History Myth Busters: U.S. Presidents

Taft did have an oversized bathtub installed in the White House when he became president, but it is debatable whether or not he actually got stuck in the White House’s original bathtub.

The teddy bear was inspired by a political cartoon depicting a real event in history in which Theodore  Roosevelt refused to shoot a baby bear on a hunting expedition. After seeing the cartoon in the newspaper, a toymaker in New York made a stuffed bear in honor of the president, calling it “Teddy’s Bear.”

George Washington had several sets of dentures, but none were made from wood. His dentures were made from gold, ivory, lead, and actual teeth!

Zachary Taylor became ill after eating cherries and milk at a Fourth of July celebration in Washington, D.C. — he died a few days later on July 9. Some believed his cherries were poisoned, but after his body was exhumed and tested for arsenic, this hypothesis was ruled out. It is believed that he contracted cholera, typhoid or some other kind of food-borne bacteria.

Gerald Ford appeared in Cosmopolitan and Look magazines in the early 1940s.

When he was born, Truman’s parents wanted to honor both his maternal and paternal grandfathers, each of whom had a name beginning with the letter S. In lieu of choosing one name over the other, his parents just left his middle name as S.

Lincoln did wear a stovepipe hat, but more interestingly, he used it as a storage place for letters, bills, and notes.

Whether or not an Indian chief actually placed a curse on the White House is unproven, but beginning with William Henry Harrison, every president elected in a year ending with zero has died in office. The curse was broken by Ronald Reagan, who narrowly escaped death after being shot by an assassin in 1981.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Theodore Roosevelt were fifth cousins.