In 1789, the total U.S. federal government debt was $190,000.
3
Abraham Lincoln was a licensed bartender.
259
No president of the United States was an only child for his parents.
51
Theodore Roosevelt read at least one book every day.
23
J. Edgar Hoover liked to fire FBI agents whose palms were sweaty when shaking hands.
26
In 1955, the citizens of São Paulo were so upset with their government that they elected a rhinoceros named Cacareco (meaning rubbish) to the city council in protest, with over 100,000 votes.
18
In ancient Athens, the worlds first democracy, they had a process called ostracism, where once a year the people could vote on the politician they thought was most destructive to the democratic process. The “winner” was banished from Athens for 10 years.
3
There was a pre-WWII movement called Technocracy, which held that scientists and engineers should take over the government and economy from politicians and economists. The leader of the movement was known as the Great Engineer.
6