40 Pranks and Practical Jokes From Clever, Bored or Vengeful Celebrities

40 Devoted Bits of Trivia That’ll Be With Your Brain ‘Til the Bitter End

26 of the Dumbest Kitchen Accidents Witnessed by Restaurant Workers

40 Random Bits of Trivia We’ve Been Fermenting for Weeks and We Think Have Gained a Sort of Collective Sentience

40 Random Bits of Pop-Culture Trivia That Were Standing Right Behind You When You Were Talking About Them

33 Embarrassing Facts About U.S. Presidents and Other World Leaders

If you last 25 minutes at your next job, you’re doing a lot better than some world leaders

33 Embarrassing Facts About U.S. Presidents and Other World Leaders

March 24, 2024

If you never make anything of your life, the good news is: the world will forget about your worst day on the job or that one weird thing you like to do in the boudoir.

Click right here to get the best of Cracked sent to your inbox.

33

George W. Bush is most remembered for the war in Iraq. History likely won't be kind to Bush, after the Katrina response, economic recession, and controversial war. BUT PEOPLE HAVE FORGOTTEN ABOUT HIS TWO SEX SCANDALS. One involved an accusation by former stripper Tammy Phillips, who said she had an affair with Bush that ended in 1999. The other was a criminal complaint and lawsuit of rape by Margie Denise Schoedinger, who later committed suicide. Bush dismissed the accusations as grabs for attention, and they were swept under the rug. CRACKED COM http://www. whale fo/c/bush rape victim html http ://www — Source

32

Ulysses S. Grant was famously modest. During the Civil War, he would shower inside his tent. НЕ MANAGED TO HAVE CHILDREN WITHOUT TAKING OFF HIS CLOTHES. Late into his 60s, Grant bragged that no one had seen him naked since he was a child, not even the nurses and aides who were assigned to help him in the war. Yet Grant had a wife. And four children. CRACKED COM Daniel O'Brien 2014 How to Fight Presidents Defending Yourself Against the Badasses Who Ran This Country — Source

31

John Quincy Adams was a badass. Не was a shrewd negotiator who maintained a fitness regimen that included swimming the Potomac naked every morning. НЕ WAS ALSO A BIG FAN OF OUTDOOR BONING. And he assumed Americans invented it. The art of making love, muffled up in furs, in the open air, with the thermometer at Zero, is a Yankee invention, said Adams. CRACKED COM Phyllis Lee Levin, 2015 The Remarkable Education of John Quincy Adams — Source

30

Grover Cleveland served two non-consecutive terms. He's the only U.S. President to hold that distinction. | WANT MY PAT During his first campaign, detractors would chant, Ma, ma, where's my pa? After Cleveland won, supporters retorted, Gone to the White House, ha ha ha. НЕ WAS ALSO THE CENTER OF A HUGE SEX SCANDAL. Cleveland had a relationship with a woman named Maria Halpin, who became pregnant. The papers of the time reported that he then had Halpin committed to a mental institution, and the child sent to an orphange. Cleveland defended his actions by saying he wasn't convinced he was — Source

29

Woodrow Wilson got engaged shortly after his wife passed away. Just 10 months after the death of his wife Ellen, the 28th president became engaged to Edith Galt. AND THE PRESS MADE ONE OF THE SNARKIEST TYPOS IN HISTORY. The morning after Wilson took Edith out to a play, the Washington Post reported: Rather than paying attention to the play, the President spent the evening entering Mrs. Galt. Presumably, they meant entertaining Mrs. Galt. CRACKED COM http //deadpresidents tumblr — Source

28

George Washington died of a chill, in 1799. The official story was that he'd caught cold while riding his horse in the snow. HISTORIANS SAY НЕ CAUGHT COLD BECAUSE HIS PANTS WERE DOWN. Harvard historian Karal Ann Marling says Washington caught cold while jumping out of a window with his britches in his hand, when he was caught with an overseer's wife at Mt. Vernon. British historian Arnold Toynbee says Washington contracted the chill visiting a black beauty in his slave quarters. CRACKED COM Nigel Cawthorne 1998 Sex Lives of the Presidents — Source

