President’s Day is an important day to take a moment and reflect on those who have served as the chief executive of our country. And while you may be well-versed in textbook facts about each president, you may have never heard of some of their pet peeves, quirks, and pastimes.

For example, did you know Abraham Lincoln was a near-undefeated wrestler? And Calvin Coolidge, our 30th president, liked having his scalp massaged with petroleum jelly while he enjoyed breakfast in bed?

To identify some of the most surprising facts about every president, the team at 24/7 Tempo researched a slew of sources, including the official website of the White House, whitehouse.gov, biography.com, San Francisco-based public media outlet KQED, The History Channel’s website history.com, National Public Radio (NPR), the Smithsonian magazine, and an online library of facts called FactRetriever.

Wonder how you’d rate on a “Jeopardy!” show with questions about U.S. presidents? Take the following pop quiz and see how you stack up.  Here are 50 real “Jeopardy!” clues about US presidents

Click here to read a weird fact about every U.S. president

1. George Washington (1732-1799)
> Years served as president: 1789-1797
> Political party: None
> Surprising fact: No one will ever outrank him.

No one will ever outrank George Washington. In 1976, Congress passed a law making Washington General of the Armies, a rank that will never be surpassed.

[in-text-ad]

2. John Adams (1735-1826)
> Years served as president: 1797-1801
> Political party: Federalist
> Surprising fact: Adams stole a piece of Shakespeare’s chair.

John Adams and Thomas Jefferson were best buds until political rivalry ensued. During the early stages of their friendship, the two traveled to Shakespeare’s residence in England where they chipped off a piece of one of Shakespeare’s chairs as a souvenir.

3. Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826)
> Years served as president: 1801-1809
> Political party: Democratic-Republican
> Surprising fact: Jefferson was passionate about meteorology.

Thomas Jefferson could have been a meteorologist had the gig as president fell through. He recorded the temperature in his personal meteorological journal twice a day, once in the early morning and once in the late afternoon. Jefferson not only observed temperature ranges and disparities, he also tracked precipitation patterns.

4. James Madison (1751-1836)
> Years served as president: 1809-1817
> Political party: Democratic-Republican
> Surprising fact: Madison was opposed to the Bill of Rights at first.

James Madison, who helped create the U.S. Constitution by writing the influential Federalist Papers, was actually opposed to the Bill of Rights initially because he thought the amendments were unnecessary.

[in-text-ad-2]

5. James Monroe (1758-1831)
> Years served as president: 1817-1825
> Political party: Democratic-Republican
> Surprising fact: Monroe traveled from Paris, France to Madrid, Spain by mule.

As special envoy to Spain, Monroe traveled there in 1805 in an attempt to persuade Spain to cede the territory of what is now present-day Florida to the United States. He made his journey from Paris to Madrid in a unconventional way — by mule. Unfortunately, not even his arrival by mule could win over the Spanish.

6. John Quincy Adams (1767-1848)
> Years served as president: 1825-1829
> Political party: Democratic-Republican
> Surprising fact: Adams skinny dipped in the Potomac River daily.

This early-19th century president didn’t mind going for a dip in the Potomac River buck naked. It was a common way to bathe in rivers during that era. Evidently, a female gossip columnist sat on his clothes during one of his morning dips, and she refused to give them to him until he agreed to an interview.

[in-text-ad]

7. Andrew Jackson (1767-1845)
> Years served as president: 1829-1837
> Political party: Democratic-Republican
> Surprising fact: Jackson killed a man during a fight.

Andrew Jackson may just be the most violent presidents of all time. Born in 1767 in the backcountry of what would now be one of the Carolinas, Jackson turned out to be a very intelligent, yet terribly insecure man. He often participated in fights, and in one such instance, he killed a man in a duel for insulting his wife Rachel.

8. Martin Van Buren (1782-1862)
> Years served as president: 1837-1841
> Political party: Democratic
> Surprising fact: Martin Van Buren is credited with the phrase OK.

Have you ever thought about the origin of some common-day terms? The origin of “OK” derives from the reelection campaign for Martin Van Buren in 1840. Van Buren had adopted the nickname Old Kinderhook because he was born in Kinderhook, New York. His supporters used to shorten this to OK during rallies — and the rest is history.

