At last check, the governor of Arkansas makes $60,000 a year. His salary is the lowest of all 50 states. A dozen or so states pay their governors more than $100,000 year, generally the more populous states. California pays its governor $131,000. Illinois comes in second at $130,000 and change, with New York, a close third at $130,000 even.
Lyndon B. Johnson was the first president of the United States to wear contact lenses.
President Teddy Roosevelt died from an "infected tooth."
Money man Cornelius Vanderbilt was an insomniac and a believer in the occult. He was not able to fall asleep unless each leg of his bed was planted in a dished filled with salt. He felt this kept out the evil spirits. It also kept out the snails, ants, and anyone with high blood pressure.
Artist Andy Warhol became famous for his painting of Campbell's Soup cans. Before that - he made his living painting shoes for advertisements.
Flamenco dancer Jose Greco took out an insurance policy through Lloyd's of London against his pants splitting during a performance.
President Woodrow Wilson wrote all of his speeches in longhand.
Television horse Mr. Ed was foaled in 1949 in El Monte, California. Mr. Ed's original name was Bamboo Harvester. Raised as a parade and show horse he was once owned by the president of the California Palomino Society. He died in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, on February 28, 1979, at 30 years old. Tahlequah was also the "home office" for "Late Night with David
Letterman's Top Ten List" for several years.
President Theodore Roosevelt was the first to announce to the world that Maxwell House coffee is "Good to the last drop."
Lloyd Vernet Bridges III is the birth name of actor Beau Bridges. He was given the nickname "Beau" by his family, reportedly after Ashley Wilkes's son in the classic 1939 film "Gone With the Wind."
On April 14th, 1910, President Howard Taft began a sports tradition by throwing out the first baseball of the season. That happened at an American League game between Washington and Philadelphia. Washington won, 3-0.
Roosevelt was the most superstitious president—he traveled continually but never left on a Friday. He also would not sit at the same table that held thirteen other people.
George Washington was deathly afraid of being buried alive. After he died, he wanted to be laid out for three days just to make sure he was dead.
Richard Nixon's favorite drink was a dry martini.
Julius Caesar was self-conscious about his receding hairline.
James Buchanon is said to have had the neatest handwriting of all the Presidents.
Richard Nixon left instructions for "California, here I come" to be the last piece of music played (slowly and softly) were he to die in office.
The only president to be head of a labor union was Ronald Reagan.
When the Hoovers did not want to be overheard by White House guests, they spoke to each other in Chinese.
Robert Kennedy was killed in the Ambassador Hotel, the same hotel that housed Marilyn Monroe's first modeling agency.
Benjamin Franklin lived at 141 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA.
Theodore Roosevelt was the only U.S. president to deliver an inaugural address without using the word "I". Abraham Lincoln, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Dwight D. Eisenhower tied for second place, using "I" only once in their inaugural addresses.
A short time before Lincoln's assassination, he dreamed he was going to die, and he related his dream to the Senate.
When John Wilkes Booth leaped onto the stage after shooting the President, he tripped—on the American flag.
Paul Cezanne had a parrot who he taught to say, "Cezanne is a great painter."
George Washington had to borrow money so he could travel to his inauguration.
Lyndon Johnson died one mile from the house he was born in.
Grover Cleveland answered the White House phone, personally.
Calvin Coolidge was sworn into office by his own father.
Theodore Roosevelt was blind in his left eye.
Charlie Chaplin was so popular during the 1920s and 1930s, he received over 73,00 letters in just 2 days during a visit to London.
Warren Harding was the first US president who could drive a car.
George Washington died the last hour of the last day of the last week of the last month of the last year of the 18th century.
Theodore Roosevelt was the first president to ride in an automobile, fly on a plane, and go underwater in a submarine.
JFK was the first president born in the 20th century.
Thomas Jefferson was once given a 1,235 pound hunk of cheese, giving us the term "the big cheese."
President McKinley was shot while shaking hands with spectators.
