HAIL TO THE CHIEF

Did You Know JFK Was Not The Youngest In Office? 10 Presidential Facts

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The president of the United States is, to this date, one of the most powerful and influential political figures in the entire world. Since George Washington took the oath of office in 1789 on the balcony of the Federal Hall in New York City, each president has left a mark on the American and international political landscape. Stay tuned to discover 10 interesting stories about the people behind the mantle of the president and their lives in and out of the White House!

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On April 30, 1789, George Washington became the very first president of the United States of America. On top of that, he was the only president in the history of the United States to be unanimously elected—not only once, but twice.

A surveyor by trade, Washington was appointed as Commander in Chief of the Continental Army by the Second Continental Congress in 1775. He successfully led the American forces to victory during the Revolutionary War.

As the first President of the United States, George Washington established many traditions that continue to this day, chief among them the practice of serving for no longer than two consecutive terms. He is also an outlier—although he oversaw its construction, he is the only president who never got to live in the White House.

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Surveyor, storekeeper, postmaster, and wrestler—Abraham Lincoln was a man of many talents****and interests. At 6'4'', he is the tallest president to date. He also wore size 14 shoes, holding the record as the president with the largest shoe size.

On top of that, Abraham Lincoln was also the first US president to wear a full beard while in office. According to the story, an 11-year-old girl from New York urged him to grow it claiming that it would help Lincoln win the election.

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Thomas Jefferson has often been described as a Renaissance man. Besides his interest in politics, he was an avid reader, a polyglot who could speak, read, and write in at least four languages, and an accomplished architect.

Among his many accomplishments, Thomas Jefferson is best remembered as the principal author of the Declaration of Independence, for his service as the first Secretary of State under Washington, and as the third president of the United States.

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The only president to have served more than two terms—he was elected a total of four times—Franklin Delano Roosevelt is, to this date, the longest-serving U.S. president. His time in office was marked by the Great Depression and the outbreak of the Second World War. He has his fair share of critics, but FDR is still well-regarded as the president who saw the United States through some of the darkest times in history.

To keep his mind sharp, Franklin D. Roosevelt entertained himself with a myriad of hobbies. He was an avid stamp collector, and he also enjoyed bird-watching and sailing in his free time.

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Franklin D. Roosevelt's fifth cousin, Theodore Roosevelt, was an avid outdoor enthusiast. During his presidency, he established numerous National Parks, laying the groundwork for what would later become the National Park Service in 1916.

Theodore Roosevelt had a self-proclaimed photographic memory, which he put to good use: He was a prolific author, penning over 35 books covering a wide range of topics, from history and politics to nature and adventure.

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Woodrow Wilson had just a little over two years of experience in politics when he was elected to be the 28th president of the United States in 1912. Before that, he was a professional historian, teacher, and academic. He was, also, a regular golfer.

Wilson's presidency saw the United States enter the First World War and the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. He also signed the act that formally established the National Park Service as a federal bureau of the Department of Interior.

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Harry S. Truman was Franklin D. Roosevelt's vice president. He assumed the presidency of the United States in a time of turmoil, near the end of the Second World War in 1945. After the war, he implemented the Marshall Plan to aid in the reconstruction of Europe, and his tenure saw the beginning of the Cold War era.

Interestingly, his middle name is just the initial S. There is some controversy over whether it should be written with or without a period after the S. However, according to the Truman Library & Museum, he regularly used a period when writing his own name in correspondence.

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Before he became the 34th president of the United States, Dwight D. Eisenhower had a decades-spanning military career. He was the Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Forces in Europe during World War II. As president, he promoted peace and stability during the early years of the Cold War.

"Ike" enjoyed painting and golfing, and he often retreated to these hobbies to relax in times of turmoil.

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Born into the prominent and wealthy Kennedy family, John F. Kennedy was elected president of the United States at the age of 43. He is the second youngest president in U.S. history after Theodore Roosevelt, who became president at 42 when he succeeded William McKinley.

Kennedy was a member of the U.S. Navy and he was awarded the Purple Heart for his service in the Pacific during World War II. He enjoyed practicing sports, reading, and sailing, as he was known to doodle sailboats in his notes during stressful meetings.

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Ronald Reagan worked as a lifeguard, as a sports commentator, and pursued a successful acting career—he served as the president of the Screen Actors Guild twice—before turning to politics.