9. William Henry Harrison (1773-1841)
> Years served as president: 1841-1841
> Political party: Whig
> Surprising fact: Harrison was the first modern political campaigner.

Supporters of William Henry Harrison used his image as a rough and ready pioneer in advertisements for his presidential campaign in 1836 as a candidate for the Whig Party. Harrison’s backers distributed whiskey in log-cabin-shaped bottles, as a reference to his frontier background. He also campaigned for himself, which was unheard of at the time.

[in-text-ad-2]

10. John Tyler (1790-1862)
> Years served as president: 1841-1845
> Political party: Whig
> Surprising fact: Tyler was impeached by his own party.

John Tyler faced impeachment — by his own party, the Whigs. After he became president — upon the death of William Henry Harrison in 1841 — Tyler was opposed to the Whigs’ legislative ambitions, including the creation of a national bank. The impeachment attempt failed in 1843 and Tyler served out his term.

11. James Polk (1795-1849)
> Years served as president: 1845-1849
> Political party: Democratic
> Surprising fact: Polk banned fun activities from the White House.

James Polk and his wife did not go down in history for being the life of the party. In fact, they were quite the opposite. Together, the two banned alcohol, card playing, and dancing from the White House.

[in-text-ad]

12. Zachary Taylor (1784-1850)
> Years served as president: 1849-1850
> Political party: Whig
> Surprising fact: Taylor never voted for president before he was elected.

Mexican War hero Zachary Taylor never voted for a president until he was elected the nation’s chief executive himself in 1848. His explanation was that as a military leader he did not want to be put in the position of having voted against the commander in chief of the United States.

13. Millard Fillmore (1800-1874)
> Years served as president: 1850-1853
> Political party: Whig
> Surprising fact: Fillmore did not have a vice president during his term.

Millard Fillmore, who became president upon the death of Zachary Taylor, did not have a vice president. Fillmore was the first of four presidents to serve without a vice president. At the time, the Constitution did not include a provision for replacing vice presidents who had died or departed from duty. That would not happen until 1967, when the 25th Amendment was ratified that allowed a president to appoint a vice president, with the approval of Congress.

14. Franklin Pierce (1804-1869)
> Years served as president: 1853-1857
> Political party: Democratic
> Surprising fact: Pierce was arrested for running over a woman with his horse.

Franklin Pierce, the country’s 14th president, was arrested for running over a woman with his horse. He never received jail time, though, likely because of insufficient evidence. The case was dropped in 1853, his first year in office.

[in-text-ad-2]

15. James Buchanan (1791-1868)
> Years served as president: 1857-1861
> Political party: Democratic
> Surprising fact: Buchanan bought slaves to free them to save his reputation.

While it may sound heroic for Buchanan to have bought slaves just to set them free, it’s not entirely true. Buchanan feared that word of his sister Harriet and her husband owning slaves would get out and ruin his reputation of being neutral about the slavery issue. As a bachelor, he had no wife but a housekeeper who needed servants. Instead of freeing the slaves he bought, he kept them as servants of his household.

16. Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)
> Years served as president: 1861-1865
> Political party: Republican
> Surprising fact: Lincoln won all but one wrestling matches.

Abraham Lincoln is remembered fondly for myriad reasons, namely for issuing the Emancipation Proclamation that abolished slavery. What is less known about Lincoln, however, is his extraordinary strength and athleticism. Lincoln won all but one of his wrestling matches.

[in-text-ad]

17. Andrew Johnson (1808-1875)
> Years served as president: 1865-1869
> Political party: Democratic
> Surprising fact: Johnson was an indentured servant for two years of childhood.

Needless to say, Andrew Johnson had a bit of a rough childhood growing up. The later impeached president and his brother were sent away by their mother as young children to be a tailor’s indentured servants. After two years, the boys ran away. From his experience working with the tailor, Johnson made all of his suits while president.

18. Ulysses S. Grant (1822-1885)
> Years served as president: 1869-1877
> Political party: Republican
> Surprising fact: Grant hated wearing a military uniform.

