How to Master the Hobbies of Your Favorite Former Presidents

Commit to these outrageous pastimes and you’ll fit in with your favorite political veterans. This is one of the highest forms of flattery!

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• A peanut-shaped balloon
• A sense of humor
• A bridge club
• A bucket of cold water

1. Go skinny dipping. John Quincy Adams took a nude dip in the Potomac River every morning at dawn. He became the first President to be interviewed by a woman when journalist Anne Royall found him in the water and sat on his clothes until he agreed to talk.
2. Prank fellow politicians. George H.W. Bush used to lighten up tense meetings with a wind-up bumblebee and a voice-activated monkey that hit itself on the head every time someone started talking. In his favorite game, Light ‘Em Up, he would roll down the windows in his limousine, pick someone out in a crowd and try to make them smile.
3. Go nuts for nuts. Jimmy Carter made millions off of his family peanut farm in Georgia, and he didn’t let his love for the protein packed snack stop there. He had a giant peanut shaped balloon fly over his own inauguration.
4. Become a card shark. Dwight Eisenhower and his wife, Mamie, were notorious for their bridge parties. They would regularly fly friends in to Washington, D.C. to make sure they had enough players.
5. Hit the green. Eisenhower wasn’t just a gamer. He spent an incredible 150 days a year playing golf.
6. Consult the spirits. Abraham Lincoln held regular séances on the White House grounds.
7. Soak your feet. Thomas Jefferson sat with his feet in cold water every morning for 60 years. He swore it was what led to his long lifespan of 83 years.