One of Spignesi’s books, on hand at Thursday’s presidential trivia night. Credit: Allan Appel Photo Many of us likely know that our shortest president was James Madison, our tallest Lincoln, and our heaviest William Howard Taft — who, weighing in at 332 pounds, famously said, if I may para phrase, when I get up to offer my seat on the streetcar, three women sit down. Many also likely know that our third president Thomas Jefferson introduced French fries to America and invented the swivel chair and the dumbwaiter. Perhaps a handful know that William Henry Harrison served the shortest term — 31 days — before septic shock from an uncontrolled fever ended his presidential term and his life. Or that our tenth, John Tyler, sired the most children — 15 presidential babies by two wives. And that he was also, as a staunchly secessionist Virginian who died during the Civil War, the only U.S. president to be buried without an American flag, but the Confederate one. However, even in this semiquincentennial year of the celebration of 250 years of our history, when the most patriotic among us are brushing up on American history and trivia, a crisp greenback says few of you Independent readers know that: James Monroe was the only prez wounded in Revolutionary War, and the bullet was never removed. Martin Van Buren wore a corset and so hated the sound of bells he ordered that none be tolled at his funeral. Ulysses S. Grant never allowed anyone, even his wife, to see him naked, and every morning had cucumbers and vinegar for breakfast. Warren G. Harding had a size 14 shoe. Calvin Coolidge favored baggy underwear, Truman took two shots of bourbon each morning before going to the office, Gerald Ford’s first name was Leslie, or that LBJ gave electric toothbrushes as gifts and so loved his soda, he had a Fresca fountain installed at the White House. Whew! All that cool, eccentric, unusual, and not infrequently off-color trivia was at the heart of an entertaining hourlong event courtesy of prolific local author Stephen Spignesi Thursday night at the Fair Haven Branch Library. The author of a remarkable 60 books on popular culture subjects and themes, some narrative and some encyclopedic and fact-listing in style — including a half dozen on Stephen King, four on the Beatles, two on Robin Williams, and two on the Titanic, among many others — Spignesi deployed all his eccentric presidential data from research he did for his 2012 tome Grover Cleveland’s Rubber Jaw Other Unusual, Unexpected, Unbelievable but All-True Facts About America’s Presidents. A former boy-book-reviewer wonder at age 19 for the New Haven Journal-Courier (absorbed into the New Haven Register in 1987), Spignesi went on to not only write books at a clip that at least in this author triggers intense vicarious carpal tunnel syndrome, he also taught writing and composition at (the then-monikered) Gateway Community College and the University of New Haven And he was right at home Thursday at the Fair Haven library, “my childhood library,” he said to David Caron, one of a small but enthusiastic and devoted audience gathered in the library’s downstairs community room. Both before and after the presentation, Caron, a denizen of Fair Haven for 50-plus years, and Spignesi, 73, shared a kind of living trivia in the best sense — memories of first jobs they had as teenagers delivering, for example, the New Haven Register early Sunday mornings; and of the A.C. Gilbert-manufactured toys they played with as kids. “Some of them were sharp and dangerous, but back then there were no warning labels,” Spignesi reminisced with Caron. One man’s trivia is of course another’s history obsession, and, as the presentation wound down, Caron and Spignesi swapped their takes on where George Washington had the experience with early inoculation techniques for small pox. Did it emerge from when, at age 19, Washington visited Barbados with his brother and there contracted — and survived — the disease? That rendered him immune for the rest of his life and enabled him to visit afflicted troops without fear of re-infection. When smallpox ravaged the Continental Army, Washington drew on that experience and mandated the then-controversial inoculation technique for his troops, the first mass military inoculation in American history. Or did Washington see the technique first used — and creatively devised — by his slaves back at Mount Vernon? The conversation wound down, and Spignesi arranged with librarian Tristan Evarts to be sure his Grover Cleveland’s Rubber Jaw would be on the shelves of the Fair Haven Branch for Caron and others to enjoy, and learn from, in the years ahead. Spignesi’s presidential trivia program follows on two earlier history-as-fun programs, one on maritime history and one called “Wicked New Haven,” about monsters and other such in the Elm City past. All are part of the New Haven Free Public Library’s system-wide “Rooted in Place: 250 Years Through New Haven’s Lens,’ which is ongoing. Click here for upcoming history programs at all the branches through September. Librarian Tristan Evarts (right) and long-time Fair Havener and history buff David Caron. The post LBJ Loved Fresca. Warren Harding Had Very Big Feet appeared first on New Haven Independent. ...read more read less