As part of their early education, Americans are taught about their forefathers and Presidents to a certain extent. Any leader of any nation is an interesting subject to learn about.  If you are the country that’s presumed as the leader of the free world, it’s an obvious move to educate children in order for them to know of their heritage.

In this article, we’ve collated six US President’s facts that few only know. These facts were not taught in school, and only those who are genuinely curious about these Presidents may be privy to them. From controversial teeth to furniture-stealing, here are some of the most curious US President facts you may not know of:

Twelve of the forty-five presidents have had slaves

The US may be a progressive country, but there was a time when slavery was rampant. In fact, the entire country is built on slavery. It’s no wonder then that one of the most interesting US Presidents facts is that twelve of its past presidents have had slaves. And while in office, eight of those twelve were enslaving people. Shocking, right?

More than half of the presidents have served in the military

Another great fact that most people don’t know about the US presidents is that at least 26 of them have served in the military. That’s more than half actually, as the US only has had 45 Presidents so far.

John Adams has a piece of Shakespeare’s furniture

John Adams, the second President of the US, visited Shakespeare’s house. The literary home was in Stratford-upon-Avon, which was quite the travel needed from the office. But the most curious tidbit on this fact is that John Adams wasn’t alone in visiting Shakespeare - he was accompanied by his then friend, Thomas Jefferson, who he famously had a public falling out with.

When they were in Shakespeare’s house, both the President and the Vice-President were so enamored to have visited it that they decided to chip off a part of one of the original chairs of Shakespeare. They took it as a souvenir. A few years later, the duo became embroiled in a very nasty re-election campaign where Adams called Jefferson a “low-lived fellow who was sired by a Virginia mulatto father.”

Washington had decaying teeth

Most of the US population knew about Washington’s historically inaccurate “wooden teeth,” but this was because he had an underlying condition: fast-decaying teeth. Washington never had a wooden tooth on his mouth. Still, his predilection to wood finishes was well-known among his peers and subjects; that’s why the rumor started that he has wooden teeth. In fact, his dentures were made of hippopotamus ivory and animal teeth, combined by brass screws and gold wire.

Even though they were of top-class materials, Washington’s dentures were stained, and historians believe that this was the reason why most people who saw it thought it was wood. His affinity to red wine also did not help his cause, and only caused his teeth to become more gnarly-looking.

Barack Obama applied as a black pin-up calendar

One of the most popular presidents the US ever had, Barack isn’t only a man of class and humor; he also was ahead of his time. The first black President was a graduate of Harvard Law, one of the brightest the school had, and in his time on the campus, he applied to be featured in an all-black pin-up calendar. The all-female committee declined his application, and there wasn’t a pin-up of Barack that could have been legendary to this day.

In high school, Barack also was a basketball player. He was nicknamed “O’Bomber,” which wasn’t really a compliment. But according to the boys he played with, he had “ok” skills. In his teenage years, Obama also worked at a local Baskin Robbins, which spurned his hate for the cold dessert his entire adulthood.

Four US presidents are Nobel Peace Prize Winners

The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the most prestigious awards that’s given to people who made a significant change to their industry, with the effects and reverberations felt in the entire world. Only four US presidents are Nobel Peace Prize Winners, which is to say, a reflection of their work, and the politics they choose. The winners are T. Roosevelt, W. Wilson, J. Carter, and B. Obama, in the manner of the time they’ve received their awards.

Takeaway

Even if you’re not an American citizen, having a closer look at the leaders of what is called the “free world” is a great learning experience. Knowing these obscure facts can also be great conversation starters, so don’t scrimp on what you can learn. With these facts listed above, you now have at least a glimpse of how these US Presidents were. And how they behaved!