Picture a presidential pet. You probably think of a dog or cat. The most popular pet of the White House has been a dog, owned by 30 of the 45 presidents. But there have been a few more unusual pets residing there. Andrew Jackson’s parrot was kicked out of Jackson’s funeral for swearing.
John Quincy Adams and Herbert Hoover both kept alligators in the White House. Was that part of the security team? Adams even let his alligator live in the White House bathroom. He loved to surprise guests that way!
In the country’s early years, foreign dignitaries often gifted exotic animals to the president. When the Sultan of Oman gave Martin Van Buren a pair of tiger cubs Congress stepped in and made the president send the cubs to a zoo, much to the displeasure of Van Buren.
An entire menagerie sometimes grew at the White House. Teddy Roosevelt had a collection that included a zebra, bears and a lion. Roosevelt’s daughter, Alice, also kept a garter snake named Emily Spinach as a pet.
James Buchanan opened his home to an eagle. To cut lawn-cutting costs in the White House during World War I, President Woodrow Wilson brought in a flock of sheep to graze the lawns and keep the grass trim. Among them, was a tobacco chewing ram called Old Ike.
Coolidge’s collection was a bit more than Rebecca the Raccoon. He also had two lion cubs and an exotic wallaby, plus a pygmy hippo named Billy. Pauline Wayne, the cow, belonged to President William Taft. Pauline Wayne grazed the White House lawn during Taft’s presidency from 1909 to 1913 and provided milk and butter for the first family.
John F. Kennedy brought pet hamsters Debbie and Billie; a gray cat-Tom Kitten; and a canary-Robin, to the White House. Eventually, pony Macaroni (who belonged to President Kennedy’s daughter, Caroline) and pony Tex arrived. Pushinka was a dog gifted by the Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev; Welsh terrier Charley; German shepherd Clipper; cocker spaniel Shannon; parakeets Maybelle and Bluebell; and Wolf, an Irish wolfhound, would come and go. Wow! What a houseful! More recent presidents tend to stick with cats and dogs.
In the 1950s Lucille Ball was an unstoppable comedic force. As a star of her own television show, she also pioneered the idea of reruns. Her company – Desilu Productions invented and syndicated reruns.
Lucy was always looking for the next trend in television. Her studio launched hits like “The Dick Van Dyke Show” and “The Andy Griffith Show”. By the 1960s Lucille Ball was head of Desilu Productions after buying out Desi Arnaz. This made her one of the most powerful women in Hollywood. In 1963 Ball recognized the next big hits – “Mission: Impossible” and “Star Trek”.
Desilu’s Board of Directors told Lucy that “Star Trek” would be a huge flop. It would be too expensive thanks to all the space technology. But Lucy overruled the objections and pushed for a pilot. The pilot tanked, but Lucy funded a reshoot that ended up launching the massive franchise. Star Trek exists today because Lucille Ball believed in herself and the story.
Hedy Lamarr is noted for being a star of the silver screen in the 1940s. Few know of her patent that provided the Allies an edge during World War II. Born in early 20th Century Vienna, Lamarr broke into movies in the 30s. When war threatened, she fled to London where she met Louis B. Mayer, one of the founders of MGM Studios. Mayer quickly recognized her potential and transformed her into a Hollywood star.
A chance connection with Howard Hughes changed history. Both loved science. Hughes gifted Lamarr equipment to develop inventions and along the way provided a tour of his airplane factories. Hughes mentioned he wanted to make his planes faster. Based on her study of fish and birds, Lamarr sketched a new wing design for Hughes’ airplanes. Hughes thought her new design was genius and Phenomenal!
Lamarr’s greatest invention was yet to come. Hedy Lamarr collaborated with composer George Antheil to create a new guidance system for torpedoes that they hoped would provide the Allies an edge during the War. Some sources state Hedy received a patent for this innovation. Other sources state Hedy Lamarr was left off the patent for the frequency-hopping device because she was not a U.S. citizen.
Frequency hopping is used in wireless communications of today like Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Lamarr and Antheil found a way for the radio guidance transmitter and the torpedo’s receiver to jump simultaneously from frequency to frequency, making it impossible for the enemy to locate and block a message before it had moved to another frequency.
Sadly, the U.S. Navy dismissed Lamarr’s contribution, telling her she’d be more useful selling war bonds. Wanting to help in any way she could, she agreed, raising 25 million dollars. Fortunately, her invention didn’t go to waste.
The US Navy initially pretended to be uninterested in her creation, but then inevitably stole it and by the 1960s it had been incorporated into their weapon systems. It was one of the key communication systems used during the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Lamarr was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2014 for the development of her frequency hopping technology. Such achievement has led movie stat Hedy Lamarr to be dubbed “the Mother of Wi-Fi” and other wireless communications like GPS and Bluetooth.
Times R a changing. Just a reminder: Wedsworth library changes to winter hours on Tuesday, September 5. Hours are: Monday 9-1; 2-6, Tuesday 9-1; 3-5, Wednesday – Friday 2-5.
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