In 1981 President Ronald Reagan fired the entire air traffic controllers union, invoking a law that stated government employees that engaged in a strike forfeited their jobs.
presidents
Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana’s first president…
Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana’s first president, ran and won his campaign from prison. Once elected president, he released himself.
During the Cold War, the USA tried to intimidate…
During the Cold War, the USA tried to intimidate the Soviet Bloc by convincing them that then president Richard Nixon was an unstable lunatic who was likely to lash out for no rational reason, based on the dubious “madman theory” of foreign policy.
Before becoming the first president of Vietnam…
Before becoming the first president of Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh spent years travelling the world. He once worked as a cook in a hotel in Boston.
In 1982, Zimbabwe passed a law banning…
In 1982, Zimbabwe passed a law banning citizens from making jokes about the surname of the President, Canaan Banana.
In the 1870s, an 11 time Mexican President…
In the 1870s, an 11 time Mexican President exiled to Staten Island, partnered with New Jersey inventor to sell gum to fund an army to return to power once more. After he gave up and returned to Mexico, his partner went on to create what we know as chewing gum sticks today.
The desk used by many presidents…
The desk used by many presidents of the United States was named “Resolute Desk” because it was made from pieces of wood of the HMS Resolute, a English ship discovered by an American in Artica, repaired and sent back to England as a sign of friendship between the two countries.
John F Kennedy Donated his full salary…
John F Kennedy donated his full salary both as president and during his 14 years in congress reaching around $500,000.
JFK was stranded on a desert island…
JFK was stranded on a desert island during WWII, and eventually rescued thanks to a coconut he had carved a distress message into. He later displayed this coconut in the Oval Office.
Lyndon B. Johnson did not become…
Lyndon B. Johnson did not become a rancher until he was 43, but was quite successful. He left his ranch to the American people as a historical site, providing it was maintained as “a working ranch, and not a sterile relic of the past.” To this day the National Park Service breeds Hereford cattle there.