Politics Facts
Facts about the world of politics. Political trivia about governments, political figures, and government agencies.
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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.
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No president of the United States was an only child.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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President Lyndon Johnson smoked at least 3 packs of cigarettes a day.
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John F. Kennedy ordered over 1,000 Cuban cigars for personal use just hours before he made them illegal.
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In 2005, the Italian Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi, insulted Finnish cuisine and joked that Finns ate “marinated reindeer”. In 2008, Finland won an international pizza contest, beating Italy. The name of the winning pizza was “Pizza Berlusconi” and it was made of smoked reindeer.
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In 1789, the total U.S. federal government debt was $190,000.
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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.
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Former U.S. Congressman John Jenrette once had sex with his wife on the steps of the Capitol Building during a break in a late night Congressional session.
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Sales of the Guy Fawkes mask - used by protesters all over the world as a symbol of their fight against government corruption and corporate power - all go to Time Warner.
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