Calvin Coolidge's Inaugural Address: Trivia

    Calvin Coolidge's Inaugural Address: Trivia

      In addition to his two pet lions, Tax Reduction and Budget Bureau, Calvin Coolidge had two pet raccoons that wandered around the White House. (Source)

      Most presidents have to wait until they're dead to get their image on a coin. Coolidge was the exception; his face was on the sesquicentennial half-dollar in 1926. He shared the coin with George Washington. Btw, sesquicentennial means "150 years," and y'all know what happened 150 years before 1926. If not, do your homework.
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      The presidential election of 1924 only had about a 50% voter participation rate, down from 70% in 1916 when World War I was happening. This is even after women had finally been given the vote. (Source)

      Coolidge's inauguration was broadcast on 20 radio stations, reaching about 23 million people. Many schools added radio equipment to their auditoriums so the students could listen. Of course, they all changed the stations to metalcore, but it was a good idea anyway. (Source)

      In addition to having the first radio broadcast of an inaugural speech, Cal was the first president to make a transatlantic phone call. He chatted with Spanish King Alfonso III on January 7, 1927, and said, "I welcome this added link, no less strong because it is invisible, between Spain and the United States. I believe it to be true that when two men can talk together the danger of any serious disagreement is immeasurably lessened and that what is true of individuals is true of nations. The international telephone, therefore, which carries the warmth and friendliness of the human voice, will always correct what might be misinterpreted in the written word." Clearly, Coolidge was anti-texting. (Source)

      Amherst College honored its famous alum by naming their indoor baseball facility "Coolidge Cage." Shmoop has stumbled upon the little-known fact that the Grateful Dead performed there in 1983. RIP, Jerry. (Source)