Presidential Potpourri

Well today is President's Day.  I hope you can take a few minutes break from all of the festivities to read my blog to celebrate this joyous holiday.  Don't worry, I won't keep you long as I am sure you have a lot of last minute things to do in preparation for your President's Day meal this evening.  I decided that to honor these great men on their special day I would compile a list of presidential trivia.  These are just a few tasty tidbits of knowledge about the past leaders of the the free world to impress your friends at your President's Day parties throughout the day. 

Did you know...

- George Washington had a very extensive trouser collection.  Some say he never wore the same pair more than once.  If his entire collection of trousers was laid end to end (and it once was for a charity event) it would reach from Reading, PA to Wind Gap, PA.

- James Monroe had 17 fingers on his left hand.

- Martin Van Buren was a 12 time blue ribbon pig winner at the Virginia State Fair.  He also held participant ribbons in the rooster and apple pie categories.

- Milliard Fillmore was also known as "The Uncle of the American Romance Novel."

- Abraham Lincoln once took a nap that lasted 14 months.

- Grover Cleveland was the 1st president (but certainly not the last) to have the distinction of being voted Best New Artist at the Latin Grammys.

- William Howard Taft once held the world record for consecutive perfectly sliced tomatoes with an astounding 33 "nice ones" in a row.

- Woodrow Wilson's interpretive dances to "Hail to the Chief" were beloved by audiences for years after his presidency.

- Dwight D. Eisenhower was the first president that was also a mixed martial artist.  He held black belts in Judo, Muy Thai, Brazilian Ju Jitsu, and Israeli Submission Wrestling.

- Lyndon B. Johnson was the stunt driver for every "Smokey and the Bandit" movie.  He remained close friends with Burt Reynolds until his passing.  Mr. Reynolds was a pallbearer at his funeral.

- Ronald Reagen wrote the novels, Cujo, Carrie, Salem's Lot, and The Shining under his pseudonym - Stephen King.

- Barack Obama was the original choice to play Jacob in the "Twilight" series but had to drop out at the last minute due to scheduling conflicts.  If you look at the bonus features on the "New Moon" DVD there is actually some footage of the president that was shot but not used in the film.

So I hope you enjoyed these dazzling delicious delights about the fathers of our country.  Just a quick note in passing, I am not 100% on the accuracy of these fun facts.  I'm sure they're all probably true though.  Yeah, you can tell everyone they're true.  Happy President's Day!!!