1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:03,520 Speaker 1: Hey, everybody, special announcement at the top of the week. 2 00:00:03,600 --> 00:00:09,520 Speaker 1: Today we are airing a classic episode. Uh, Noel, Max 3 00:00:09,560 --> 00:00:13,560 Speaker 1: and I were talking off air. We have a we 4 00:00:13,640 --> 00:00:18,799 Speaker 1: have a Presidential Pets episode coming out. It's part two. 5 00:00:18,920 --> 00:00:22,320 Speaker 1: So a while back Nowel, you'll remember we did Presidential 6 00:00:22,360 --> 00:00:25,600 Speaker 1: Pets Part one and uh, we really listened to it 7 00:00:25,800 --> 00:00:28,160 Speaker 1: and it's actually it's a lot of fun. It is 8 00:00:28,200 --> 00:00:29,880 Speaker 1: a lot of fun. And you know, we wouldn't usually 9 00:00:29,880 --> 00:00:31,840 Speaker 1: do this, but we figured if we're gonna do a 10 00:00:31,880 --> 00:00:35,239 Speaker 1: part two way way in the future. Um, from the 11 00:00:35,320 --> 00:00:37,400 Speaker 1: part one that you may or may not have heard already, 12 00:00:37,520 --> 00:00:39,440 Speaker 1: and we haven't released this one as a class, we 13 00:00:39,520 --> 00:00:41,960 Speaker 1: thought we'd um, you know, do ourselves a solid. It's 14 00:00:42,000 --> 00:00:45,080 Speaker 1: our birthday month. Things have been happening. Uh. And this 15 00:00:45,120 --> 00:00:49,400 Speaker 1: way you get part one followed by part two. So 16 00:00:49,479 --> 00:00:53,120 Speaker 1: here's part one. Ridiculous History is a production of I 17 00:00:53,240 --> 00:01:21,320 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Of all the addresses in the fair United 18 00:01:21,400 --> 00:01:27,080 Speaker 1: States of America, perhaps the most prestigious is six Pennsylvania Avenue. 19 00:01:27,120 --> 00:01:29,480 Speaker 1: Welcome to the show. My name is Ben. Bears and 20 00:01:29,560 --> 00:01:33,800 Speaker 1: raccoons and alligators and stuffy old white men. Oh my 21 00:01:34,840 --> 00:01:37,800 Speaker 1: my name is Noel. And this is ridiculous history. And 22 00:01:38,240 --> 00:01:41,720 Speaker 1: we were just chatting off air with the uh, the 23 00:01:41,840 --> 00:01:47,000 Speaker 1: third member of our Triumvirts, a super producer, Casey Pegram, 24 00:01:47,040 --> 00:01:51,280 Speaker 1: about animals, right, about pets, about the government, and of 25 00:01:51,320 --> 00:01:57,120 Speaker 1: course about history because we've looked at some weird presidential 26 00:01:57,120 --> 00:02:00,680 Speaker 1: things before. We've mentioned some, um but when you would 27 00:02:00,680 --> 00:02:06,240 Speaker 1: you get down to the nitty gritty the legoons and peanuts. Oh, 28 00:02:06,320 --> 00:02:09,320 Speaker 1: those are the same thing, uh, the beans and nuts 29 00:02:09,400 --> 00:02:15,680 Speaker 1: of the of the situation. Presidents and presidential families or 30 00:02:16,680 --> 00:02:18,920 Speaker 1: like any other family, they're just like you or I. 31 00:02:20,480 --> 00:02:24,760 Speaker 1: Of course, yes, yeah, you know, they do people stuff. 32 00:02:25,160 --> 00:02:28,480 Speaker 1: They wear pants, put them on, you know, one leg 33 00:02:28,520 --> 00:02:31,920 Speaker 1: at a time, as they say, yeah, they brush their teeth. 34 00:02:32,000 --> 00:02:34,079 Speaker 1: They might have servants that put their pants on for 35 00:02:34,240 --> 00:02:36,519 Speaker 1: them in this case, that's that's different and I don't 36 00:02:36,560 --> 00:02:39,640 Speaker 1: have that right. Or they might have someone brushing their teeth. 37 00:02:40,040 --> 00:02:42,359 Speaker 1: They might have a machine that's been custom built to 38 00:02:42,560 --> 00:02:45,400 Speaker 1: put pants on them. But we're not talking about pants 39 00:02:45,440 --> 00:02:48,320 Speaker 1: machines today, are we been. No? No, we are talking 40 00:02:48,360 --> 00:02:50,799 Speaker 1: about something that is I would say, at the very 41 00:02:50,880 --> 00:02:54,000 Speaker 1: least equally fascinating. Yeah, we're talking about pets because you know, 42 00:02:54,840 --> 00:02:58,200 Speaker 1: in the interest of of appearing as as normal human beings, 43 00:02:58,280 --> 00:03:01,079 Speaker 1: and you know, and possibly because of anuine love of animals, 44 00:03:01,320 --> 00:03:08,839 Speaker 1: Presidents often traditionally have pets, although number forty five has 45 00:03:08,840 --> 00:03:12,880 Speaker 1: a shoot pets and has spoken against pets, saying they 46 00:03:12,880 --> 00:03:15,040 Speaker 1: were quote low class. But we're not here to talk 47 00:03:15,040 --> 00:03:19,000 Speaker 1: about that today. We're talking about the legacy of presidential pets, 48 00:03:19,080 --> 00:03:24,240 Speaker 1: particularly some kind of weird ones. Yes, first off, I 49 00:03:24,240 --> 00:03:27,520 Speaker 1: am baffled. That's new information to me. I can't believe. Really, 50 00:03:27,800 --> 00:03:31,640 Speaker 1: no pets. Huh, no pets. Wow, that's kind of unusual 51 00:03:31,800 --> 00:03:36,240 Speaker 1: historically because the other forty four presidents, the majority of 52 00:03:36,280 --> 00:03:39,800 Speaker 1: them did have some sort of well they were a 53 00:03:39,840 --> 00:03:44,120 Speaker 1: family member, did have some sort of animal companion and 54 00:03:44,760 --> 00:03:47,640 Speaker 1: familiar if you will. Yeah, so familiar if you will. 55 00:03:47,880 --> 00:03:50,400 Speaker 1: And when we say animal companion, of course, we mean 56 00:03:50,480 --> 00:03:53,360 Speaker 1: stuff like your typical dog. You know, they might have 57 00:03:53,400 --> 00:03:56,839 Speaker 1: a pooch, they might have a cat or something. But 58 00:03:56,920 --> 00:04:03,960 Speaker 1: that's not it, because you see, although the base similarity remains, 59 00:04:04,000 --> 00:04:06,640 Speaker 1: the fact is that when you hold the highest office 60 00:04:06,680 --> 00:04:09,360 Speaker 1: in the land, you and your family members get a 61 00:04:09,400 --> 00:04:12,320 Speaker 1: little more a leeway, you have a little more agency. 