2/27/08

George, Abe, and La-Z-Boys

Tri-O's    Oddities, observations, and opinions   By Herb Kandel



Last week was President’s Day. It used to be the day honoring Presidents Washington and Lincoln but has evolved to days of hawking furniture and mattress sales. Here we are in the midst of a heating up presidential nomination race followed by the upcoming campaign of the chosen nominees. The field is narrowing down as the each state tallies it’s votes. Whomever the winner may be he/she will be scrutinized minutely and findings will be reported.

Long before all those bedroom suites and recliners started getting advertising space previous persons holding the presidential office were examined also, but the findings were not as widely broadcast. Here are some little known facts about the presidents for whom this day was named.

Washington:

In the winter of 1775 General George Washington wrote to John Hancock, president of the Continental Congress, warning of bioterrorism. He was concerned that his troops might become the victims of smallpox spread by the British. He sent this message to members of Congress also. His contention was never proven but during the period between 1775- 1782 there were more deaths attributed to smallpox than those who died in battle.

Tales of Washington having wooden teeth are false. At his inauguration he had only one tooth, however at other times he had dentures made of human teeth, animal teeth, ivory, and lead.

He was the only president elected unanimously, and the only president who didn't live in Washington, D.C. During his presidency. He was 6’2’’ tall, weighed 200 pounds and had size 13 shoes. All his achievements were done with no formal education.

Luck was with him as he had, before he was 30, smallpox, pleurisy, malaria, and dysentery. He fell off a raft in an icy river and came close to drowning. He was shot at. His coat bore four holes which bullets had punctured and two horses were shot from under him.

February 22 was his 276th birthday.


Lincoln:

Lincoln was the tallest president at 6’4’’; Madison the shortest at 5’4’’

In his tall stovepipe hat Lincoln at times carried letters, bills, and notes.

He was an outspoken nonbeliever and never belonged to an organized religion. The only time he made reference to it was in his 1846 congressional campaign. He said, “ That I am not a member of any Christian Church, is true; but I have never denied the truth of the Scriptures; and I have never spoken with intentional disrespect of religion in general or of any denomination of Christians in particular.”

In 1849 he obtained a patent for his invention of a device for lifting ships over shoals using “buoyant air chambers”. He was the only patent holding president .

He did not trust the accuracy of the press. In his “House divided” speech he personally went to the newspaper office to proofread the galleys of the speech.

At his inaugural reception in 1865, Fredrick Douglass, the former slave and outspoken abolitionist, was Lincoln’s invited guest but was forced out by a policeman at the entrance. Douglass tried again this time catching Lincoln’s eye. “ Here comes my friend Douglass,” exclaimed Abe as he left guests and took Douglass by the hand to lead him in.

Twelve years before the 1st women’s rights convention in 1848, Lincoln as a State legislator, endorsed extending the vote to women.

He and his wife participated in séances in the White House after the death of his son Willie. They wanted to communicate with him.

February 12 was his 199th birthday.

Other presidential trivia:

There have been eight presidents who were not born American but were British subjects Washington, J. Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, J. Q. Adams, Jackson, and W. Harrison.

Being a Harvard alumni is the best bet for the office. Five presidents studied there, J. Adams, J. Q. Adams, T. Roosevelt, F. Roosevelt, and Kennedy. (Clinton -Yale, McCain- U.S. Naval Academy, Obama - Harvard)

So as we check all the ads for sofas and dining room furniture we should remember that it was George and Abe that made it all possible.

http://www.baldwincountynow.com/articles/2008/02/27/columnists/doc47c4804abf3e6239634811.txt