WEBVTT - What Weird Pets Have Lived in the White House?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff from how Stuff Works, Hey, brain stuff,

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<v Speaker 1>Lauren voc obam here. Over the years, the residents of

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<v Speaker 1>the White House have been pretty regular people. They eat

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<v Speaker 1>dinner at home, They laugh and argue, They talk about

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<v Speaker 1>were decorating and whether that paint color is really white

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<v Speaker 1>or one of the fifteen variations of eggshell. And they

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<v Speaker 1>share their lives with cats, dogs, guinea pigs, and all

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<v Speaker 1>sorts of other household pets, just like you and me,

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<v Speaker 1>except for the alligators. Of all the presidential pets throughout

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<v Speaker 1>all of the presidential administrations ever since John Adams, the

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<v Speaker 1>second U S President, first pulled his horse drawn U

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<v Speaker 1>haul up to the newly built palace in eighteen hundred,

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<v Speaker 1>alligators might be the strangest. And that's saying something. It's

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<v Speaker 1>true though, or true ish. According to the Presidential Pet Museum,

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<v Speaker 1>the story goes that John Quincy Adams, John adams Son,

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<v Speaker 1>and the sixth US President from eighteen twenty nine, housed

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<v Speaker 1>an alligator in the unfinished east room of what was

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<v Speaker 1>then called the President's House. President Theodore Roosevelt officially gave

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<v Speaker 1>the White House its current name in nineteen o one.

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<v Speaker 1>The alligator in question, whose name seems to have been

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<v Speaker 1>lost to time. Was a gift from the French military

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<v Speaker 1>officer Marquis de Lafayette, who fought with the US against

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<v Speaker 1>the British in the American Revolution and was an old

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<v Speaker 1>Adam's family friend. John Quincy kept his gator in a bathtub,

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<v Speaker 1>so the story goes, and enjoyed scaring guests by springing

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<v Speaker 1>the big fellow on them. The alligator allegedly lived for

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<v Speaker 1>some time in the Presidential Digs, where he ostensibly grew,

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<v Speaker 1>both in stature and as a bit of Washington lore.

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<v Speaker 1>The whole idea of a reptile in the people's House

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<v Speaker 1>would have been unique too. But then a century later,

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<v Speaker 1>Alan Henry Hoover, son of Herbert Hoover, President number thirty

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<v Speaker 1>one from nine thirty three, showed up with his two gators. Allegedly,

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<v Speaker 1>these gators supposedly were allowed to roam the White House grounds, which,

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<v Speaker 1>as the folks at the Presidential Pet Museum also point out,

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<v Speaker 1>probably kept King Tut on his toes. King Tut being

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<v Speaker 1>President Hoover's German shepherd. Those two gators, names also lost

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<v Speaker 1>to time, were the last known Camyans to reside, allegedly

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<v Speaker 1>in the White House. There's no verifiable documentary evidence to

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<v Speaker 1>back either of these stories up. But even if the

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<v Speaker 1>alligators in the White House tales are to be discounted,

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<v Speaker 1>the presidential digs still have housed more than a few

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<v Speaker 1>non traditional pets through the years. There were definitely a

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<v Speaker 1>couple of bear cubs. Thomas Jefferson, at President number three

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<v Speaker 1>from eighteen o one to eighteen o nine, received a

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<v Speaker 1>pair of grizzly bear cubs as a gift from an

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<v Speaker 1>explorer of the American West. They were an instant hit

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<v Speaker 1>because many Americans had never seen such animals before. The

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<v Speaker 1>bears lived in an enclosure on the lawn of the

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<v Speaker 1>President's House before being moved to Philadelphia. And then there

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<v Speaker 1>was a raccoon. First, Lady Grace Coolidge, wife of Calvin

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<v Speaker 1>number thirty nineteen twenty nine, kept a raccoon named Rebecca

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<v Speaker 1>at the White House. The story goes that Rebecca was

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<v Speaker 1>going to end up on the White House table for Thanksgiving,

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<v Speaker 1>but they fell in love with her. She wore a

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<v Speaker 1>gold plated inscribed holler and became a beloved family pet.

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<v Speaker 1>Then there was Theodore Roosevelt, President number twenty six from

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<v Speaker 1>nineteen o one to nineteen o nine, who had a

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<v Speaker 1>veritable zoos worth of animals snakes, hens, a one legged rooster,

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<v Speaker 1>a hyena, a small bear named Jonathan Edwards. The most famous, though,

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<v Speaker 1>was probably Josiah, a badger who was often carried around

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<v Speaker 1>the White House grounds by young Archie Roosevelt. Woodrow Wilson

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<v Speaker 1>number twenty eight from nineteen thirteen to nineteen twenty one

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<v Speaker 1>kept a flock of sheep and let as many as

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<v Speaker 1>forty eight of them graze on the south lawn as

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<v Speaker 1>a show of support for the troops. During World War One,

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<v Speaker 1>the sheep were shorn and their wool sold for wartime causes.

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<v Speaker 1>There were possibly appossums. The story goes that Benjamin Harrison

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<v Speaker 1>at number twenty three from eighteen eighty nine to eighteen

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<v Speaker 1>nine three had two pet appossums at the White House.

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<v Speaker 1>It's difficult to confirm, as is the answer to why

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<v Speaker 1>the two alleged marsupials were named Mr. Reciprocity and Mr. Protection. However,

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<v Speaker 1>President Hoover did definitely preside over a ceremony on White

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<v Speaker 1>House grounds involving Anna possum and a local high school

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<v Speaker 1>sports team. Of course, the pet most recognized as a

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<v Speaker 1>presidential sidekick, at least for modern day presidents, is the

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<v Speaker 1>loyal canine. The most famous may have been Fala, who

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<v Speaker 1>was so close to Franklin Delanor Roosevelt Number thirty two

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<v Speaker 1>from nineteen thirty three to ninety five that the little

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<v Speaker 1>Scottish terrier attended his funeral and is forever memorialized at

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<v Speaker 1>the FDR Museum in Washington. Though there were many other

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<v Speaker 1>presidential best friends. Warren G. Harding gave his dog Laddie Boy,

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<v Speaker 1>a handcarved chair to sit in during meetings. Lyndon Johnson

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<v Speaker 1>sung with Yuki in the Oval Office, Liberty hung out

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<v Speaker 1>with Gerald Ford, Lucky with Ronald Reagan, and Millie with

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<v Speaker 1>George H. W. Bush and Bowen Sonny kept Barack Obama

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<v Speaker 1>and his family company. Sadly, one of the most famous

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<v Speaker 1>presidential pooches never made it to the White House. Richard

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<v Speaker 1>Nixon mentioned his dog, Checkers in the nineteen fifty two

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<v Speaker 1>speech that later became known as the Checkers Speech, and

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<v Speaker 1>it was credited with helping save Nixon's political career, but

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<v Speaker 1>Checkers would pass away before Nixon took office in nineteen nine.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's episode was written by John Donovan and produced by

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<v Speaker 1>Tyler Clang. Brain Stuff is a production of iHeart Radio's

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<v Speaker 1>How Stuff Works. For more in this and lots of

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<v Speaker 1>other pet topics, visit our home planet, how stuff Works

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