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Theodore Roosevelt Adopts a Pet Badger
1. A 12-year-old girl approached Theodore Roosevelt while he was visiting Sharon Springs, Kansas, asking if he would like a badger. Believing she was joking, he consented, only to see her return moments later with a two-week-old cub. Amused and impressed, Roosevelt accepted the animal, naming him Josiah. The feisty badger soon became one of the most unusual and beloved pets ever to live at the White House.
2. In 1835, President Andrew Jackson accomplished a feat no other leader has repeated: he paid off the entire national debt, calling it "the national curse." Through strict spending cuts and the sale of federal lands, the U.S. balance sheet briefly hit zero. But the triumph was short-lived. A financial panic in 1837 triggered a severe depression, and by the next year, the nation owed $3.3 million once again. It has never been fully paid off since then.
3. Mechanical prosthetics date back to the 16th century, when wounded knights required mechanical fingers to grip their swords or lances. These early devices were innovative for their time, allowing injured warriors to continue fighting.
4. Thomas Jefferson's interest in natural history led him to send Lewis and Clark on an expedition to map the American West. He hoped they might discover living mastodons, large, extinct, elephant-like mammals. Jefferson was fascinated by the fossils being found across North America and believed these creatures might still roam the unexplored territories.
5. T-shirts have existed since the late 1800s, but they did not become fashionable stand-alone garments until the 1950s. Marlon Brando played a significant role in popularizing them when he wore one in the film "A Streetcar Named Desire" (1951). His portrayal of Stanley Kowalski made the T-shirt a symbol of rebellious masculinity, influencing fashion trends for decades.
6. In 1952, President Harry S. Truman used the newly rebuilt White House as the setting for the first televised tour of the Executive Mansion. As cameras followed him through its rooms, he explained the building's history and paused at paintings and furniture to share specific stories about them. He ended the broadcast at the Steinway piano in the East Room, where he sat down and played.
7. Ancient Babylonians used a primitive form of calculus to calculate Jupiter's daily displacement along the ecliptic, the path the Sun appears to trace through the stars. Historians previously believed such mathematical techniques emerged over 1,400 years later, in 14th-century Europe.
8. The Crusaders planned to finance the Fourth Crusade (1202-1204) by first stopping in Constantinople to assist in a coup. When the new Byzantine emperor failed to compensate them fairly, they seized control of the city and its surrounding territory. This led to the establishment of the short-lived Latin Empire, which lasted from 1204 to 1261.
9. Among U.S. presidents, Theodore Roosevelt stands out for having a confirmed tattoo. He reportedly wore his family crest on his chest as a tattoo. He remains the only president known to have a tattoo, while Andrew Jackson was only rumored to have a tomahawk on his thigh.
10. In 1862, Abraham Lincoln signed the Morrill Act, establishing a system of land-grant colleges and universities. This landmark legislation revolutionized higher education in the United States. It played a crucial role in transforming the country into a scientific and engineering powerhouse, laying the foundation for future innovation.