62 00:04:12,640 --> 00:04:15,160 Speaker 1: And so it turns out that there are quite a 63 00:04:15,200 --> 00:04:19,360 Speaker 1: few exotic pets the presidents have had in the past. Yeah, 64 00:04:19,360 --> 00:04:22,480 Speaker 1: did you know there's a thing called the Presidential Pet Museum, 65 00:04:22,720 --> 00:04:25,000 Speaker 1: Then yes, I would love to check that out. But 66 00:04:25,200 --> 00:04:28,800 Speaker 1: according to them, John Quincy Adams, who was the son 67 00:04:28,960 --> 00:04:32,040 Speaker 1: of John Adams and also, as it happens, the sixth 68 00:04:32,360 --> 00:04:35,080 Speaker 1: President of the United States, he was about to say, 69 00:04:35,200 --> 00:04:41,760 Speaker 1: ruled Coverned from eighteen eighty nine, and legend has it, 70 00:04:42,320 --> 00:04:46,760 Speaker 1: I don't know, maybe that's not a legend, but uh, allegedly, 71 00:04:46,960 --> 00:04:50,919 Speaker 1: let's say he had an alligator that he kept in 72 00:04:50,960 --> 00:04:54,000 Speaker 1: an unfinished room, the east room of what was then 73 00:04:54,120 --> 00:04:57,400 Speaker 1: called the President's House. That's not very creative. It wasn't 74 00:04:57,480 --> 00:05:00,680 Speaker 1: until Teddy Roosevelt changed the n and officially to the 75 00:05:00,680 --> 00:05:05,120 Speaker 1: White House in nineteen one. But this alligator apparently was 76 00:05:05,279 --> 00:05:12,920 Speaker 1: gifted to Adams by the French military officer and revolutionary 77 00:05:13,160 --> 00:05:18,359 Speaker 1: hero and uh and a important historical figure in the 78 00:05:18,400 --> 00:05:23,440 Speaker 1: play Hamilton's Marquis de Lafayette Um, who fought with the 79 00:05:23,520 --> 00:05:27,560 Speaker 1: US against the British forces during the American Revolution and 80 00:05:27,600 --> 00:05:32,479 Speaker 1: also lays down some sick bars in Hamilton. So the 81 00:05:32,480 --> 00:05:37,200 Speaker 1: story goes that he would keep he kept this gator 82 00:05:38,240 --> 00:05:42,320 Speaker 1: in a bathtub. Yeah, in this unfinished room and what 83 00:05:42,400 --> 00:05:45,840 Speaker 1: was then called the President's House, and his his presidential 84 00:05:45,880 --> 00:05:51,440 Speaker 1: prank was to surprise people by having this alligator got you. Oh, 85 00:05:51,480 --> 00:05:55,000 Speaker 1: there goes your leg. Ha ha. President. That's how he 86 00:05:55,120 --> 00:05:58,560 Speaker 1: ends every prank. He laughs and mentions he's president. There 87 00:05:58,600 --> 00:06:04,520 Speaker 1: are some people who would raise plot holes in this, right. 88 00:06:04,720 --> 00:06:07,719 Speaker 1: So Frank Masati, who is an ecologist and biologist at 89 00:06:07,720 --> 00:06:10,760 Speaker 1: the University of Florida, says, he points out that if 90 00:06:10,800 --> 00:06:13,800 Speaker 1: you had a large alligator in a bathtub in today's world, 91 00:06:13,839 --> 00:06:16,800 Speaker 1: that's the thing. The alligators started off small, and you know, 92 00:06:16,839 --> 00:06:20,279 Speaker 1: as it matured, it grew larger and larger. Uh. He 93 00:06:20,360 --> 00:06:23,480 Speaker 1: said that it would be cruelty to animals, but also 94 00:06:23,640 --> 00:06:26,360 Speaker 1: in that day and age, people didn't think about cruelty 95 00:06:26,400 --> 00:06:31,279 Speaker 1: to animals near the same way. Here's the thing, there's 96 00:06:31,440 --> 00:06:35,680 Speaker 1: kind of this cycle of I would say legends or 97 00:06:35,720 --> 00:06:40,120 Speaker 1: folklore about gators in the White House. Because there's also 98 00:06:40,160 --> 00:06:43,719 Speaker 1: another story that says, uh, the son of thirty first 99 00:06:43,760 --> 00:06:49,279 Speaker 1: President Herbert Hoover. A century later, in three his son 100 00:06:49,400 --> 00:06:55,280 Speaker 1: Alan Henry Hoover also allegedly had two gators. But the 101 00:06:55,279 --> 00:06:58,560 Speaker 1: problem is there aren't many primary sources. Right, this is 102 00:06:58,640 --> 00:07:01,120 Speaker 1: sort of lore. We don't even know the names of 103 00:07:01,160 --> 00:07:05,000 Speaker 1: these three alleged gaiters, right, Yeah, it's true. According to 104 00:07:05,040 --> 00:07:09,720 Speaker 1: the White House Historical Association's Evan Phifer, the whole thing 105 00:07:09,800 --> 00:07:13,680 Speaker 1: with Lafayette, it's it is has been passed around, but 106 00:07:13,880 --> 00:07:17,560 Speaker 1: they can't They haven't placed their hands on the actual 107 00:07:17,680 --> 00:07:20,840 Speaker 1: origin of this story or, like you said, any kind 108 00:07:20,840 --> 00:07:25,560 Speaker 1: of real primary documentation that is based, as Phifer says, 109 00:07:25,640 --> 00:07:29,880 Speaker 1: in reality. Joel Tree of the w h h A says, quote, 110 00:07:29,920 --> 00:07:34,240 Speaker 1: there's no verifiable documentary evidence of that story. I think 111 00:07:34,280 --> 00:07:37,880 Speaker 1: it's probably a legend, but it's it's a pretty interesting 112 00:07:37,960 --> 00:07:41,640 Speaker 1: legend just the same. And that's legend or no, not 113 00:07:41,720 --> 00:07:48,440 Speaker 1: the only weird exotic pet that traped through the White House, Right, 114 00:07:48,480 --> 00:07:51,720 Speaker 1: we have phantom gaiters, which is a cool phrase, and 115 00:07:51,760 --> 00:07:53,960 Speaker 1: I'm so happy that we got a chance to say 116 00:07:54,000 --> 00:07:55,760 Speaker 1: it on air. I'm gonna just milk that one more time. 117 00:07:55,880 --> 00:07:59,400 Speaker 1: Phantom gaiters, antom gators. But you are absolutely right, No, 118 00:07:59,680 --> 00:08:03,320 Speaker 1: they're I've been quite a few strange pets. One thing 119 00:08:03,400 --> 00:08:05,600 Speaker 1: that probably sticks out to a lot of people when 120 00:08:05,600 --> 00:08:09,120 Speaker 1: you hear it is Thomas Jefferson, the third President from 121 00:08:09,200 --> 00:08:12,280 Speaker 1: eighteen o one to eighteen o nine had a pair 122 00:08:12,480 --> 00:08:15,440 Speaker 1: of grizzly bears. Yeah, we're talking to super producer Casey 123 00:08:15,480 --> 00:08:18,200 Speaker 1: before the show, and he was reminded of a Paul F. 124 00:08:18,400 --> 00:08:21,440 Speaker 1: Tompkins bit talking about how wouldn't it be great if 125 00:08:21,480 --> 00:08:25,400 Speaker 1: we could just keep like something like a bear small forever? 