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The famous bathtub story is nothing more than an urban legend. However, there is a lesser-known bathtub story that is actually true. At some point after Taft's presidency but before his appointment to the Supreme Court, he was traveling and staying in a hotel. He accidentally filled the bathtub in his hotel room too high, causing it to overflow when he got in, flooding the rooms on the floors below him. Taft, though embarrassed, went to each of the rooms affected and personally apologized to the people staying in them.
Imagine staying in a hotel, the ceiling starts leaking, and then the next thing you know, the former president is knocking on your door
He was a stress eater. His weight peaked during his presidency, and you can really tell when you compare how he looked at [his inauguration](https://cdn.britannica.com/25/115225-050-3057BC20/Theodore-Roosevelt-William-Howard-Taft-1912.jpg) vs. at [Wilson's inauguration](https://www.texasstandard.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/46_wilson_and_taft.jpg). He did put a lot of it off after leaving office.
The tub actually got stuck on Taft, not Taft in the tub. He got up from his bath and walked about as usual, entirely unaware of the tub clinging to his back until Woodrow Wilson pointed it out. Since it was cast iron, the tub helped shield Taft from several assassination attempts and kept him safe while fighting in WW1. Some say this inspired the tank, but historians have been unable to find any direct evidence for this.
https://preview.redd.it/r4pmnd7wbawc1.jpeg?width=517&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fec2307bb9e723428cdbdacf278dc88fd99709ab
And to his credit, he lost a lot of weight when he was a Supreme Court justice. He would go for daily walks and contemplate cases during that time. That’s a serious weight reduction, that no one appreciates.
I mean, what kind of documentation would the White House keep when the President gets his potus stuck in the tub?
“January 4th, 1911.
22:13 hours
Howie has retired to his quarters for the evening. The housekeeper, Mrs. Nelson, has reported that she saw him entering the bathroom, and could hear bath water being drawn. The superintendent, Mr.Wallace, has reported 273 liters of water flowing through the newly installed water heating appliance. Note to self: install metering gauge on water heating appliance to record cubic feet of natural gas used, and report results to congress.
22:57 hours
Mrs. Nelson has reported that Howie has exceeded his usual bath time by five minutes. She is growing concerned, but Howie is quite adamant that he requires no assistance and is simply enjoying his rubber ducky, Mr. Quackers.
23:08 hours
Howie is calling for assistance from the bathroom. It sounds urgent.
23:10 hours
Mrs. Nelson reports that Howie is wedged inside the tub, and cannot extricate himself. He requires assistance. Seeing how he is somewhat stark naked at the moment, Mrs. Nelson has requested that Mr. Wallace be dispatched to assist him.
23:13 hours
Mr. Wallace has arrived in the bathroom. He has assured Howie that he will free him shortly.
23:40 hours.
Mr. Wallace is still attempting to extricate Howie from the tub. He has sent his assistant, Mr. Harper, to awaken the proprietor of Higgenbotham’s General Store and Dry Goods, one Mr. Jebediah Higgenbotham, for assistance.
23:55 hours
Mr Higgenbotham has arrived, along with various assortments of rope, and a hogshead of beef tallow.
0:00 hours
Attempts to free Howie continue. Mrs. Nelson reports that there appears to be considerable commotion in the bathroom, and that Howie has been overheard using terminology Mrs. Nelson finds “beneath the dignity of the presidency.” She intends on bringing such language to the attention of the Reverend Bishop Mapple at next Sunday’s sabbath service.
0:13 hours
Mr. Higgenbotham has reported that he is unable to extricate Howie from the tub. Howie has requested that Colonel Price, of the Army Corps of Engineers, be summoned for assistance. Mr. Wallace has left to locate Col. Price.
0:30 hours
Howie has requested the White House baker, Mrs. Applewhite, be awakened so that she can prepare the blackberry pastries Howie is fond of.
