8. The President who owned tigers
Martin Van Buren received a gift of two tiger cubs from the Sultan of Muscat and Oman and for a brief time the tigers occupied the White House with the president known as Old Kinderhook. Congress protested, arguing that the acceptance of the gifts was a violation of the emoluments clause, and Van Buren had the tigers sent to a zoo rather than indulge in a political battle. There are reports that Van Buren was the source of the American use of the word “okay” (from Old Kinderhook) but etymologists disagree, with some noting an Indian word “okeh” used as an affirmative as the more likely source of American usage.