126 00:08:25,720 --> 00:08:28,400 Speaker 1: And even though it was ravenous and wanted, you just 127 00:08:28,480 --> 00:08:31,360 Speaker 1: kind of pawt you like a cat attacking your hand. Um, 128 00:08:31,400 --> 00:08:34,760 Speaker 1: and you know that'd be pretty manageable. So Jefferson got 129 00:08:34,800 --> 00:08:38,280 Speaker 1: a pair of little grizzly bear cubs. I hope the 130 00:08:38,320 --> 00:08:41,760 Speaker 1: mom isn't around. That would be a blood bath. But 131 00:08:41,800 --> 00:08:44,160 Speaker 1: he got those as a gift from an explorer of 132 00:08:44,280 --> 00:08:49,079 Speaker 1: the American West. Yeah, Captain Zebulon Pike love that name. 133 00:08:49,320 --> 00:08:52,920 Speaker 1: So names were so much cooler. Our names are okay, 134 00:08:52,960 --> 00:08:58,120 Speaker 1: but Zebulon, so you should be followed with like the great, right, 135 00:08:58,760 --> 00:09:03,280 Speaker 1: Zebulon the Great and Terrible. The bears arrived around the 136 00:09:03,320 --> 00:09:06,160 Speaker 1: same time. Pike sent a letter in October of eighteen 137 00:09:06,200 --> 00:09:09,439 Speaker 1: o seven explaining he had found the male and female 138 00:09:09,480 --> 00:09:12,439 Speaker 1: cubs in the southern region of the Continental Divide, so 139 00:09:12,840 --> 00:09:17,320 Speaker 1: the mother was not around. Um. He recognized Pike that 140 00:09:17,480 --> 00:09:19,920 Speaker 1: is that the grizzly was a different species of bear 141 00:09:20,040 --> 00:09:23,040 Speaker 1: from those found in the East, and he said that 142 00:09:23,080 --> 00:09:25,760 Speaker 1: they are considered by the natives of that country as 143 00:09:25,800 --> 00:09:30,400 Speaker 1: the most ferocious animals on the continent. And he Jefferson 144 00:09:30,480 --> 00:09:32,160 Speaker 1: must have been aware of this because he would have 145 00:09:32,240 --> 00:09:37,120 Speaker 1: heard from Lewis and Clark about encounters with grizzlies, and 146 00:09:37,120 --> 00:09:39,760 Speaker 1: our buddy Evan Phifer over at the White House Historical 147 00:09:39,800 --> 00:09:43,920 Speaker 1: Association made a point that these bear cubs were a 148 00:09:44,000 --> 00:09:48,600 Speaker 1: smash sensation because people had never seen these before. This 149 00:09:48,679 --> 00:09:50,800 Speaker 1: was not something that was around. They did not have 150 00:09:50,920 --> 00:09:54,600 Speaker 1: them in zoos in the area. The zoos probably weren't 151 00:09:54,640 --> 00:09:56,960 Speaker 1: even a thing yet. This was this is very early 152 00:09:57,200 --> 00:10:01,439 Speaker 1: on in the existence of again the time the President's House, 153 00:10:01,880 --> 00:10:04,040 Speaker 1: so it was a big deal. People were excited to 154 00:10:04,120 --> 00:10:06,960 Speaker 1: see it. The bears lived in a little enclosure that 155 00:10:07,040 --> 00:10:09,679 Speaker 1: was on the lawn um and then eventually they were 156 00:10:09,720 --> 00:10:15,160 Speaker 1: moved to Philadelphia, right. Yeah, And people assume that because 157 00:10:15,200 --> 00:10:19,280 Speaker 1: they have been in continual contact with humans as cubs, 158 00:10:19,320 --> 00:10:23,079 Speaker 1: that they would maybe grow up to be gentle giants 159 00:10:23,120 --> 00:10:26,440 Speaker 1: and large and calm and more docile. Yeah, and that 160 00:10:26,600 --> 00:10:30,520 Speaker 1: was not the case. One of them eventually broke out 161 00:10:30,559 --> 00:10:34,600 Speaker 1: of its cage and terrorized the family of the man 162 00:10:34,679 --> 00:10:37,439 Speaker 1: who was taking care of them and had to be shot, 163 00:10:37,640 --> 00:10:39,560 Speaker 1: and then they the other one had to be put 164 00:10:39,640 --> 00:10:43,440 Speaker 1: down as well, because it turns out that one of 165 00:10:43,520 --> 00:10:47,800 Speaker 1: our continent's most ferocious apex predators is not the kind 166 00:10:47,840 --> 00:10:50,200 Speaker 1: of thing that you can just take home and hang 167 00:10:50,240 --> 00:10:53,640 Speaker 1: out with unless you could miniaturize them. Unless you could 168 00:10:53,679 --> 00:10:58,959 Speaker 1: miniaturize them. Yes, And speaking of smaller pets, I gotta 169 00:10:59,040 --> 00:11:01,960 Speaker 1: tell you, man, have you ever seen those those YouTube 170 00:11:02,080 --> 00:11:05,120 Speaker 1: videos of people who have a raccoon that just hangs 171 00:11:05,120 --> 00:11:07,080 Speaker 1: out with them? I have. I have a friend whose 172 00:11:07,120 --> 00:11:11,920 Speaker 1: parents kept several raccoons and kind of a glass enclosure 173 00:11:11,960 --> 00:11:13,760 Speaker 1: that was sort of built into the wall kind of, 174 00:11:14,040 --> 00:11:16,520 Speaker 1: and they take them out and they were pretty chill 175 00:11:16,840 --> 00:11:20,400 Speaker 1: and cuddly and kind of fun play with. I don't 176 00:11:20,400 --> 00:11:23,040 Speaker 1: remember if I did, but I definitely saw them handling them, 177 00:11:23,240 --> 00:11:25,600 Speaker 1: and it sort of acts sort of like a combination 178 00:11:25,640 --> 00:11:29,239 Speaker 1: between a monkey and a cat. That's a good description. 179 00:11:29,520 --> 00:11:32,400 Speaker 1: And Grace Coolidge, who was the wife of Calvin Coolidge, 180 00:11:32,480 --> 00:11:37,000 Speaker 1: President number thirty from nineteen to nineteen nine, did the 181 00:11:37,120 --> 00:11:41,679 Speaker 1: very same thing with a raccoon named Rebecca, Rebecca the raccoon. 