We associate Ulysses S. Grant with some of the greatest victories of the Union Army in the Civil War, such as Fort Donaldson in Tennessee and Vicksburg in Mississippi, and the surrender of Robert E. Lee’s army at Appomattox. However, the West Point graduate disliked wearing military uniforms, eschewing the epaulets and other regalia officers wore for a private’s coat and a hat typically worn by civilians.

19. Rutherford B. Hayes (1822-1893)
> Years served as president: 1877-1881
> Political party: Republican
> Surprising fact: Paraguay holds Hayes in high regard.

While President Rutherford B. Hayes isn’t thought of as one of the more popular American presidents, he is praised by one particular country in South America. After the Triple Alliance War, Paraguay lost a significant part of its territory to Argentina and Brazil. Hayes interceded in the dispute and, following negotiations, a large amount of territory was given to Paraguay.

[in-text-ad-2]

20. James Garfield (1831-1881)
> Years served as president: 1881
> Political party: Republican
> Surprising fact: Garfield could write in two different languages at one time.

James Garfield, among many things, was ambidextrous, but his capabilities went far beyond his ability to write with both his left and right hands. He developed the unique talent of simultaneously writing in Greek with one hand and in Latin with the other.

21. Chester Arthur (1829-1886)
> Years served as president: 1881-1885
> Political party: Republican
> Surprising fact: Arthur helped desegregate trolleys in Brooklyn.

Before he became president, Chester Arthur played a role in helping end separate accommodations for African Americans on public transportation in New York State. Arthur represented Elizabeth Jennings Graham, who had attempted to ride in a white-only streetcar and was forcibly removed. Arthur won the case, which led to New York State passing legislation forbidding discrimination on public transportation.

[in-text-ad]

22. Grover Cleveland (1837-1908)
> Years served as president: 1885-1889 and 1893-1897
> Political party: Democratic
> Surprising fact: Cleveland’s adopted daughter became his wife in later years.

Many may not know that Cleveland became the legal guardian of his former law partner’s 11-year-old daughter upon his death. After 10 years, he took her hand in marriage. She was the youngest First Lady in history at the age of 21. He was more than twice her age at 48.

23. Benjamin Harrison (1833-1901)
> Years served as president: 1889-1893
> Political party: Republican
> Surprising fact: Harrison refused to touch light switches.

As the first president to have electricity in the White House, Harrison was a little spooked when it came to this new energy. He was so anxiety-ridden about the thought of being electrocuted that he opted to never make contact with light switches. More often than not, he went to bed with the lights on.

24. Grover Cleveland (1837-1908)
> Years served as president: 1885-1889 and 1893-1897
> Political party: Democratic
> Surprising fact: Cleveland was the only president to be a hangman.

Not only was Grover Cleveland the first president to serve two nonconsecutive terms, but also he was the first to have a gig as a hangman. At one point, he was the sheriff of Erie County, New York, where he had to drop the trap at a hanging. Not once, but two times.

[in-text-ad-2]

25. William McKinley (1843-1901)
> Years served as president: 1897-1901
> Political party: Republican
> Surprising fact: McKinley was obsessed with carnations.

William McKinley, the 25th president, believed that carnations brought good luck, so he wore them everywhere he went. On Sept. 6, 1901, while attending the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York, he removed the carnation from his lapel to give to a little girl. He was shot shortly afterward by an anarchist. McKinley died from his wounds eight days later.

26. Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919)
> Years served as president: 1901-1909
> Political party: Republican
> Surprising fact: Every member in Roosevelt’s family owned stilts.

Theodore, or Teddy, Roosevelt had a secret pastime — walking on stilts. Apparently, each and every one of Roosevelt’s family members had their own individual pair. Even the First Lady had a set of her own.

[in-text-ad]

27. William H. Taft (1857-1930)
> Years served as president: 1909-1913
> Political party: Republican
> Surprising fact: Taft was the last president to sport facial hair.

William H. Taft is well known as the heaviest president in history, as well as being the only president to become a Supreme Court justice. He is also the last president to have facial hair while serving as president. Since he left office in 1913, no president has worn facial hair while occupying the Oval Office.

28. Woodrow Wilson (1856-1924)
> Years served as president: 1913-1921
> Political party: Democratic
> Surprising fact: Wilson painted his golf balls black during the winter.