27

John Tyler was called the Accidental President. Не was William Henry Harrison's vice president, and became our 10th president when Harrison died. НЕ MADE MORE BABIES THAN ANY OTHER PRESIDENT. Tyler was married twice, and fathered 15 children. Не conceived the last one when he was 70. Tyler was born in 1790, yet two of his grandchildren are still alive today. CRACKED COM http h/www.classroomhelp. com/essons/Presidents/tyler.html — Source

26

Ronald Reagan is a beloved conservative icon. His boyish charm made him everyone's favorite grandpa, when he was in office. BUT HE'S BEEN ACCUSED OF RAPE. In Kitty Kelley's 1991 book Nancy Reagan: The Unauthorized Biography, actress Selene Walters claimed that Ronald Reagan forced her to have sex with him when he was president of the Screen Actors Guild in 1952. She confirmed the story in an interview with People magazine. CRACKED COM http://www state com/articles/news_and_politics/chatterbox/1999/03/gipper_the_ripper.html — Source

25

Kennedy was widely known for his affairs. Не famously whined that if he went more than three days without sex, he'd get severe headaches. AND ONE OF HIS MISTRESSES COURIERED MESSAGES TO THE MAFIA. Her name was Judith Exner, and she spent 18 months passing letters between JFK and a man she knew as Sam Flood. Flood was actually Sam Giancana, the bigtime Chicago mob boss. Exner didn't know what was inside the envelopes she ferried back and forth, but later testified that she thought they might involve a plot between the president and the mob to kill Fidel Castro. — Source

24

Lyndon Johnson was proud of his dick. Не called it Jumbo, and boasted that he had more women by accident than Kennedy had on purpose. AND НЕ USED IT FOR POLITICAL PURPOSES. When meeting with world leaders, Johnson would invite them to go skinny-dipping in the White House pool. His plan was to establish genital dominance by showing them his dong. CRACKED COM http //www badettitudes com/Organ.html — Source

23

Andrew Jackson was an intense, angry man. The rage of America's 7th president was legendary. PARTLY BECAUSE HIS WIFE WAS SLUT-SHAMED TO DEATH. When Jackson married his wife Rachel, her divorce wasn't final. So they married a second time. During Jackson's election the opposing party was absolutely brutal, calling Rachel a convicted adulteress unfit to sit in the highest offices of this free and Christian land. Jackson won, but Rachel died just days before his inauguration. CRACKED COM fittp //www firstladies org/biographies/firstladies aspx ?biography=7 — Source

22

Thomas Jefferson famously had an affair with Sally Hemings. The relationship spanned 37 years, despite Hemings being Jefferson's slave. AND НЕ WAS A RAT ABOUT IT. Jefferson fathered and subsequently denied several of Hemings' children, while giving speeches explaining how a white man marrying a black woman would produce a degradation to which no lover of his country, no lover of excellence in the human character can innocently consent. CRACKED COM Irving Wallace 1981 The Intimate Sex Lives of Famous People — Source

21

Warren G. Harding was a busy man. The Library of Congress recently released 1,000 pages of love letters he wrote to Carrie Fulton Phillips. Harding actually paid Phillips to keep the letters secret. AND DNA TESTS HAVE FOUND THAT HARDING HAD A LOVE CHILD. In 2015, Harding's grandniece and grandnephew compared their DNA with the great-grandson of Nan Britton, a woman Harding denied he'd had an affair with before becoming the 29th president. They were a match. CRACKED COM http //www cnn com/2015/08/14/us/president-harding-affair-dna-revelation/ — Source

20

Franklin D. Roosevelt

Franklin D. Roosevelt is considered one of the top presidents of all time. Не steered us through the Depression and a war while developing a strong rapport with his public through his intimate Fireside Chats. НЕ WAS ALSO INTIMATE WITH ELEANOR'S SECRETARY. When Eleanor found out that FDR was sleeping with her secretary, Lucy Mercer, she offered him a divorce. Не refused. He's also rumored to have had affairs with his own secretary, Missy LeHand, and Princess Martha of Norway. CRACKED COM http :www.biography.com/news/fdr-and-his-women-21068973 — Source

19

Everyone liked Ike Eisenhower. Especially Kay Summersby, the English fashion model who served as his driver during World War II. SHE SAYS THEY WERE IN LOVE. After Eisenhower's death, Summersby published her memoirs. In her book, she says she and lke tried to have a baby, but lamented that he couldn't seal the deal because of his chronic erectile dysfunction. CRACKED COM Kay Summersby Morgan 1977 Past Forgetting My Love Affair with Dwight D Eisenhower — Source