182 00:11:42,520 --> 00:11:47,320 Speaker 1: My heart is melting. Uh. So the weird thing about 183 00:11:47,559 --> 00:11:51,320 Speaker 1: this raccoon and I don't want you know if you 184 00:11:51,559 --> 00:11:55,160 Speaker 1: dislike the Coolidge and administration, just understand this was a 185 00:11:55,240 --> 00:11:59,200 Speaker 1: very different time. Originally, Rebecca did not have a name 186 00:11:59,520 --> 00:12:02,280 Speaker 1: because she was traveling to the White House to be 187 00:12:02,360 --> 00:12:05,680 Speaker 1: part of the Thanksgiving menu. I'm sorry. They were going 188 00:12:05,760 --> 00:12:09,000 Speaker 1: to cook the raccoon and eat her come again, but 189 00:12:09,120 --> 00:12:12,560 Speaker 1: they fell in love with her, and so they said, oh, 190 00:12:12,720 --> 00:12:14,920 Speaker 1: we were going to eat you, but now we're gonna 191 00:12:15,000 --> 00:12:18,520 Speaker 1: name you Becky Thanksgiving miracle. Is that sort of like 192 00:12:18,559 --> 00:12:22,800 Speaker 1: giving clemency to the turkey? This feels a little bit 193 00:12:22,880 --> 00:12:26,240 Speaker 1: more organic. Yeah, it feels like she just charmed her 194 00:12:26,280 --> 00:12:30,600 Speaker 1: way into their heart. And uh. And the weirdest thing 195 00:12:30,600 --> 00:12:33,600 Speaker 1: about it is that they kind of spoiled her. They 196 00:12:33,640 --> 00:12:38,600 Speaker 1: had this little gold plated inscribed collar with Rebecca on it, 197 00:12:38,800 --> 00:12:41,800 Speaker 1: and they had a little cage for outside, and she 198 00:12:41,960 --> 00:12:44,440 Speaker 1: just hung out until it went rabid and they had 199 00:12:44,480 --> 00:12:47,080 Speaker 1: to put her down. I made that up. Oh my gosh, 200 00:12:47,120 --> 00:12:48,720 Speaker 1: I'm so glad you made that. I know, is that 201 00:12:48,800 --> 00:12:50,600 Speaker 1: last one with the bears was a bummer. We need 202 00:12:50,600 --> 00:12:53,280 Speaker 1: a little we need. We don't know what happened to 203 00:12:53,280 --> 00:12:56,960 Speaker 1: Rebecca the raccoon ultimately, but it does seem as though 204 00:12:57,000 --> 00:13:00,360 Speaker 1: she brought a lot of joy into the lives of 205 00:13:00,360 --> 00:13:03,280 Speaker 1: of of all that she encountered, um in the in 206 00:13:03,280 --> 00:13:06,559 Speaker 1: the White House, and thankfully she was not uh consumed 207 00:13:06,920 --> 00:13:10,640 Speaker 1: at the holiday table. She looks really happy in the pictures. Yeah, 208 00:13:10,720 --> 00:13:16,480 Speaker 1: yeah she does. And um, Grace Coolidge the dour looking, 209 00:13:16,800 --> 00:13:20,440 Speaker 1: but she really seems to to enjoy the company of 210 00:13:20,480 --> 00:13:24,320 Speaker 1: this raccoon. Um. Next we have we're sort of stepping 211 00:13:24,800 --> 00:13:27,560 Speaker 1: up the chain of Varmont's. I guess you could call 212 00:13:27,640 --> 00:13:30,960 Speaker 1: him right a badger. There we go a bag of badgers, 213 00:13:31,040 --> 00:13:34,160 Speaker 1: A bag of badgers. That's a deep cut for fans 214 00:13:34,160 --> 00:13:36,439 Speaker 1: of the show, just the one this time. And this 215 00:13:36,679 --> 00:13:42,360 Speaker 1: was one of Theodore Roosevelt's pets, And we gotta go 216 00:13:42,840 --> 00:13:47,000 Speaker 1: deep with Teddy Roosevelt, President number twenty six from nineteen 217 00:13:47,000 --> 00:13:51,840 Speaker 1: o nine. So many pets. This man had a menagerie 218 00:13:52,120 --> 00:13:54,559 Speaker 1: of animals that he brought with him to the White House. 219 00:13:54,800 --> 00:13:58,360 Speaker 1: And uh one of the famous ones was Josiah the badger, 220 00:13:58,800 --> 00:14:02,520 Speaker 1: who was off been toted around the White House grounds 221 00:14:02,600 --> 00:14:08,280 Speaker 1: by young Archie Son. But listen, I'm gonna laundry list 222 00:14:08,320 --> 00:14:12,880 Speaker 1: these because they're just too charming there. They give me 223 00:14:13,000 --> 00:14:17,040 Speaker 1: such joy. Josiah never bit faces, really, only he would 224 00:14:17,080 --> 00:14:22,360 Speaker 1: bite legs sometimes, So I'm just gonna laundry list these. 225 00:14:22,400 --> 00:14:27,600 Speaker 1: This comes from uh the National Park Service website, and 226 00:14:27,760 --> 00:14:32,640 Speaker 1: this is a list of the Roosevelt's family pets. They 227 00:14:32,680 --> 00:14:37,400 Speaker 1: included a small bear named Jonathan Edwards, a lizard named Bill, 228 00:14:37,800 --> 00:14:42,480 Speaker 1: guinea pigs named Admiral Dewey, Dr Johnson, Bishop Done, Fighting, 229 00:14:42,520 --> 00:14:46,960 Speaker 1: Bob Evans, and Father O'Grady, Maud the Pig, Posiah the Badger, 230 00:14:47,280 --> 00:14:50,880 Speaker 1: Eli Yale the blue Macaw, Baron Spreckel the Hen, a 231 00:14:50,920 --> 00:14:54,520 Speaker 1: one legged rooster, a hyena, a barn owl, Peter the Rabbit, 232 00:14:54,640 --> 00:14:58,960 Speaker 1: and of course, who could forget Algonquin the pony, oh 233 00:14:59,120 --> 00:15:01,560 Speaker 1: gon Quinn. What fond memories we have a lot of 234 00:15:01,560 --> 00:15:05,000 Speaker 1: times frolic at on the law and you and fighting 235 00:15:05,040 --> 00:15:09,160 Speaker 1: Bob Evans? Is that it fighting Bob Evans? Bob Evans, 236 00:15:09,560 --> 00:15:14,600 Speaker 1: and uh oh, I really like Baron Spreckel the Hen. 237 00:15:15,000 --> 00:15:19,640 Speaker 1: These names are fantastic. Yeah, And just speaking of fantastic names, 238 00:15:19,920 --> 00:15:25,640 Speaker 1: the President's son Archie was so fond of Algonquin that 239 00:15:25,760 --> 00:15:29,640 Speaker 1: his brothers Kermit and Quentin would bring the pony to 240 00:15:29,760 --> 00:15:32,680 Speaker 1: his room through the elevator in the in the White House. 241 00:15:33,440 --> 00:15:37,000 Speaker 1: But Algonquin, apparently according to the National Park Services, was 242 00:15:37,080 --> 00:15:41,160 Speaker 1: so captivated hypnotized even by his own reflection in the 243 00:15:41,200 --> 00:15:43,760 Speaker 1: elevator mirror, that it was really hard for him to 244 00:15:43,800 --> 00:15:55,720 Speaker 1: get out. Algonquin is very into himself, wasn't Teddy Roosevelt 245 00:15:55,800 --> 00:15:58,480 Speaker 1: kind of like yeah, like a like a naturalist and 246 00:15:58,720 --> 00:16:02,320 Speaker 1: environmental outdoors, you know, which really holds true. There's even 247 00:16:02,360 --> 00:16:04,760 Speaker 1: a story, uh from the National Parks that was again 248 00:16:04,800 --> 00:16:08,600 Speaker 1: where his son Quentin burst into an important meeting the 249 00:16:08,640 --> 00:16:11,640 Speaker 1: President was holding in the Oval Office to show him 250 00:16:11,840 --> 00:16:15,240 Speaker 1: four snakes that he had just gotten from a pet store. Uh. 251 00:16:15,240 --> 00:16:18,200 Speaker 1: And of course immediately all of the dignitaries in the 252 00:16:18,280 --> 00:16:22,400 Speaker 1: room just registered annoyance with this precocious young lad. But 253 00:16:22,440 --> 00:16:26,640 Speaker 1: when he plopped the snakes down to the table, they all, um, 254 00:16:26,720 --> 00:16:30,080 Speaker 1: you know, like getting up on your chair and squealing 255 00:16:30,080 --> 00:16:33,040 Speaker 1: when you see a mouse or something, that they definitely retreated. 