As the 40th president of the United States, his ability to effectively communicate with the public earned him a favorable reputation and the nickname "the Great Communicator."

Ronald Reagan enjoyed sports and horseback riding, and he often retreated to his ranch in California. Also, quite famously, he had a weakness for jelly beans. According to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, his favorite flavor was licorice.

INVISIBLE FORCES

10 Facts About Magnetism That Will Attract Your Attention

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Magnetism is one of the fundamental forces of our world, influencing everything from the structure of the universe to the behavior of living organisms. And from guiding migratory birds to powering MRI machines, the deep impact of magnetism on our everyday lives cannot be overstated.

Jump into the rabbit hole of the magnetic realm with these 10 peculiar facts that will leave you positively charged!

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As crazy as it sounds, every few hundred thousand years, Earth's magnetic field flips completely, causing the north and south poles to switch places. This strange phenomenon, known as geomagnetic reversal, has happened hundreds of times in Earth's history. Its cause remains elusive, and there’s no way to predict when the next one might occur. However, while a magnetic reversal could certainly wreak havoc on communication systems and power grids worldwide, it wouldn’t happen overnight, as the process takes several thousands of years.

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You might be familiar with the fact that trains and other large ferrous objects can effortlessly be made to levitate with the aid of magnetism. But did you know that even tiny creatures like frogs and small mammals can be levitated using strong magnetic fields? This is because water is diamagnetic - meaning that it repels magnetic fields - and under the influence of a sufficiently powerful magnetic field, droplets and even living organisms can be made to seemingly float.

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Magnetars are neutron stars with incredibly powerful magnetic fields. They can generate magnetic fields a quadrillion times stronger than that of Earth. These extreme magnets can disrupt the electron clouds of atoms from thousands of kilometers away.

It has been suggested that magnetars are the source of fast radio bursts, a strange deep-space phenomenon that resembles intentional radio signals that have puzzled scientists for decades.

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Several animals, including bees, sea turtles, and salmon, possess magnetoreception, the ability to sense magnetic fields. They use this ability for navigation, migration, and general orientation. Birds, in particular, use this ability to easily navigate the skies even on cloudy days or at night. Some scientists believe that even humans possess a dormant or semi-subconscious magnetic sense, but research into this exciting field is still in its infancy.

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The Sun exerts a tremendous magnetic influence on our planet. Solar flares and sunspots, for example, are caused by intense bursts of magnetic activity on its surface. These eruptions release vast amounts of energy and can seriously affect communication systems on Earth and even weaken the protective effect of our planetary magnetic field.

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Magnetism finds countless applications in medicine, with one of the most successful being MRI or Magnetic Resonance Imaging devices. MRI machines use powerful magnetic fields and radio waves to generate detailed images of the body's internal structures. Since its development in the late 70s, this non-invasive medical imaging technique has revolutionized diagnosis and treatment in healthcare globally.

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Auroras, also known as the Northern and Southern Lights, are caused by charged particles from the Sun interacting with Earth's magnetic field. The shape and color of auroras are determined by the strength and direction of these magnetic fields. Interestingly, large geomagnetic storms can influence the latitude at which auroras can be observed. During particularly strong historical events, they have been observed as far south as the Mediterranean.

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Magnetic refrigeration is a cooling technology that exploits the inherent thermal properties of magnetic fields to achieve refrigeration. While the technology has the potential to be more energy-efficient and environmentally friendly compared to traditional refrigeration methods, no commercially viable magnetic refrigerator has been made to this date.

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Some bacteria have tiny magnetic crystals inside their bodies, allowing them to align with Earth's magnetic field. This helps them navigate and find optimal environments for survival, such as low-oxygen habitats. However, unlike magnetoreception, this process is more akin to the movement of a compass needle, as the bacteria are forced into alignment rather than choosing to move in a certain direction.

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Magnetic storage devices, like hard disk drives and magnetic tape, use magnetization to store digital data. This is often accomplished by encoding a signal through small variations in electrical current that embed a proportional magnetic distribution into the storage device. Later, this distribution can be read to faithfully reproduce the original signal. Despite advancements in solid-state storage technology, magnetic storage remains a cost-effective and reliable option for large-scale data storage.