18

Ever heard the Coolidge dejection It's a term used by sexologists, and is named after 30th president Calvin Coolidge. IT'S NAMED AFTER COOLIDGE'S BOREDOM WITH HIS WIFE. When Mrs. Coolidge was touring government chicken pens, she asked the man in charge if roosters copulate more than once a day. Dozens of times, was the reply. Please tell that to the president, Mrs. Coolidge requested. When the president passed the pens and was told about the rooster, he asked Same hen every time? Oh no, Mr. President, a different one each time. The president quipped, Tell that to Mrs. Coolidge. The — Source

17

Jimmy Carter is practically a saint. His presidency might have been unremarkable, but his work since he left office has been unmatched. LAYBO REAL MUC S BUT HIS HEART IS FULL OF LUST. In a 1976 Playboy interviewer, Carter said, I've looked on a lot of women with lust. I've committed adultery in my heart many times. Which seems almost adorable in retrospect - except that Carter's a born-again Christian and as such believes that gazing with lust is the same as adultery. CRACKED COM http //willrebbe commicrablog/2011/5/26/jimmy-carters-controversial-playboy-interview.html — Source

16

James Buchanan was the only bachelor to occupy the White House. Не was our 15th president, and served just before the Civil War. НЕ WAS ALSO THE ONLY GAY MAN. Buchanan had an ongoing relationship with William Rufus King, who served as Franklin Pierce's vice-president. The two lived together for many years, and Andrew Jackson referred to King as Miss Nancy. There was also sniggering over his future role in the White House as Buchanan's partner, although King died before Buchanan became president. CRACKED COM Bill Kelter, 2008. Veeps — Source

40 Random Bits of Trivia We’ve Been Fermenting for Weeks and We Think Have Gained a Sort of Collective Sentience

40 Random Bits of Pop-Culture Trivia That Were Standing Right Behind You When You Were Talking About Them

40 Sincere Bits of Trivia That Say What They Mean and Mean What They Say

30 Funny Reasons Employees Called Out of Work

40 Random Bits of Pop-Culture Trivia That Hatched From Their Leathery Shells and Must Make the Dangerous Trek to the Ocean

39 Random Bits of Pop-Culture Trivia Conservative Pundits Are Convinced Are Evidence of Satanic Worship

15

Russia

Shortest Reigns 18 hours Michael II of Russia Right between Nicholas Il's abdication and the Russian Revolution, Michael II was briefly Emperor of Russia in March, 1917, and we do mean briefly. Не was not ratified, though, as Russia's provisional government did not agree with the succession. Ultimately, Michael was killed by the Revolution. CRACKED.COM — Source

14

Shortest Reigns Siaka Stevens Stevens was both the shortest- and longest-serving prime minister of Sierra Leone. A military coup arrested him in 1967 just a few minutes after been sworn in. However, he returned some days later, took over again, and save for some interruptions and elections, ruled the country from 1968 until 1985. A few minutes (and 17 years) CRACKED.COM — Source

13

Shortest Reigns 13 days Pope Urban VII Urban pope'd it out for nearly two weeks in September 1590, before dying of malaria. And he was pretty cool for a Pope, probably because of his awesome rapper name. Не fought nepotism, cut down on luxury items for his court members, and subsidized bakeries and public work projects. CRACKED.COM — Source

12

Shortest Reigns 50 days Liz Truss In another win for corporate-coddling, poverty- creating, planet-burning conservatives everywhere, in 2022 Truss became the UK's shortest-serving prime minister after helming the position for 50 magnificent days. She will be fondly remembered for her charisma and powerful speeches on cheese. She was followed not by a general election but by another Tory politician, a sure recipe for success. CRACKED.COM — Source

11

William Henry Harrison

Shortest Reigns 31 days William Henry Harrison The ninth president of the U.S. rocked the position from March 4 to April 4, 1 841. Harrison was one of the three presidents the Whig Party ever had, and caught a deadly cold just three weeks after getting elected. Today, he's fondly remembered for not changing his clothes after a rainstorm, because that's communism. CRACKED.COM — Source