256 00:16:33,280 --> 00:16:36,000 Speaker 1: One thing we should mention though about Roosevelt is much 257 00:16:36,040 --> 00:16:39,960 Speaker 1: more than just a casual environmentalist. He used his authority 258 00:16:40,040 --> 00:16:44,240 Speaker 1: constantly protect wildlife he created the United States Forest Service, 259 00:16:44,520 --> 00:16:48,320 Speaker 1: which established a hundred and fifty national forest, bird reserves, 260 00:16:48,600 --> 00:16:52,560 Speaker 1: game reserves, national parks, national monuments, and so on. Is 261 00:16:52,560 --> 00:16:54,360 Speaker 1: he the one that carried the big stick as a 262 00:16:54,440 --> 00:16:59,880 Speaker 1: rough rider? Yes, yeah, yeah he he rolled with DMX's crew. Yes, 263 00:17:00,120 --> 00:17:02,960 Speaker 1: it's uh, it's true. It's uh, you know you And 264 00:17:03,000 --> 00:17:07,440 Speaker 1: I like to include a couple of absolutely true, incredibly 265 00:17:07,560 --> 00:17:10,720 Speaker 1: not researched facts, and one of them is that H. D. 266 00:17:10,960 --> 00:17:14,800 Speaker 1: M X and Uh Teddy Roosevelt communicated across time and space. 267 00:17:14,920 --> 00:17:17,760 Speaker 1: They came up together. They came up together, but they 268 00:17:17,800 --> 00:17:20,600 Speaker 1: were no uh, there were no Woodrow Wilson because in 269 00:17:20,600 --> 00:17:23,520 Speaker 1: a way he had a huge collection of pets, but 270 00:17:23,560 --> 00:17:27,600 Speaker 1: they were all the same. Yeah. Woodrow Wilson was seemingly 271 00:17:27,600 --> 00:17:32,040 Speaker 1: a pretty generous president. He sacrificed some of the comforts, 272 00:17:32,080 --> 00:17:34,480 Speaker 1: maybe even of other presidents to kind of give back 273 00:17:34,880 --> 00:17:37,639 Speaker 1: to the war effort. He had more of an ascetic 274 00:17:37,920 --> 00:17:40,960 Speaker 1: life than some president exactly. And and part of this was, 275 00:17:41,600 --> 00:17:46,320 Speaker 1: I guess, partially to save on costs. Um. He had 276 00:17:46,320 --> 00:17:49,280 Speaker 1: a flock of sheep that he kept on the White 277 00:17:49,320 --> 00:17:53,000 Speaker 1: House lawn forty eight to be exact, um, and that 278 00:17:53,640 --> 00:17:57,680 Speaker 1: their main purpose was to cut the grass, and they 279 00:17:57,680 --> 00:18:03,320 Speaker 1: were sheared regularly and raised fifty two thousand dollars for 280 00:18:03,400 --> 00:18:07,240 Speaker 1: the Red Cross during an auction of that wool. And 281 00:18:07,240 --> 00:18:10,479 Speaker 1: it was really important to Woodrow Wilson and his wife 282 00:18:11,000 --> 00:18:14,480 Speaker 1: to set a good example, you know, for American families 283 00:18:14,480 --> 00:18:16,919 Speaker 1: in the show that you had to chip in to 284 00:18:17,040 --> 00:18:19,320 Speaker 1: help out with the war effort. And I think that's 285 00:18:19,359 --> 00:18:23,160 Speaker 1: pretty interesting. I think that's also commendable. It reminds me of, 286 00:18:23,680 --> 00:18:25,840 Speaker 1: you know, some of the other efforts we've seen by 287 00:18:25,840 --> 00:18:30,440 Speaker 1: administrations of the family members to encourage better nutrition, right 288 00:18:30,640 --> 00:18:34,320 Speaker 1: or to give to charities and in wartime. One interesting 289 00:18:34,359 --> 00:18:39,680 Speaker 1: fact about the United Kingdom in wartime, the Queen when 290 00:18:39,720 --> 00:18:43,159 Speaker 1: she got married had to use the same like ration 291 00:18:43,640 --> 00:18:48,359 Speaker 1: stamps to to buy the materials for address as everybody else. Uh. 292 00:18:48,440 --> 00:18:51,080 Speaker 1: And I think it's I think it speaks very highly 293 00:18:51,119 --> 00:18:54,800 Speaker 1: to the character. And also I was not familiar with 294 00:18:54,840 --> 00:18:58,480 Speaker 1: the idea of using livestock to mow the lawn, but 295 00:18:58,520 --> 00:19:01,160 Speaker 1: it makes sense. And you told me about talking about 296 00:19:01,160 --> 00:19:04,800 Speaker 1: that with Scott right with my buddy Scott Benjamin. It's 297 00:19:04,800 --> 00:19:07,920 Speaker 1: a true story. Here in Atlanta, you can't actually rent 298 00:19:08,000 --> 00:19:12,080 Speaker 1: goats for the purpose of lawn maintenance. And I'd like 299 00:19:12,160 --> 00:19:15,000 Speaker 1: to know if you have an experience renting goats for 300 00:19:15,080 --> 00:19:19,320 Speaker 1: lawn maintenance or other reasons in your neck of the 301 00:19:19,359 --> 00:19:22,720 Speaker 1: global woods. Uh. And you know, do you have goats? 302 00:19:23,520 --> 00:19:25,000 Speaker 1: Do you want to rent us one? We'll just hang 303 00:19:25,000 --> 00:19:27,199 Speaker 1: out with it in the office or sheep, but not 304 00:19:27,280 --> 00:19:29,720 Speaker 1: forty eight. We don't have room. Forty eight. Goats are 305 00:19:29,760 --> 00:19:35,320 Speaker 1: apparently pretty cantankerous. Yeah, yeah, they're definitely um dynamic personalities. 