Fun Facts about U.S. Presidents

George Washington had hippo teeth.

It’s true! Before 1838, teeth from different animals (or from other people) were often used as dentures. The first president’s teeth were carved out of hippopotamus ivory and held together with gold wire and brass screws.

The first president’s birthday has been celebrated as a federal holiday since 1879—but in 1970, the holiday was moved to the third Monday in February and expanded to honor all U.S. presidents. Kind of a bummer for Washington, right?

Except in the bill that moved it, the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, Congress didn’t give the day a new name. The federal holiday is still technically Washington’s Birthday. Even weirder, Congress never declared it a national holiday binding in all states, so each state is free to call it what they choose and celebrate it when (and if) they want:

"Presidents' Day" in Hawaii, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, South Dakota, Texas, Vermont and Washington state.
"President's Day" in Alaska, Idaho, Maryland, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Tennessee, West Virginia and Wyoming.
"Presidents Day" in Nevada and Oregon.
"The third Monday in February" in California.
Some states do not officially observe the holiday and have neither a day celebrating Washington nor presidents in general.
In New Mexico, Presidents' Day, at least as a state-government paid holiday, is observed on the Friday following Thanksgiving, although the legal public holiday remains the third Monday in February.
In Georgia, Washington's Birthday is not a state government-paid holiday at all, although until 2018 it was officially observed on Christmas Eve.
Similarly, in Indiana, Washington's Birthday is observed on Christmas Eve, or the day preceding the weekend if Christmas falls on Saturday or Sunday, while Lincoln's Birthday is the day after Thanksgiving.

But Washington probably wouldn’t have cared. After all, George Washington was born when the Julian calendar was in use.

During his lifetime, people in Great Britain and America switched the official calendar system from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar (something that most of Europe had already done in 1582, and what we still use now), and as a result, people born before 1752 were told to add 11 days to their birth dates.

Those born between January 1 and March 25, as Washington was, also had to add 1 year to be in sync with the new calendar. Therefore, Washington’s birthday changed from February 11, 1731, to February 22, 1732, when he was 21 (we mean 20).

Enough about Washington, though. What about the other presidents?

Martin Van Buren, the eighth president, was the first to be born an American. All previous presidents were originally British subjects. He also had two tiger cubs as pets. They were given to him early in his presidency by the Sultan of Oman. Congress said he couldn’t keep them, so (after a fight) they were donated to the local zoo.
Grover Cleveland, who was both the 22^nd and the 24^th president, routinely personally answered the White House phone and his mail. That certainly doesn’t happen anymore.
John Adams (president #2) and Thomas Jefferson (#3) both died within hours of each other on the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in 1826. Spooky!
Abraham Lincoln, #16, was the only president to obtain a patent. In 1849, he invented a device for lifting ships out of dangerous waters using "buoyant air chambers." Much to his disappointment, it was never put to practical use.
Bonus fact about Honest Abe: although he was famously born in a log cabin, this was not actually all that unusual, and he wasn’t even first—seven different presidents were born in log cabins, starting with Andrew Jackson.
Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt (#26, and the youngest president ever at age 42) set what was then the world record for the most handshakes in one day with 8,513 handshakes at a White House reception on January 1, 1907.
Andrew Johnson, #17, was one of the few presidents without a pet, but apparently cared for a family of White House mice, which he called “the little fellows.”
James Buchanan, #15, is the only president who never married. His niece Harriet Rebecca Lane Johnston performed the role of first lady while he was in office.
James A. Garfield, #20, was the first left-handed president. While only 11% of people globally are left-handed, an above-average number have been presidents. Fifteen percent of (or 19% if you count the two ambidextrous) U.S. presidents have written with their left hand.
Also, probably above average, not one but two different presidents have had the letter S (not abbreviated from anything) as their middle initial—both Harry S. Truman (#33) and Ulysses S. Grant (#18).

Do you want to be president someday, and have fun facts about you in a list? The only constitutional requirements are that you:

Be born a citizen.
Be at least 35 years old.
Have lived in the United States for at least 14 years.

It doesn’t matter whether you’re 6’4" like Lincoln or 5’4" like James Madison (#4). It doesn’t matter if you weigh less than 100 lbs like Madison, or over 300 lbs like William H. Taft (#27). You can be married or single, left-handed or right, have 15 kids like John Tyler (#10) or none at all like James K. Polk (#11).

Statistically, you’re better off if you’re a lawyer (26 presidents have been), married (all but one), at least a millionaire (everyone since 1929), and male (all—at least so far!).

Learn more:

Washington: A Life – Start from the beginning with this excellent cradle-to-grave biography of the first president by the author of Alexander Hamilton (the New York Times bestselling biography that inspired the musical). Scott Brick also does a compelling job narrating the e-audiobook.

Confronting the Presidents – If you’re feeling a little muddled about who is who, and want to avoid an awkward internet adventure, this guide by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard presents quick, entertaining and insightful portraits of each president.

How to Fight Presidents – If you want to know more, but also want it to be funny, this is a breezy, funny, fact-filled option you can access through MeLCat.

Happy President’s Day! (Please note: this is the official state spelling and apostrophe placement for Michigan.)