I think everyone has some superstition that they relate to, even if it's nothing more than saying "knock on wood" or making it a point to not walk under a ladder just in case. And then there's that moment's pause when they realize it's Friday the 13th.
The office of President of the United States does not make the occupant immune to adhering to the call of a superstition. I recently came across a list of some of the U.S. Presidents and their superstitious beliefs.
George Washington
On his deathbed in 1799, George Washington expressed his
fear of being buried alive. He insisted his body be untouched for two days
after his death. Common during the 18th century, this fear came due to the dead
being buried very quickly as bodies weren't embalmed.
William Henry Harrison
The Curse of Tippecanoe, also known as the 20-year curse, is
attributed to Harrison—elected in 1840 and died in 1841 after serving only 31
days as president. A dispute between President Harrison and Tecumseh, a Shawnee
Indian leader, is said to be the reason presidents who were elected or
re-elected in years ending in zero died in office—Lincoln, Garfield, McKinley,
Harding, Franklin Roosevelt, and Kennedy. Reagan, elected in 1980, survived an
assassination attempt which seems to have broken the curse.
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln claimed to have visions of the future and
accurately predicted his own death. He dreamed he saw his dead body and a
soldier told him he had been assassinated. He also saw two versions of himself
in a mirror which he interpreted to mean he would be elected to a second term
but would not survive it.
Ulysses S. Grant
President Grant had an unusual superstition that probably
served him well as president. Grant is quoted as saying, "Everyone has his
superstitions. One of mine has always been when I started to go anywhere, or to
do anything, never to turn back or to stop until the thing intended was
accomplished."
William McKinley
President McKinley always wore a red carnation on his lapel.
He gave away his lucky carnation if he thought someone needed luck and would
replace it with a new carnation. He gave away his good luck charm at the
Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York. During the event, Leon Czolgosz
shot McKinley who died on September 14, 1901.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
President Franklin Roosevelt feared the number 13—an
affliction called triskaidekaphobia—and avoided traveling on Fridays and the
13th day of each month. President Herbert Hoover also had the same affliction.
Harry S. Truman
Upon becoming president, Harry Truman put a horseshoe over
the door to his office in the White House. He also installed a horseshoe pit on
the White House lawn. Horseshoes are a symbol of good luck. They are typically
hung over the entrance to a home.
Gerald Ford
President Ford believed the election would be won by
whichever candidate's wife won the Family Circle baking contest. His wife,
Betty Ford, won the contest with her double chocolate chip cookie recipe.
Although her husband eventually became president, it wasn't until after Richard
Nixon resigned. Rosalyn Carter, Nancy Reagan, Barbara Bush, Hillary Clinton,
and Laura Bush all won the contest and their husbands were elected president.
Ronald Reagan
Nancy Reagan hired astrologer Joan Quigley to plan her
husband's schedule following an assassination attempt on Ronald Reagan. Quigley
guided the agenda concerning the president's cancer surgery as well as
diplomacy issues and Cold War meetings. When the press revealed Nancy's
involvement in astrology, she quickly downplayed it.
James Earl Carter
In 1969, Jimmy Carter saw a red and green orb. He was
convinced he saw a UFO and filed a report with the International UFO Bureau in
Oklahoma. A decade later, while serving as president, he claimed to see a
vicious rabbit on a solo fishing trip, but his staff brushed it off.
George W. Bush
As a young boy, George W. Bush supposedly saw ghosts coming
out of the walls near the Lincoln Bedroom at the White House. He described the
White House as "creepy." During his presidency, the White House's
website detailed the historic White House ghosts.
Barack Obama
In 2008 Obama said, "We realized that we had played
basketball before Iowa and before South Carolina. We didn't play basketball
before New Hampshire and Nevada. And so now, we've made a clear rule that on
Election Day I have to play basketball."
Donald J. Trump
Donald Trump has been known to throw salt over his left shoulder after a meal and has described himself as a "very superstitious person." The superstition itself originated from the believe that the devil lurked behind you. The salt supposedly distracted the devil from causing harm.
No comments:
Post a Comment