306 00:19:36,280 --> 00:19:40,400 Speaker 1: Sheep might be a little more sedate. But horses, ponies, right, 307 00:19:40,560 --> 00:19:44,960 Speaker 1: stallions of all shapes and sizes. We often forget in 308 00:19:45,480 --> 00:19:49,760 Speaker 1: seventeen that there was a time when the primary transport 309 00:19:50,040 --> 00:19:52,680 Speaker 1: of the United States was going to be on foot 310 00:19:52,840 --> 00:19:56,639 Speaker 1: or by horse, right on foot or on hoof, or 311 00:19:56,760 --> 00:19:59,879 Speaker 1: wheels pulled by hoofs. The White House, once upon a 312 00:20:00,080 --> 00:20:03,119 Speaker 1: time had a stable large enough for twenty five horses 313 00:20:03,640 --> 00:20:08,200 Speaker 1: and a living area for the staff the stable staff, right, yeah, 314 00:20:08,240 --> 00:20:11,200 Speaker 1: and and speaking of pitching in apparently the stables caught 315 00:20:11,200 --> 00:20:15,800 Speaker 1: on fire at four and Abraham Lincoln himself hoped too 316 00:20:16,160 --> 00:20:19,159 Speaker 1: and tried to help put out the blaze. Um And 317 00:20:19,240 --> 00:20:22,880 Speaker 1: for whatever reason, in the early nineteen hundreds, the stables 318 00:20:22,880 --> 00:20:27,600 Speaker 1: were dismantled, and Zachary Taylor actually um, which I believe 319 00:20:27,640 --> 00:20:30,800 Speaker 1: he had one of the shortest presidential terms. Um it 320 00:20:30,920 --> 00:20:34,800 Speaker 1: was sixteen months. I believe he died unexpectedly as the 321 00:20:34,920 --> 00:20:38,560 Speaker 1: twelfth president. But he he uh, he had himself a 322 00:20:38,600 --> 00:20:42,680 Speaker 1: war horse ben by the name of Old Whitey. That's 323 00:20:42,680 --> 00:20:46,520 Speaker 1: appropriate name for presidential horse. I wonder if it started 324 00:20:46,520 --> 00:20:49,440 Speaker 1: out with a different name or you know, you gotta 325 00:20:49,480 --> 00:20:52,359 Speaker 1: wonder how the horse felt when it was juvenile to 326 00:20:52,400 --> 00:20:56,520 Speaker 1: behaved old white Old Whitey, Yeah, Old Whitey. Yeah, Zachary 327 00:20:56,560 --> 00:21:00,480 Speaker 1: Taylor had Old Whitey. Old Whitey was, as Null said 328 00:21:00,560 --> 00:21:04,080 Speaker 1: in a war horse, which means a horse specifically trained 329 00:21:04,080 --> 00:21:08,439 Speaker 1: to function in battle and uh be combat ready, not 330 00:21:08,520 --> 00:21:12,800 Speaker 1: be distracted or as easily shook by loud noises like 331 00:21:12,920 --> 00:21:16,920 Speaker 1: cannon fire and such. Old Whitey and the phantom allegators. 332 00:21:17,000 --> 00:21:21,240 Speaker 1: That's the that's the bad children's book. But it's got 333 00:21:21,320 --> 00:21:24,880 Speaker 1: so much potential, a lot of legs. Um. But by 334 00:21:24,880 --> 00:21:29,480 Speaker 1: far to me, the cutest presidential pony belonged to John F. 335 00:21:29,680 --> 00:21:38,040 Speaker 1: Kennedy's daughter Caroline, and it was named Macaroni. You know, 336 00:21:38,080 --> 00:21:44,680 Speaker 1: like Yankee Doodle went to town riding on a bony. 337 00:21:44,800 --> 00:21:46,760 Speaker 1: Do you know the etymology of that? This kind of 338 00:21:46,800 --> 00:21:52,280 Speaker 1: side note, So, macarroni, at least in mid eighteenth century 339 00:21:52,359 --> 00:21:58,560 Speaker 1: England was a description of a fashionable dude, like almost 340 00:21:58,560 --> 00:22:03,520 Speaker 1: a hipster type who uh dressed a little bit foppishly 341 00:22:04,320 --> 00:22:11,520 Speaker 1: and uh had outlandishly flamboyant speech and affectations like a 342 00:22:11,560 --> 00:22:15,600 Speaker 1: Liberati type. You know, I feel like that's active. He 343 00:22:15,640 --> 00:22:19,760 Speaker 1: had those like lace frilly lace things on his wrists 344 00:22:19,760 --> 00:22:23,920 Speaker 1: and his collars and um, sort of like a French duke. Yeah, 345 00:22:24,080 --> 00:22:27,680 Speaker 1: and there we go. And it came about because young 346 00:22:27,720 --> 00:22:31,480 Speaker 1: men of means, of course traveled to Italy and they 347 00:22:31,520 --> 00:22:35,600 Speaker 1: developed a taste for macaroni the pasta, and it wasn't 348 00:22:35,680 --> 00:22:37,720 Speaker 1: very famous in England then, so then when they came 349 00:22:37,720 --> 00:22:41,920 Speaker 1: back they were said to belong to the macaroni club. 350 00:22:42,000 --> 00:22:44,800 Speaker 1: Here's an example I'm showing you of with the big 351 00:22:44,840 --> 00:22:47,960 Speaker 1: way total French duke. Yeah, and so of it. Uh. 352 00:22:48,000 --> 00:22:50,000 Speaker 1: And so when they stick a feather in their cap 353 00:22:50,280 --> 00:22:52,639 Speaker 1: and call it macaroni, it's like, oh, look, I have 354 00:22:52,680 --> 00:22:54,360 Speaker 1: a feather in my cap. Now I'm one of these 355 00:22:54,440 --> 00:22:57,840 Speaker 1: hip people. Which is so weird because for the longest 356 00:22:57,880 --> 00:23:00,159 Speaker 1: time that song made no sense to me. I I 357 00:23:00,200 --> 00:23:02,320 Speaker 1: just thought it was like absurdist kind of you know. 358 00:23:02,640 --> 00:23:05,879 Speaker 1: And yeah, I have derailed us, so not at all. 359 00:23:06,119 --> 00:23:08,359 Speaker 1: We learned about all kinds of silly stuff on this show, 360 00:23:08,400 --> 00:23:18,120 Speaker 1: and I love it. I object to the next pet 361 00:23:18,160 --> 00:23:21,000 Speaker 1: on this list. I'm just gonna say it categorically. I'm 362 00:23:21,000 --> 00:23:24,920 Speaker 1: not a fan of these animals. Possums not my favorite now. 363 00:23:25,560 --> 00:23:29,000 Speaker 1: I don't like their beady little pink eyes and the 364 00:23:29,040 --> 00:23:31,600 Speaker 1: way they glow in the dark, and they have so 365 00:23:31,640 --> 00:23:34,080 Speaker 1: many teeth, and they have a rat tail and that 366 00:23:34,200 --> 00:23:37,040 Speaker 1: irritating silent oh at the beginning of their names. What's 367 00:23:37,080 --> 00:23:40,679 Speaker 1: that about. Some people pronounce it, some people don't pronounce it. 368 00:23:40,680 --> 00:23:44,600 Speaker 1: It's just bedlam. There's no rhyme or reason to pronouncing 369 00:23:44,880 --> 00:23:49,440 Speaker 1: the name of this rodent. So yes, possums a divisive 370 00:23:49,520 --> 00:23:52,240 Speaker 1: more supial if ever there was such, yes, and and 371 00:23:52,240 --> 00:23:54,840 Speaker 1: and thank you for correcting that Bennet is a marsupial, 372 00:23:54,920 --> 00:23:58,160 Speaker 1: not a rodent. I still think it has a rat 373 00:23:58,200 --> 00:24:03,760 Speaker 1: tail anyway. Benjamin Harrison, uh go, Ben's in general. People 374 00:24:03,800 --> 00:24:07,280 Speaker 1: named Ben twenty three president from eighteen eighty nine to 375 00:24:07,760 --> 00:24:12,000 Speaker 1: eight three loved animals. This guy and while he was 376 00:24:12,080 --> 00:24:16,080 Speaker 1: in office, he had not one, but two pet possums. 