10

Shortest Reigns 9 days Jane Grey Grey (not to be confused with the mutant) was Queen of England and Ireland in 1553. She was picked by King Edward VI over his half-sister Mary, because Grey was a protestant. However, support for her quickly declined, and she was publicly beheaded on February 12, 1554, around the age of 17. CRACKED.COM — Source

9

Shortest Reigns 2 days Napoleon II The inferior sequel, Napoleon Bonaparte's son was Emperor of the French from April 2 to April 4, 1814. His dad abdicated after ruling the French empire for ten years, but when he tried to get his 20-year-old kid on the gig, the international coalition that had just defeated him did not like the idea. CRACKED.COM — Source

8

Saul Wahl

Shortest Reigns Saul Wahl Saul Wahl Katzenellenbogen was king of Poland on August 18, 1587. This apparently happened because the actual king died, and custom demanded that the throne always be occupied, even by a foreigner. Now, this is all the stuff of legend, but historians think there is a kernel of truth. 1 day CRACKED.COM — Source

7

Shortest Reigns 3 days Carlos Luz After the 1954 suicide of Brazilian president Getúlio Vargas, a crisis led to the next three people in line to hold the office during a period of 16 months. Luz lasted the shortest, from November 8 to November 11, 1955. Не was replaced over fears he'd prevent the new president-elect from taking office in 1956. CRACKED.COM — Source

6

Shortest Reigns Wanyan Chenglin Also known as Emperor Mo of Jin, Wanyan Chenglin was the shortest-ruling Chinese emperor. Не inherited the position in 1234 after the last great battle in the Mongol conquest of China, but was then immediately killed while trying to defend his city. 1 day CRACKED.COM — Source

5

Shortest Reigns A few hours Antipope Philip For a little while, Philip was the awesome-sounding Antipope. On July 31, 768, Philip was hanging out in his monastery when a Lombard army named him Pope following the death of Paul I. This was immediately declared invalid, and Philip returned home, never to be heard from again. Hey, you tried, buddy! CRACKED.COM — Source

4

Shortest Reigns 45 minutes Pedro Lascuráin On February 19, 1913, Lascuráin had the shortest presidency in Mexican history. It was all a ruse to make another guy president. (Also, he was named Pedro José Domingo de la Calzada Manuel María Lascuráin Paredes, something we had to mention.) CRACKED.COM — Source

3

Shortest Reigns 20 minutes Luis II of Portugal For 20 glorious minutes, prince Luís Filipe was king of Portugal. Except that it was an awful 20 minutes, because he was king just for as long as he lived after an attack that first killed his father, King Carlos I, in February of 1908. CRACKED.COM — Source

2

Shortest Reigns 20 minutes Louis XIX of France Louis got the no non-gig after King Charles X abdicated in 1830, and he apparently spent his entire reign having his wife telling him not to abdicate as well. Most perfect sitcom pilot ever. CRACKED.COM — Source

1

Shortest Reigns 1 day Joseph Goebbels Goebbels was German chancellor for about a day in early May, 1945. After Hitler killed himself, Goebbels unsuccessfully tried to surrender to the Soviets, and then poisoned his children along with his doctor and his wife. The couple then killed themselves too, proving the one major talent of the Nazis: losing. CRACKED.COM — Source

Tags:

Visual

Scroll down for the next article

Must Read

Trivia & Jokes

12 Farm-Fresh Trivia Tidbits for Thursday, March 20, 2025

Movies & TV

Morgan Wallen Is the Shane Gillis of ‘SNL’ Musical Guests

Movies & TV

The Guy Who Lives in Carrie Bradshaw’s Apartment Is Fed Up With ‘Sex and the City’ Tourists

Science & History

40 Intergalactic Bits of Outer Space Trivia From a Galaxy Far, Far Away

Movies & TV

John Cleese Is Trying His Hand at Chevy Chase’s Movie Screening Tour Racket

Trivia & Jokes

36 of the Funniest Tweets from Thursday, March 20, 2025

VIRAL ON CRACKED

1

20 Celebs That Need A Reality Check

2

48 Hollywood Secrets and Paranoid Fan Theories to Fuel Your Conspiracy Brain

3

21 Debunked Food Myths

4

The Pentagon Just Scrubbed a Sitcom Legend’s War Record From Their Website

5

15 Iconic Couples Who Despised Each Other