Before cats and dogs became the go-to, a number of U.S. Presidents had unusual pets. |
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| B efore cats and dogs became the go-to, a number of U.S. Presidents had unusual pets. Thomas Jefferson had bear cubs, Calvin Coolidge kept a raccoon in the White House, and Theodore Roosevelt counted guinea pigs, a bear, and a hyena among his dozens of animals. That makes the fact that Andrew Jackson had an African grey parrot named Poll less odd, but what is strange is that the bird was kicked out of Jackson's funeral for swearing. This knowledge comes to us courtesy of Samuel G. Heiskell's book Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History, which quotes Reverend William Menefee Norment as observing: "Before the sermon and while the crowd was gathering, a wicked parrot that was a household pet got excited and commenced swearing so loud and long as to disturb the people and had to be carried from the house." |
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| Sadly, the good reverend didn't detail the specifics of Poll's outburst beyond saying that it was "excited by the multitude and… let loose perfect gusts of 'cuss words,'" causing some to be "horrified and awed at the bird's lack of reverence." What became of Poll following the funeral is unknown, but it isn't uncommon for African greys to outlive their owners — they've been known to live up to 60 years in captivity. |
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By the Numbers |
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| Years Jackson spent as a justice of the Tennessee Supreme Court | | | 6 |
| | | Age reached by Cookie, the oldest known parrot | | | 82 |
| | | Age reached by Cookie, the oldest known parrot | | | 82 |
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| Weight, in pounds, of a block of cheese Jackson kept in the White House | | | 1,400 |
| | | Words learned by a parrot named Puck, a world record | | | 1,728 |
| | | Words learned by a parrot named Puck, a world record | | | 1,728 |
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 | | Did you know? |
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Andrew Jackson may have been in over 100 duels. |
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| Andrew Jackson was known to be as thin-skinned as he was quick-tempered, leading him to challenge many a foe to a duel — around 100, by some counts. Most of these confrontations involved little more than the combatants firing their guns into the air as a show of courage for not rejecting the initial challenge, but at least one turned deadly. It began when fellow horse breeder and longtime rival Charles Dickinson leveled a series of insults at Jackson (a dispute over a horse bet, among other things), and ended with Dickinson's death on May 30, 1806. Jackson barely escaped with his own life, as Dickinson fired upon him and hit the future President near the heart. The bullet was never removed, and Jackson carried it with him for the rest of his life. |
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