Presidential Trivia Answers (May 30 & 31)

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(1) QUESTION: Which President had a cottage near a warm mineral springs in Georgia? He believed the waters were good for his health.

ANSWER: FDR. The waters were believed to help people recovering from polio. FDR even established the Roosevelt Warm Springs Institute for Rehabilitation to help others like himself.

(2) QUESTION: Which President had the habit of skinny dipping in the Potomac River in the morning?

ANSWER: John Quincy Adams. The President woke early each morning (as early as 4:15 a.m.!) to read his Bible before going for a morning walk or swim. A story is told that the first American professional female journalist, Anne Royall, managed to obtain an interview with him one morning, even though she’d been denied several times previously. She went out to the river, found his clothes, and sat on them until she had gotten her interview. The story is a great one, but only a legend.

(3) QUESTION: One President reportedly took cold baths to improve discipline and hygiene. There is no way to verify this, but there is evidence that this President had a very large bathtub installed on USS North Carolina for his own personal use during one trip. Which President?

ANSWER: William Howard Taft, of course. He took USS North Carolina to visit Panama. Despite legend, he did not get stuck in a bathtub.