow diner’s plates, often claiming a food which was outside of the president’s dietary restrictions. Even more startling to staffers and others, when he felt the call of nature during a meeting or while giving dictation, he would enter a nearby bathroom, leave the door open, and continued to conduct business while he did his business. He was known to insist that aides accompany him into the bathroom at times, whether he required the use of a stall or a urinal, in order to not interrupt the business of government.
Nixon bowling (and foot-faulting) in the White House bowling alley during his administration. Library of Congress
36. Nixon preferred private recreation over public appearances
Richard Nixon was known for his lack of social skills, a difficult failing for a career politician to overcome. He was famously poor at small talk and the routine interchange of conversation. For recreation he preferred what could be performed privately. He played no less than five musical instruments, learning from his aunt in his youth, and after discovering his talent could be a political asset he performed on piano before television cameras. For physical exercise he preferred bowling, using the alleys at the Old Executive Office building before installing a single alley in the White House basement, beneath the North Portico.
The young Jerry Ford worked as a male model and turned down offers to play professional football. National Archives
37. Gerald Ford could have played professional football
During his presidency Gerald Ford developed a reputation for stumbling down stairs and falling off of sidewalks. LBJ often commented that Ford had played too much football without a helmet. Ford was an athlete for most of his life, an avid skier and golfer when serving as president. In his youth, the former Michigan football player received offers from the Green Bay Packers and the Detroit Lions, though the recent graduate chose Yale Law School instead. Also in his youth, Ford worked briefly as a male model, appearing on the cover of the April, 1942 edition of Cosmopolitan.
President Carter, as befits a former Naval officer, defends his craft from an attacking enemy, a vicious rabbit. Jimmy Carter Library
38. Jimmy Carter was attacked by a rabbit and reported a UFO
President Carter was on a fishing trip after which he later told staffers that a rabbit swam towards his boat, and that he had had to use an oar to roil the water and fend off the attack. The staff thought he was kidding them until footage from a White House photographer confirmed the incident. Earlier, when serving as governor of Georgia in 1969, Carter reported seeing a UFO in the night sky over Leary, Georgia. Carter later explained the he called it a UFO because it was unexplained, but that his training in engineering and physics precluded him calling it alien in nature.
Nancy Reagan used atrology to guide her husband (with his knowledge) in decisions about all aspects of their lives. Wikimedia
39. Ronald Reagan and astrology
In May of 1988 White House spokesman Marvin Fitzwater confirmed to the press that Ron and Nancy Reagan used astrology and readings in preparing their schedules and for other activities. According to Reagan’s former Chief of Staff Donald Regan, the first couple consulted with a San Francisco based astrologer before making all major decisions. Regan did not identify the astrologer but it wasn’t long before the press did, and Reagan’s political opponents had a field day with the news, which came following the revealing of theIran-Contra Affair. Later biographers wrote that the Reagan’s faith in astrology was a long-standing affair.
George H. W. Bush, here with doubles parner Chris Evert, loved escaping being cooped up in the White House by visiting Camp David. National Archives
40. George H. W. Bush hated being trapped in the White House
The first president Bush was known to be an affable man according to many who met him. On occasion, the President would join a White House tour, without fanfare, until one of the other tourists spotted him. The physically active president didn’t care for being stuck in the White House and journeyed to Camp David as frequently as possible during his single term presidency. Few modern presidents more openly expressed their displeasure for entrapment within the bubble of security and filtered information which are characteristics of the modern presidency.
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