Happy April Fools’ Day!

Happy April Fools’ Day!

Here are some wacky presidential facts to help celebrate the day:

– We may think of George Washington as the formidable, serious father of our country, but he also had a sense of humor. A contemporary recalled a tale of Washington actually rolling on the floor with laughter when a friend walked into the room with torn pants, holding a handkerchief over the offending tear.

– Teddy Roosevelt’s children greatly enjoyed walking around the White House on stilts. Cabinet meetings were even canceled thanks to the disruption of banging stilts on the floor above.

– James Garfield was ambidextrous and could purportedly simultaneously write in Latin and Greek.

– John Quincy Adams went skinny-dipping every morning in the Potomac River during the summer. He was even seen with a black swim cap and green goggles.

– As a youth, Andrew Jackson and his friends enjoyed pranking their unsuspecting neighbors by moving outhouses far from their original homes (yikes!)

– Calvin Coolidge had a penchant for wild pets – while in-office, the First Family enjoyed the company of a raccoon named Rebecca. She was spoiled rotten, with a diet that included shrimp and persimmons, and could
often be found draped around the President’s neck as he completed his day-to-day tasks.

Did you know? Fitting to its foolish nature, this holiday’s origins are very fuzzy. Historians speculate that it has roots in the Roman festival of “Hilaria” (a late March celebration involving costumed revelry) or medieval Europe’s “Feast of Fools.”

Self-portrait of the artist in the guise of a mocker, Joseph Ducreux, 1791

-Written by Anna Zemaitaitis, Communications and Design Officer