Happy Birthday GW

I hope everyone is enjoying President's Day weekend.  To celebrate, I thought I'd share a few facts about our first president.  Studying his life is very interesting.  If you've got some time on your hands, you should look him up.  If you've got A LOT of time on your hands, read his farewell address.  It has some really good stuff in it...great advice for all Americans and our leaders.

1.  George Washington had no children of his own.
2.  He personally witnessed both of his step children die...one of epilepsy and one of meningitis.
3.  This one is for Mark...he LOVED ice cream.  In fact, he loved it so much that he had ice cream coolers installed in his house.
4.  When he was young he had red hair...see there's hope for all you feisty red-heads out there!
5. George Washington wore dentures, not made of wood as many believe...they were made from one of his real teeth, a cow's tooth, hippopotamus ivory, metal and springs!).
6.  He had 6 white horses, and he had their teeth brushed every day.
7.  He bred hound dogs and liked to give them strange names...see Mark, it's not so weird.
8. Of the 9 early presidents that owned slaves...Washington was the only one to free them.  And, he made provisions in his will for them to be cared for by his estate for decades after his death.
9. When Washington was elected, there was NO popular vote...only electoral votes.  He got 69 of them...which at that time was all of them...the only unanimously elected president!
10. The only foreign country Washington ever visited was Barbados when he was 19.
11.  There is a vault under the US capitol that was meant to hold Washington's remains, but it is empty.  In his will he stated that he wanted to be buried at Mt. Vernon, and his heirs honored that wish, in spite of the capitol building vault.
12.  George Washington did not wear a wig as many people think.  He did, however, powder his hair.
13. Washington was opposed to the idea of political parties (you think he knew something??)
14. He is the only president that did not live in the White House.
15. He was a very loud snorer.
16. He was the first person in history to have the title Lieutenant General
17. He was about 6'3" tall (very tall for his time)
18. As part of America's bicentennial celebration, Congress passed an act posthumously promoting him to "General of the Armies of the United States of America."  The act also specified that no other army officer would ever outrank him.
19.  He grew marijuana on his farm!  (At the time, it was not used as a drug, but for hemp and soil stabilization)
20. He is credited with introducing the mule to America.

Happy President's Day!