McKinley had a yellow-headed amazon parrot named Washington Post that could whistle "Yankee Doodle Dandy". McKinley thought Washington Post so clever that he appointed him official White House greeter. The parrot took his position quite seriously and did his best to make everyone feel welcome, especially women. Whenever a woman would walk by his cage, Washington Post would pipe up: "Look at all the pretty girls!"

Hayes was wounded five times during the Civil War, most seriously at the Battle of South Mountain in 1862. Encountering Confederates at Fox's Gap, he led a charge against their entrenched position and was shot through his left arm, fracturing the bone. He had one of his men tie a handkerchief above the wound in an effort to stop the bleeding and continued to lead his men in the battle.

Telephones and a telephone switchboard had been in use at the White House since 1878, when President Rutherford B. Hayes had the first one installed, but no phone had ever been installed at the president's desk until Hoover's administration.

Eisenhower believed that if the communists were allowed to prevail in Vietnam, this would cause a succession of countries to fall to communism, from Laos through Malaysia and Indonesia ultimately to India. Likewise, the fall of Guatemala would end with the fall of neighboring Mexico. The domino theory was used by successive United States administrations during the Cold War to justify the need for American intervention around the world.

On December 26, 1776, Monroe took part in a surprise attack on a Hessian encampment at the Battle of Trenton. Though the attack was successful, Monroe suffered a severed artery in the battle and nearly died. In the aftermath, George Washington cited Monroe for bravery and promoted him to captain.

Adams was inaugurated on March 4, 1825. He took the oath of office on a book of constitutional law, instead of the more traditional Bible.

He died of typhoid, pneumonia or paratyphoid fever just 31 days into his term, making him the first president to die in office and the shortest tenured. His death sparked a brief constitutional crisis regarding succession to the presidency, because the Constitution was unclear as to whether Vice President John Tyler should assume the office of president or merely execute the duties of the vacant office.

Almost immediately after his death, rumors began to circulate that Taylor was poisoned by pro-slavery Southerners, and similar theories persisted into the 20th century. In the late 1980s, Clara Rising, a former professor at the University of Florida, persuaded Taylor's closest living relative to agree to an exhumation so that his remains could be tested. Neutron activation analysis conducted at Oak Ridge National Laboratory revealed no evidence of poisoning, as arsenic levels were too low.

In 1889, Harrison had a 36-second speech recorded on a wax phonograph cylinder, making him the first president in history whose voice was preserved for posterity.

The New Deal was a series of programs, public work projects, financial reforms, and regulations enacted by FDR between 1933 and 1939. It responded to needs for relief, reform, and recovery from the Great Depression.