377 00:24:16,280 --> 00:24:20,359 Speaker 1: One was named Mr Protection and the other was Mr Reciprocity, 378 00:24:20,440 --> 00:24:24,040 Speaker 1: which sounds like he's got this whole thing going on. Yeah, 379 00:24:24,440 --> 00:24:28,680 Speaker 1: it's it's weird. He doesn't sound like the most fun guy. 380 00:24:30,520 --> 00:24:34,159 Speaker 1: He doesn't. Uh So. The thing is interesting is that 381 00:24:34,200 --> 00:24:39,720 Speaker 1: the Harrison family loved Mr Protection, Mr Reciprocity, and apparently 382 00:24:39,760 --> 00:24:42,679 Speaker 1: they were good uh what we would call optics nowadays 383 00:24:42,840 --> 00:24:45,920 Speaker 1: for the American public, Like, he can't be all that bad. 384 00:24:45,960 --> 00:24:53,399 Speaker 1: Look at his possums, look at his trash rats. Yes, sorry, 385 00:24:53,480 --> 00:24:55,840 Speaker 1: any possum fans out there, but they give me the 386 00:24:55,880 --> 00:24:59,320 Speaker 1: ski v geevs. They're quite common where we live, they 387 00:24:59,359 --> 00:25:01,960 Speaker 1: really are. You'll see him scampering across the top of 388 00:25:01,960 --> 00:25:07,080 Speaker 1: a fence in the night, going to Applebee's, stinking up 389 00:25:07,080 --> 00:25:10,720 Speaker 1: the joint. But yes, out of out of all the 390 00:25:11,040 --> 00:25:13,880 Speaker 1: strange presidential pets, those are the only ones that I'm 391 00:25:13,960 --> 00:25:17,520 Speaker 1: kind of on the fence about. And this opened up 392 00:25:17,640 --> 00:25:20,520 Speaker 1: a a strange culture that I was unaware of. I 393 00:25:20,560 --> 00:25:22,400 Speaker 1: don't know if you knew a possum hole, if you will, 394 00:25:22,520 --> 00:25:25,400 Speaker 1: a possum hole, if you will. Yes, let's let's assume 395 00:25:26,000 --> 00:25:28,560 Speaker 1: that we do, and let's hope you do as well. 396 00:25:29,000 --> 00:25:31,480 Speaker 1: It turns out that lots of world leaders have had 397 00:25:31,560 --> 00:25:37,600 Speaker 1: lots of weird pets. Benito Mussolini had a lion bank, 398 00:25:38,640 --> 00:25:41,120 Speaker 1: and we talked about Pablo Escar and his hippos right 399 00:25:41,359 --> 00:25:48,840 Speaker 1: the drafts and other assorted exotic, large, unwieldy beasts. I 400 00:25:48,880 --> 00:25:56,040 Speaker 1: believe it was North Korean dictator Kim Jong Ill, not 401 00:25:56,160 --> 00:25:58,320 Speaker 1: his son Kim John. Yeah, it was Kim Jong Il 402 00:25:58,760 --> 00:26:04,280 Speaker 1: had this huge love of dogs, and later on his 403 00:26:04,440 --> 00:26:08,120 Speaker 1: son opened a dog zoo pavilion. So it's a zoo, 404 00:26:08,160 --> 00:26:10,200 Speaker 1: but just dogs, you know, would be a good rap name. 405 00:26:10,440 --> 00:26:14,040 Speaker 1: What's that Kim Jong Ill with two else? Two else? 406 00:26:15,119 --> 00:26:17,920 Speaker 1: How is that not a thing? Yet? That's a great idea. Probably, 407 00:26:18,560 --> 00:26:22,080 Speaker 1: that's a great idea. Uh. Fidel Castro had a cow 408 00:26:22,440 --> 00:26:26,720 Speaker 1: named ubre Blanca and Idio, I mean did have crocodiles 409 00:26:26,760 --> 00:26:30,919 Speaker 1: for real, but he fed them corpses of his enemies. 410 00:26:31,440 --> 00:26:34,600 Speaker 1: That's that's this's a functional pet right there. Yeah, it's 411 00:26:34,600 --> 00:26:37,560 Speaker 1: like those giant pigs in that silence of the Lamb's 412 00:26:37,560 --> 00:26:40,919 Speaker 1: movie Annibal or whatever the neath the bodies, yeah, or 413 00:26:40,960 --> 00:26:43,639 Speaker 1: in Deadwood too. Woo Woo and his pigs, you know, 414 00:26:44,240 --> 00:26:47,280 Speaker 1: I mean that that animal had a job that was 415 00:26:47,920 --> 00:26:50,800 Speaker 1: They're just like it wasn't just a charming thing like 416 00:26:50,840 --> 00:26:54,040 Speaker 1: Rebecca the raccoon exactly. But what about the what about 417 00:26:54,040 --> 00:26:56,760 Speaker 1: the other non exotic pet Snell? Yeah, it seems as 418 00:26:56,800 --> 00:27:02,679 Speaker 1: the time progressed, presidential pets have got progressively more vanilla. 419 00:27:03,280 --> 00:27:09,240 Speaker 1: The most popular and recognizable presidential buddy is is the 420 00:27:09,080 --> 00:27:15,440 Speaker 1: the dog, the loyal friend of man and woman, the nine. Yeah, 421 00:27:15,560 --> 00:27:18,439 Speaker 1: I mean dogs and people we go, we go way back, 422 00:27:18,520 --> 00:27:24,359 Speaker 1: and there's pretty compelling evidence, uh, that humans have impacted 423 00:27:24,640 --> 00:27:28,639 Speaker 1: the evolution of dogs. Yeah. Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who was 424 00:27:28,680 --> 00:27:31,320 Speaker 1: the thirty second president from nineteen thirty three to nineteen 425 00:27:32,520 --> 00:27:36,920 Speaker 1: had a pretty famous um companion by the name of Fala, 426 00:27:37,080 --> 00:27:42,120 Speaker 1: was a Scottish terrier and that famously attended his funeral. 427 00:27:42,880 --> 00:27:49,879 Speaker 1: Um is now remembered at the FDR Museum in Washington. 428 00:27:50,280 --> 00:27:53,360 Speaker 1: Oh Man, that's sad. Yeah, you know what it makes 429 00:27:53,400 --> 00:27:57,400 Speaker 1: me think of a Pixar movie, Well, a Disney property 430 00:27:57,560 --> 00:28:00,400 Speaker 1: for sure, though. Um. You know, Carrie Fisher to Sleep 431 00:28:01,160 --> 00:28:04,239 Speaker 1: played Princess Leiah and and did a great job in 432 00:28:04,280 --> 00:28:07,520 Speaker 1: her last role in the Last Jedi, which I really 433 00:28:07,560 --> 00:28:11,920 Speaker 1: enjoyed quite a lot. Um. She had a loving dog 434 00:28:12,480 --> 00:28:14,680 Speaker 1: that she took with her everywhere. Whenever she's on the 435 00:28:14,680 --> 00:28:18,160 Speaker 1: press circuit, she always had this little dog. And apparently, uh, 436 00:28:18,200 --> 00:28:22,320 Speaker 1: the dog attended a premiere or whenever it sees her 437 00:28:22,359 --> 00:28:25,680 Speaker 1: on TV, it kind of gets gets bummed out. And 438 00:28:25,720 --> 00:28:28,280 Speaker 1: I think the dog actually had a cameo in the 439 00:28:28,359 --> 00:28:32,400 Speaker 1: last Jedi. Really, well, that's that's amazing. That's a that's 440 00:28:32,400 --> 00:28:35,520 Speaker 1: a more heartwarming note there, I think so too. Moving 441 00:28:35,520 --> 00:28:38,480 Speaker 1: on back to presidents, we