Last week, our President decided to chide the Republicans, as usual, for not embracing his “clean, green energy” agenda and made reference to the alleged backwards thinking of our former President, Rutherford B. Hayes.
President Obama said, “One of my predecessors, President Rutherford B. Hayes, reportedly said about the telephone: ‘It’s a great invention but who would ever want to use one?’”
Honestly, I had no idea what President Hayes thought about the telephone but, then again, I’m not the current President quoting him to make a point.
President Obama’s statement caused a barrage of historians and bloggers to post a whole lot of information about our former President.
According tot he Washington Post’s Fact Checker, President Hayes was a technology buff so much so that “he installed the first telephone in the White House. A list of telephone subscribers published in the article ‘The Telephone Comes to Washington,’ by Richard T. Loomis, shows that the White House was given the number ‘1.’”
As a result of President Obama’s gaffe, some very funny websites are already online and, of course, we had to expect the hashtag game mocking the President’s “knowledge” of former presidents on Twitter shortly afterwards. Here are the top 20 tweets from that hashtag game:
James A. Garfield loved lasagna and hated Mondays.
Chester A. Arthur invented the dance floor.
Ulysses S. Grant was our first Greek president.
Thomas Jefferson ran a successful dry cleaning business.
William McKinley was assassinated by Professor Plum in the Library with the candlestick.
Thomas Jefferson opposed the invention of the helicopter.
Abraham Lincoln kept a bunny rabbit and a tortoise under his hat. They did not get along.
“Purple Hayes” was the first Jim Hendrix song about a president.
Woodrow Wilson was the great great uncle of the Beach Boys Brian & Dennis Wilson.
During his retirement years, Woodrow Wilson filed a harassment lawsuit against his neighbor Dennis.
The mini-van was named after President Martin Van Buren.
The first President Bush had to give up his Heisman after dating a Kardashian.
Woodrow Wilson was lost at sea while attempting to escape with Tom Hanks from a deserted isle.
Abraham Lincoln got secret campaign contributions from Americans For Prosperity.
First president to win a Grammy: Stephen F. Tyler.
Calvin Coolidge was known by hipsters of the roaring 20s as LL Coolidge and enjoyed his “Coolidge cookies.”
Teddy Roosevelt got his Nobel Peace Prize for negotiating a settlement between his wife and in-laws.
Andrew Jackson rode his fame as the face of the $20 bill all the way to the presidency.
Grover Cleveland endeavored to make the parakeet our national bird. Plus, he’s on the $8 bill.
James Monroe was our nation’s first transgendered President, later renaming himself Marilyn.
So, be careful what you say out there, President Obama. You can be sure someone is listening to your every word.