Theodore Roosevelt's wife and mother both died on Feb. 14, 1884.
Lincoln was shot on Good Friday.
James Garfield often gave campaign speeches in German.
George Washington died after being bled by leeches.
Leslie Lynch King, Jr. is the birth name of American President Gerald. R. Ford. Ford was the son of Leslie Lynch King and his wife Dorothy Ayer Gardner, who divorced soon after the birth of their only child. When his mother married Gerald R. Ford, Sr. in 1916, he adopted the name Gerald R. Ford, Jr.
Noah Webster was referred to as "the walking question mark" during his student days at Yale.
Ellen DeGeneres was the first stand-up comedian Johnny Carson ever asked to sit on "The Tonight Show" guest couch during a first appearance.
Polish Cardinal Karol Wojtyla became the first non-Italian pope in 455 years on October 17, 1978. He was inaugurated six days later in a mass at St. Peter's Square, becoming John Paul II.
Entertainers who worked in the pizza business before they became famous include Stephen Baldwin, who was a pizza parlor employee, Bill Murray, who was a pizza maker, and Jean-Claude Van Damme, who delivered pizzas. Many years back, Julia Roberts and Christie Brinkley both sold ice cream. Before she made it as a pop singer, Madonna sold doughnuts at Dunkin' Donuts. And in the burger arena, Jennifer Aniston was a waitress at a burger joint, Queen Latifah worked at Burger King, and Andie McDowell was employed by McDonald's.
Lyndon Johnson's First Family all had initials LBJ. Lyndon Baines Johnson, Lady Bird Johnson, Linda Bird Johnson and Lucy Baines Johnson. And his dog, Little Beagle Johnson.
Orson Welles is buried in an olive orchard on a ranch owned by his friend, matador Antonio Ordonez in Sevilla, Spain.
The concerti on the two Voyager probes' information are performed by famed Canadian pianist Glenn Gould.
Jonathan Davids, lead singer for Korn, played in his high school bagpipe band.
John F. Kennedy's rocking chair was auctioned off for $442,000.
David Atchison, as president pro tempore of the Senate in 1849, was U-S president for one day - Sunday, March 4th - pending the inauguration of President-elect Zachary Taylor on Monday, March 5th.
Shangri-la, the presidential hideaway near Thurmont, Maryland, was renamed Camp David in honor of President Dwight D. Eisenhower's father and grandson on May 22, 1953.
Actor Steve McQueen encouraged his karate teacher to pursue a career in acting. The teacher? Chuck Norris. McQueen is quoted as telling Norris, "If you can't do anything else' there's always acting."
First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt ate three chocolate-covered garlic balls every morning. Her doctor suggested this to improve her memory.
Rap artist Sean "Puffy" Combs had his first job at age two when he modeled in an ad for Baskin-Robbins ice-cream shops.
One year, Elvis Presley paid 91% of his annual income to the IRS.
Steven Spielberg is Drew Barrymore's godfather. After seeing her nude in Playboy magazine, he sent her a blanket with a note telling her to cover herself up.
Mao Zedong, like many Chinese of his time, refused to brush his teeth. Instead, he rinsed his mouth with tea and chewed the leaves. Why brush? "Does a tiger brush his teeth?" argued Mao. As you can imagine, his teeth were green. Chairman Mao also loved to chain-smoke English cigarettes, when his doctor asked him to cut down, he explained that "smoking is also a form of deep-breathing exercise, don't you think?"
In 1977, the legendary Groucho Marx died three days after Elvis Presley died. Unfortunately, due to the fevered commotion caused by Presley's unanticipated death, the media paid little attention to the passing of this brilliant comic. Groucho, with his talented brothers (Chico, Harpo, and Zeppo), starred in irreverent films in the 1920's through 1940's, including "Duck Soup", "A Night at the Opera", "Love Happy," and "A Day at the Races." For five decades, Groucho had worked in the industry as an actor, comedian, TV game show host, and writer, and he won an Emmy in the early days of television for Outstanding Personality.