have Warren G. Harding, President 442 00:28:38,560 --> 00:28:45,200 Speaker 1: number twenty nine nine. UM. His dog's name was Laddie Boy, 443 00:28:45,240 --> 00:28:49,040 Speaker 1: and he gifted Laddie Boy a hand carved chair to 444 00:28:49,240 --> 00:28:53,240 Speaker 1: sit alongside him during meetings. It's good to be king, 445 00:28:53,280 --> 00:28:55,200 Speaker 1: you know. And when it comes to the type of 446 00:28:55,200 --> 00:28:57,960 Speaker 1: animals that are present in the White House, by far 447 00:28:58,040 --> 00:29:01,200 Speaker 1: As Lill said, they're going to be dogs. But I'm 448 00:29:01,240 --> 00:29:05,200 Speaker 1: I'm amazed with these names, you know, like this goat 449 00:29:05,280 --> 00:29:09,520 Speaker 1: named Old Whiskers. Taft had a cow named Pauline, last 450 00:29:09,560 --> 00:29:11,840 Speaker 1: cow to live at the White House so far. And 451 00:29:11,880 --> 00:29:14,760 Speaker 1: it seems that almost well, it seems that the vast 452 00:29:14,800 --> 00:29:18,440 Speaker 1: majority of presidents at least had a dog, doesn't it. 453 00:29:18,440 --> 00:29:20,840 Speaker 1: It does seem that way. And there's a great quote 454 00:29:20,840 --> 00:29:22,840 Speaker 1: that kind of sums all this up from Evan Piffer 455 00:29:22,880 --> 00:29:26,280 Speaker 1: from the White House Historical Association. UM, that sort of 456 00:29:26,400 --> 00:29:29,680 Speaker 1: gets to the heart of this with why this is 457 00:29:29,720 --> 00:29:33,400 Speaker 1: such a thing except for with our current president. UM, 458 00:29:33,440 --> 00:29:37,160 Speaker 1: pets humanize the White House and the presidency. Just like 459 00:29:37,200 --> 00:29:40,960 Speaker 1: so many Americans have pets, so do the presidents. It's 460 00:29:41,000 --> 00:29:43,640 Speaker 1: a link between the life of a president and the 461 00:29:43,720 --> 00:29:47,040 Speaker 1: life of millions of Americans. And I think that is 462 00:29:47,120 --> 00:29:50,960 Speaker 1: spot on and that is a good time for us 463 00:29:51,080 --> 00:29:54,280 Speaker 1: to end today because this is making me miss my 464 00:29:54,360 --> 00:29:56,120 Speaker 1: pets a little bit, you know, I want to go 465 00:29:56,200 --> 00:29:59,440 Speaker 1: take them out and hang out with him in going 466 00:29:59,520 --> 00:30:03,200 Speaker 1: walks and adventures. It reminds me. Also, folks, we'd like 467 00:30:03,280 --> 00:30:06,880 Speaker 1: to hear about what kind of exotic animal you would 468 00:30:07,000 --> 00:30:10,160 Speaker 1: keep as a pet no holds barred, you know, if 469 00:30:10,200 --> 00:30:13,680 Speaker 1: this is a wishes or horses type situation where the 470 00:30:13,760 --> 00:30:16,240 Speaker 1: animal would have all the you know, all the freedom 471 00:30:16,280 --> 00:30:19,120 Speaker 1: to move around that it wanted to and it wouldn't 472 00:30:19,120 --> 00:30:22,720 Speaker 1: be stuck in any position or cruelty. But if you 473 00:30:22,760 --> 00:30:27,960 Speaker 1: could like be friends with any any exotic animal, what 474 00:30:28,120 --> 00:30:31,880 Speaker 1: would it be why I would want a baby hippopotamus 475 00:30:31,920 --> 00:30:34,840 Speaker 1: that just stayed a baby forever. See, I would want 476 00:30:34,880 --> 00:30:38,720 Speaker 1: a tiger or a bear that that could talk to me, 477 00:30:39,240 --> 00:30:41,200 Speaker 1: and uh, you know, we would hang out and we 478 00:30:41,240 --> 00:30:46,960 Speaker 1: would go I don't know, we would go adventuring skiing. Maybe, yeah, 479 00:30:47,080 --> 00:30:50,280 Speaker 1: we get some tiger trail walking bear skis. We probably 480 00:30:50,280 --> 00:30:52,760 Speaker 1: start with just trail walking. Yeah, we'll have to ease 481 00:30:52,800 --> 00:30:55,480 Speaker 1: into like laser tag and stuff. You go. That sounds 482 00:30:55,480 --> 00:30:58,400 Speaker 1: like a friendship for the ages, Ben. Thanks Van, and 483 00:30:58,440 --> 00:31:01,880 Speaker 1: we want to hear your thoughts. So as you can tell, 484 00:31:01,920 --> 00:31:05,800 Speaker 1: we're very much fans of presidential trivia. And I think 485 00:31:05,840 --> 00:31:09,000 Speaker 1: the quote by Evan there nailed it the motivation for 486 00:31:09,120 --> 00:31:13,600 Speaker 1: these strange and unusual pets. Uh. We very much hope 487 00:31:13,640 --> 00:31:16,720 Speaker 1: you enjoyed this episode and we hope that you will 488 00:31:16,800 --> 00:31:19,800 Speaker 1: check us out, send us a review wherever you get 489 00:31:19,800 --> 00:31:24,120 Speaker 1: your podcasts. And you can also find Nolan I on Instagram, Facebook, 490 00:31:24,280 --> 00:31:30,800 Speaker 1: and that's the one's popular. It doesn't know how to 491 00:31:30,800 --> 00:31:35,200 Speaker 1: make money, apparently that's true. And and most importantly, hope 492 00:31:35,200 --> 00:31:37,360 Speaker 1: you're having a happy new Year. I feel like we 493 00:31:37,400 --> 00:31:41,000 Speaker 1: missed the boat on saying that happy New Year everyone. Yeah, 494 00:31:41,080 --> 00:31:43,480 Speaker 1: and I just want to mention to um. This show 495 00:31:43,680 --> 00:31:47,840 Speaker 1: is produced and edited by Casey Pegram and our theme 496 00:31:47,960 --> 00:31:52,720 Speaker 1: music is composed by the lovely Alex williams Um and 497 00:31:52,800 --> 00:31:55,920 Speaker 1: we record here in our studios at pomp City Market 498 00:31:56,360 --> 00:31:59,080 Speaker 1: in Atlanta, Georgia. And we also want to thank our 499 00:31:59,160 --> 00:32:04,360 Speaker 1: fellow researcher John Donovan, who wrote the article on the 500 00:32:04,520 --> 00:32:07,080 Speaker 1: history of strange Animals in the White House for house 501 00:32:07,080 --> 00:32:09,880 Speaker 1: Stuff Works. And most importantly, we want to thank you 502 00:32:10,000 --> 00:32:12,440 Speaker 1: for listening and hope that you'll join us next time 503 00:32:12,440 --> 00:32:21,760 Speaker 1: for another episode of Ridiculous History. For more podcasts for 504 00:32:21,840 --> 00:32:24,600 Speaker 1: my Heart Radio, visit the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, 505 00:32:24,680 --> 00:32:26,840 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.