ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times

DATE: Friday, August 30, 1996                TAG: 9608300016
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: 1    EDITION: METRO 
COLUMN: Friday Something
SOURCE: NANCY GLEINER

DIRT ON PAST PRESIDENTS

Watch out for slung mud! With the presidential campaigns in full swing and both candidates armed, it's going to get a lot thicker out there now.

We're not the first generation to dig up dirt on White House hopefuls. Here are some tidbits from the past:

President George Washington never had wooden false teeth. He owned dentures made of hippo ivory, lead and the teeth of other mammals.

President John Quincy Adams took morning swims in the Potomac River - naked!

President William Howard Taft, weighing in at 300-350 pounds, once got stuck in a White House bathtub. He had it replaced with one that could hold four normal-sized men.

President Calvin Coolidge enjoyed being photographed wearing Indian headdresses and Boy Scout uniforms. He also had an electronic horse installed in the White House, which he rode almost daily.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt had a German shepherd named Major - who was famous for biting politicians.

- Source: Wooden Teeth and Jelly Beans

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