Which President Grew Pot? 9 Shocking Things You Might Not Know About U.S. Presidents

[xchrom]

http://www.alternet.org/news/154205/which_president_grew_pot_9_shocking_things_you_might_not_know_about_u.s._presidents/

It's President's Day and just like every year, lists ranking the legacy of the 44 U.S. presidents proliferate. But we thought it would be fun to show you the wild side of the White House.

1. Calvin Coolidge, Naked Cowboy. The Republican from Massachusetts may win the award as the oddest man who ever inhabited the White House. Known for his laconic style, “Silent Cal” snoozed through much of his presidency and kept special pets around, including Rebecca the Raccoon. Coolidge was fond of playing cowboys and Indians, once having himself photographed dressed as a Sioux Indian chief. But his weirdest pastime was hopping on and off a mechanical horse in his underpants, sometimes donning a cowboy hat for kicks. Coolidge acquired the electrically operated horse in 1925, and kept it in his dressing room. He could pull a lever and increase the intensity of his ride. This was long before the film An Officer and a Gentleman popularized the mechanical bull, so we give Coolidge points for being ahead of the trend curve. Yeehaw!

2. William Howard Taft, aka “Big Lub." Nicknamed Big Lub by his college mates, President Taft, at 6’2” and weighing over 300 pounds, was quite a big boy. And he needed a big bathtub. According to a story that has never been definitely proven, he once got stuck in the White House bathtub because of his girth. We do know that he had to have a larger tub brought in for his use. Despite his size, he was said to bust a mean move on the dance floor.

. Abraham Lincoln and the Spirit World. In the mid- to late-19th century, spiritualism was huge in America, and many believed that contact with the spirit world was possible. Born in backwoods Indiana, Lincoln had a strong mystical side and put a great deal of stock in dreams and omens. He once wrote to his friend Joshua Speed that he had always been the superstitious type, and is reported to have feared the number 13. A spiritualist herself, Mary Todd Lincoln held séances right in the White House. Though she seems to have been the more ardent enthusiast, Lincoln is reported to have attended at least some of her séances. The president's ghost is said to have haunted the White House since his death.

4. Thomas Jefferson’s Shopping Addiction. He wrote the Declaration of Independence and stoked the fires of revolution in France. But what you might not know about this American renaissance man is that Jefferson was perpetually in debt. The world-class shopaholic adored fine wine and pimping out his pad, the neoclassical mansion Monticello. He filled it with snazzy furniture, rare books, archaeological specimens, and expensive art, including 63 paintings and seven terracotta busts. He also liked to invite his friends -- sometimes as many as 50 at a time -- over to party. Wealthy friends often had to lend him money and he even received – and promptly pissed away -- a cash infusion from Congress, which bought part of his book collection. Toward the end of his life, Jefferson developed a cockamamie plan to sell lottery tickets to save Monticello, which was a bust. He left his family battling a mountain of unpaid bills.

[hlthe2b]

1. "An Officer and a Gentleman" popularized the mechanical bull?

Last edited Mon Feb 20, 2012, 01:36 PM - Edit history (1)

I have to think they meant "Urban Cowboy".... Wow.. that seems liike a pretty bad mistake for a story trying to link popular culture to our early Presidents.

On edit, the original alternet article mistakenly cited "An Officer and a Gentleman." The author of that piece has now edited without reference to their doing so or the original error (which incidently I find very unethical)--but just to clarify my own post......

[xchrom]

2. i just love that there was a president who played Naked Cowboy

that is some crazy fabulous right there.

[WCGreen]

3. No wonder he was "silent" Cal...

[xchrom]

5. 'YEE-HAW!'

[virtualobserver]

4. Debra Winger brought the mechanical bull up from Texas, but they cut that scene out of the movie.

[cojoel]

7. It is corrected in the link

I read it before the comments here.

[hlthe2b]

8. I think that Alternet author is being inappropriate to simply edit his article without acknowledging

it is an edit. Is this the "new" standard?

But, no, cojoel, my comment was in reference to the original article that had the mistake-- I recognize that you were merely cutting and pasting from that original piece.

[DURHAM D]

6. just for starters -

Pres. Lincoln was not born in Indiana.

[TeeYiYi]

9. Does anyone know the answer to...

...which one grew pot? I couldn't find the answer in the story...unless it was the picture of George Washington...

TYY

[xchrom]

10. if i remember right -- he grew hemp. nt

[TeeYiYi]

11. Thanks xchrom....

I thought it a little strange to make it the headline and then not address it as one of the line items in the story. Seems like the writer made a couple of sloppy mistakes....

Thanks again for the info.

TYY

[mdmc]

12. ..