Woodrow Wilson is often remembered as a staunch advocate for democracy and world peace as well as an academic. He had another passion that perhaps isn’t as well known — golfing. President Wilson loved to golf no matter the season. In the winter months, when layers of snow covered the ground, he painted his golf balls black so that he could easily retrieve them amid a blanket of white.

29. Warren Harding (1865-1923)
> Years served as president: 1921-1923
> Political party: Republican
> Surprising fact: Harding advocated for Prohibition but drank anyway.

Harding was a senator when he voted for Prohibition, even though he loved scotch and soda. As president, he had a bar always stocked with whiskey.

[in-text-ad-2]

30. Calvin Coolidge (1872-1933)
> Years served as president: 1923-1929
> Political party: Republican
> Surprising fact: Coolidge enjoyed having petroleum jelly rubbed on his head.

We thought the fact that Calvin Coolidge had two pet raccoons by the names of Reuben and Rebecca was weird, but then we stumbled upon this gem. Evidently, Coolidge liked to have his scalp massaged with petroleum jelly — which is Vaseline — while he ate his breakfast in bed. Talk about a bizarre morning ritual.

31. Herbert Hoover (1874-1964)
> Years served as president: 1929-1933
> Political party: Republican
> Surprising fact: Hoover and his wife spoke Mandarin in the White House.

Long before he became the 31st president, Herbert Hoover lived in China with his wife, where the two learned one of China’s native languages. When Hoover wanted to have a private conversation with his wife, they would speak in Mandarin so no one could eavesdrop.

[in-text-ad]

32. Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945)
> Years served as president: 1933-1945
> Political party: Democratic
> Surprising fact: Roosevelt was distantly related to his wife and 10 presidents.

Franklin D. Roosevelt married Anna Eleanor, his fifth cousin once removed and niece of another fifth cousin. Despite distant familial connections, the two wed in 1905, and Teddy Roosevelt was the man that gave Eleanor away. FDR claims to have other family tree ties with 10 other presidents as well.

33. Harry S. Truman (1884-1972)
> Years served as president: 1945-1953
> Political party: Democratic
> Surprising fact: The only president of the 20th century who didn’t go to college.

It’s likely to assume that the President of the United States would need to be well educated and have at least some college. But that wasn’t the case with Harry S. Truman, who grew up as a poor farm boy in Missouri. Truman is one of eight presidents to have never attended college, but he is the only one from the 20th century to lack at least some college-level schooling.

34. Dwight Eisenhower (1890-1969)
> Years served as president: 1953-1961
> Political party: Republican
> Surprising fact: Eisenhower ridded the White House lawn of its squirrels.

Eisenhower was the first president to ride in a helicopter, but that is not nearly as whacky of a fact as the president trying to rid the White House lawn of its squirrel population. Eisenhower, like Wilson, was fond of golfing, and the squirrels that scurried about the grounds were guilty of digging up the putting green to bury nuts. Eisenhower was so distraught by the rodents that he ordered his valet to kill them off by shooting them. Fortunately, the Secret Service vetoed that idea and instead had groundskeepers trap the squirrels and release them into Rock Creek Park nearby.

[in-text-ad-2]

35. John F. Kennedy (1917-1963)
> Years served as president: 1961-1963
> Political party: Democratic
> Surprising fact: Kennedy received the last rites three times.

Throughout his life John F. Kennedy battled health issues and, before he became president, he was given the last rites of the Catholic Church three times. In 1947, he became ill on a return trip to the United States from England and a priest was called to give him the sacrament. Four years later, he received the sacrament again when he fell ill on a trip to Asia. In 1954, he received last rites after he lapsed into a coma following surgery for back problems that plagued him during his life.

36. Lyndon Johnson (1908-1973)
> Years served as president: 1963-1969
> Political party: Democratic
> Surprising fact: Johnson’s life was saved by missing flight to the South Pacific.

Fate intervened on Lyndon Johnson’s behalf during World War II. He boarded a bomber for a mission in the South Pacific, but before the plane took off, he hopped off to use the restroom. When he returned, Johnson boarded another plane for the mission that took off but had to return to the base. The original plane Johnson was supposed to board crashed, killing everyone on board.

