Richard Nixon was so good at poker that most of his first campaign for the House of Representatives was funded by poker winnings from his time in the navy.
8
In 1916, a US amendment was proposed to put all acts of war to a national vote. If you voted yes you would have to register as a volunteer for service in the United States Army.
5
No president of the United States was an only child for his parents.
51
President George W. Bush and Playboy founder Hugh Hefner are cousins!
136
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
Daniel Webster, who ran for president and lost three times, declined the Vice Presidency twice, thinking it a worthless office. Both presidents who offered it later died in office, meaning that if he had accepted, he would’ve become president after all.
10
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
In 1789, the total U.S. federal government debt was $190,000.
3