46 boring POTUS facts
Previously, I posted my favorite facts about each president. Today, I’ve gathered up the most uninteresting things I could come up with for each (with a little help from some friends). This dull collection was inspired by a brilliant low-pressure icebreaker I saw on Instagram: everybody shares a boring fact about themselves. Less pressure than having to come up with something interesting.
The whole point of this icebreaker is to get to know each other, so let’s not bury that in a long list of humdrum nuggets. Here’s my mundane fact:
I use a different water glass depending on whether I’m working or not. (A regular, nondescript glass during non-work hours. And a Mustachioed Manchild / Theodore Roosevelt glass when I’m working.)
Share something super boring
Either about you, a president, or all of the above. Drop them in the comments below! Or should I say, “drop them in the comments below.” The exclamation point makes it sound too exciting.
1 // George Washington
Didn’t really chop down a cherry tree.
2 // John Adams
Our first vice president.
3 // Thomas Jefferson
On the nickel.
4 // James Madison
Shortest of the Jameses. Or of any president.
5 // James Monroe
His name was James, too.
6 // John Quincy Adams
Dad was president.
7 // Andrew Jackson
Rhymes with Thandrew Faxon.
8 // Martin Van Buren
From New York.
9 // William Henry Harrison
Went by three names.
10 // John Tyler
This guy was so dull that his wife Julia (his second First Lady) had the band play “Hail to the Chief” when he entered a room so people would notice him.
11 // James K. Polk
Oh, another James. [yawn]
12 // Zachary Taylor
His military career was described as “Mundane and boring.” Not by me.
13 // Millard Fillmore
Millard was his mom’s maiden name.
14 // Franklin Pierce
Anna Kendrick was his mom. No, not that Anna Kendrick.
15 // James Buchanan
Named James.
16 // Abraham Lincoln
Very tall.
17 // Andrew Johnson
Not Lincoln’s original vice president.
18 // Ulysses S. Grant
19 // Rutherford B. Hayes
20 // James Garfield
Named James.
21 // Chester Arthur
Loved fancy, expensive clothes.
22 & 24 // Grover Cleveland
President twice.
23 // Benjamin Harrison
One time he didn’t marry his niece. (But then one time he did.)
25 // William McKinley
Used to have a mountain named after him.
26 // Theodore Roosevelt
Ok, I’m stumped. Nothing boring about this guy.
27 // William Howard Taft
Would fall asleep durinzzzzzzzzzz
28 // Woodrow Wilson
When he was a teenager, he wrote self-insert fan-fiction about being in the British Navy. Now, that fact is not boring at all. But according to Nick, who submitted this nugget, the writing is boring. Long, detailed descriptions of his imaginary ships and whatnot.
29 // Warren G. Harding
From Ohio.
30 // Calvin Coolidge
[ silence ]
31 // Herbert Hoover
Didn’t invent a vacuum cleaner.
32 // Franklin D. Roosevelt
Aquarius.
33 // Harry S Truman
Wore glasses.
34 // Dwight D. Eisenhower
Born David.
35 // John F. Kennedy
Married to Jackie.
36 // Lyndon Baines Johnson
Right-handed.
37 // Richard Nixon
Napped regularly.
38 // Gerald Ford
Played football.
39 // Jimmy Carter
Look at that. Another James.
40 // Ronald Reagan
"Hollywood's most grinding bore,” according to Gore Vidal.
41 // George H. W. Bush
Born in Massachusetts.
42 // Bill Clinton
Played the sax.
43 // George W. Bush
Born the same year as 42 and 45.
44 // Barack Obama
Has two daughters.
45 // Donald Trump
Used to be president.
46 // Joe Biden
Wears Aviators.
Go ahead.
I want to know something super-boring about you. Comment below. 👇
This list was inspired by a @daviddeweil post reshared by Priya Parker.
Follow along on Instagram for more doodles and presidential trivia.