[in-text-ad]

37. Richard Nixon (1913-1994)
> Years served as president: 1969-1974
> Political party: Republican
> Surprising fact: Nixon could play five musical instruments.

While Richard Nixon is widely associated with the Watergate scandal, what most may not know about him is his hidden musical talents. Nixon played the piano, clarinet, saxophone, violin, and accordion. He could play these instruments without learning to read music.

38. Gerald Ford (1913-2006)
> Years served as president: 1974-1977
> Political party: Republican
> Surprising fact: Ford leaked JFK assassination information to the FBI.

Before Gerald Ford became president, the Michigan congressman served on the Warren Commission that investigated the assassination of John F. Kennedy. While serving on the commission, Ford leaked information about its findings to the FBI, including doubts among some members that there was only one gunman involved in the assassination.

39. Jimmy Carter (1924-present)
> Years served as president: 1977-1981
> Political party: Democratic
> Surprising fact: Carter was uncomfortable with the trappings of the presidency.

Jimmy Carter’s presidency could never be mistaken as imperial. After becoming president, the former peanut farmer from Georgia sold the presidential yacht, carried his own briefcase, and forbade the playing of “Hail to the Chief” when he made official appearances as president.

[in-text-ad-2]

40. Ronald Reagan (1911-2004)
> Years served as president: 1981-1989
> Political party: Republican
> Surprising fact: Reagan consulted with an astrologer.

Reagan and his wife were so fascinated by astrology that the president consulted with an astrologer by the name of Joan Quigley. When word got out that Reagan consulted with Quigley, headlines like “Astrologer Runs The White House” ran shortly after. Nancy Reagan confirmed that astrology was merely a factor in determining Reagan’s schedule, not for political decisions.

41. George H.W. Bush (1924-2018)
> Years served as president: 1989-1993
> Political party: Republican
> Surprising fact: Bush was an 18-year-old naval pilot in World War II.

Before he began his long career in public service, George H.W. Bush became one of the youngest pilots in the Navy in 1943, several days before his 19th birthday. He flew 58 combat missions for the Navy during World War II and received the Distinguished Flying Cross for his service.

[in-text-ad]

42. William J. Clinton (1946-present)
> Years served as president: 1993-2001
> Political party: Democratic
> Surprising fact: Clinton won two Grammys for “Best Spoken Word Album.”

Did you know that presidents have won Grammys? Bill Clinton won a Grammy in 2004 Best Spoken Word Album for Children, narrating the English version of Russian “Wolf Tracks,” and another in 2005 for Best Spoken Word Album for his audiobook, “My Life.”

43. George W. Bush (1946-present)
> Years served as president: 2001-2009
> Political party: Republican
> Surprising fact: Bush had both the highest and lowest approval ratings.

George W. Bush has the distinction of having received both the highest and lowest approval ratings of any president. The son of the 41st president had a 90% approval rating after the terrorist attacks on the United States on Sept. 11, 2001. But his ratings plunged to 25% just before the 2008 election.

44. Barack Obama (1961-present)
> Years served as president: 2009-2017
> Political party: Democratic
> Surprising fact: Obama lost a race for a House seat.

Barack Obama’s astonishing climb to the presidency began as state senator of Illinois, where he served from 1997 to 2005. However, he did experience an election setback in 2000 when he lost to former Black Panther Bobby Rush for a House of Representatives’ seat.

[in-text-ad-2]

45. Donald J. Trump (1946-present)
> Years served as president: 2017-2021
> Political party: Republican
> Surprising fact: Trump doesn’t drink alcohol.

The current president is one of the few commanders in chief to not drink alcohol. He chooses not to indulge in the beverage likely because his brother was an alcoholic and died of his addiction in 1982.

46. Joe Biden (1942-present)
> Years served as president: 2021 – present
> Political party: Democrat
> Surprising fact: He had a stutter

President Joe Biden overcame a childhood stutter. He was bullied as a child growing up in Scranton, Pennsylvania because of his speech disorder. “I can think of nothing else that has ever stripped me of my dignity as quickly and as profoundly and as thoroughly as when I stuttered in grade school,” Biden said in a 2008 speech to the American Institute for Stuttering.

Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.