3. Calvin Coolidge’s Tomfoolery Was A Bit More Subtle:
Coollidge, known as “Silent Cal”, used restraint as part of his bone-dry humor. At a dinner party, a woman next to the president tried to engage in conversation by bringing up a bet she had made. She had bet, she told the reticent president, that she could get more than two words out of him. Coolidge responded to the woman: “You lose.”
The truth was, “Silent Cal” enjoyed pranks. Once, he had his aide fill up a bucket half with water and half with yellow beans. He then told the aide to scrub the brown spots off the beans. The aide would continue to do this until, after some time, another staffer told the aide that the only way to get the spots off the beans was with a knife.
Once, at a presidential breakfast with the Congress, the President poured some coffee and cream into a saucer and gestured that the crowd do the same. Coolidge then leaned down and gave the saucer to his dog. Needless to say, the crowd was embarrassed.
