Inaugural Flotsam and Jetsam

Some spiffy facts taken from Inaugural05.com

- George Washington - Pronounced the words, "So help me God" after taking the oath; other presidents have followed this example and he also set the precedent of kissing the Bible after the oath

- Thomas Jefferson - the first and probably only president to walk to and from his inaugural and also the first president to be inaugurated at the Capitol in Washington, D.C.

- William H. Harrison - Longest inaugural address (10,000 words). Broke precedent by beginning address, taking oath, and then resuming address.

- James Buchanan - One grand Inaugural Ball, where the 6,000 guests consumed $3000 worth of wine, 400 gallons of oysters, 500 quarts of chicken salad, 1200 quarts of ice cream, 60 saddles of mutton, 8 rounds of beef, 75 hams, and 125 tongues. Hmmmm... saddles of mutton and tongues...

- Ulysses S Grant - First food fight at an inaugural ball.

- William McKinley - First inaugural recorded by movie camera.

- Theodore Roosevelt - The only President not sworn in on a Bible.

- Warren G. Harding - First president to ride to and from his inaugural in an automobile.

- Calvin Coolidge - Oath of office given by the president's father, a Vermont Justice of the Peace.

- Franklin D. Roosevelt - First president to be inaugurated on the January 20th date, a change made by the 20th Amendment to the Constitution.

- Harry S. Truman - First inauguration to be televised.

- John F Kennedy - As the first Catholic elected president, Kennedy was the first to use a Catholic (Douay) version of the Bible for his oath. Last President to wear a stopepipe hat.

- Lyndon B. Johnson - The oath was administered in an airplane. First time the oath was administered by a woman, Sarah T. Hughes, U. S. District Judge of the Northern District of Texas.

- Ronald Reagan (2nd Inaugural) - First inaugural that fell on a Super Bowl Sunday.

- William J. Clinton - First time that the ceremony was broadcast live on the Internet.