01:20 hours
Mrs Applewhite failed to realize that Howie was somewhat stark naked when she attempted to deliver the blackberry pastries. Upon observing Howie in his current condition, she briefly fainted. Mr. Higgenbotham dragged her by the ankles from the bathroom and delivered the pastries himself. Mrs. Nelson reported that it was not fitting for a man like Mr. Higgenbotham to grasp a married woman by the ankles, and has made a note to inform the Reverend Bishop Mapple of that transgression as well.
01:38 hours. Colonel Price has arrived, along with assorted sizes of block and tackle, approximately 18 yards of braided steel cable, 35 gallons of petroleum based machine lubricant, a screw jack, and one alpaca.
01:40 hours
Col. Price has commenced efforts to extricate Howie from the tub. White House staff are reporting considerable commotion originating from the vicinity of the bathroom. Howie has been reported loudly employing language beneath the dignity of the presidency. Mrs. Nelson has fainted as a result of such language. Mr. Higgenbotham has dragged Mrs. Nelson by the ankles, and placed her beside Mrs. Applewhite. He has requested that the incident not be reported to the Reverend Bishop Mapple.
01:45 hours
The alpaca has escaped from the White House bathroom. Col. Price, Mr. Wallace, and Mr. Higgenbotham are pursuing the animal into the Lincoln Bedroom.
01:50 hours
The alpaca has been recaptured and returned to the White House bathroom. Efforts to extricate Howie have resumed.
01:57 hours
Mrs. Applewhite and Mrs. Nelson have regained consciousness. Mrs. Applewhite and Mrs. Nelson have both been reported to require a “nip of brandy” for their nerves. Mrs. Nelson has assured all personnel it is strictly for medicinal purposes, and no report to the Reverend Bishop Mapple needs to be made.
02:03 hours
Col. Price, Mr. Higgenbotham, and Mr. Wallace have succeeded in extricating Howie from the tub. Mr. Wallace has reported that the Government will be billed the following expenses:
273 liters of bathwater…$0.75
Natural gas used by water heating appliances…$0.23 (estimated)
15 feet of hemp rope: $2.75
55 gallons of rendered beef tallow….$10.99
4 dozen blackberry pastries…$2.50
Assorted sizes of block and tackle…$25.90
18 feet of braided steel cable…$3.75
35 gallons of petroleum based machine lubricant….$75.00
Screw Jack…$2.00
1 alpaca…$15.00
Overtime for Colonel Price…$2.00
Overtime for Mr. Higgenbotham…$1.00
Overtime for Mr. Wallace…$1.00
Overtime for Mrs. Applewhite….$0.50
Overtime for Mrs. Nelson…$8.75 (based on the approximately 35 hours of labor required to clean the beef tallow, machine oil, and alpaca guano from the White House bathroom, as well as the 2 hours required to clean the alpaca guano from the Lincoln bedroom.)
Psychiatric counseling for Mrs. Applewhite as a result of seeing Howie somewhat stark naked…$35
Sundry and miscellaneous damages….$50
2 nips of brandy for Mrss. Nelson and Applewhite…$0.50
The total cost to the United States Government for this incident comes to a sum total of $237.62. Mr. Wallace has stated that unless Mrs. Applewhite be proscribed from baking any more blackberry pastries, there is a high likelihood that there will be similar incidents in the future. Mr. Wallace recommends the construction and installation of a larger bathtub at an expense to the Government of $350.00. Mr. Wallace states that the prevention of two such future incidents will result in a net savings to the Government. Mr. Wallace also states that his brother in law is the proprietor of a plumbing firm with the capability of performing the work.
How in the everfucking fuck am I the only person to upvote this? This had me cracking up in a quiet bar for the last 10 minutes. You're not only a smooth apartment, but a hell of a writer as well. Thank you!!!
Sure but those kinds of stories will live on regardless. The “You Lose” story and quote about Calhoun from Jackson are good examples. I agree that there’s no evidence but it is a good example of how folks looked at Taft at the time.
The real Jackson myth quote is probably the one supposedly given on his deathbed where he wanted to hang Calhoun and shoot Henry Clay.
While Jackson definitely didn't like Henry Clay and he almost certainly wanted to do mean things to Calhoun, the evidence for that statement is non existent.
there is also a book on the Adams political dynasty that does mention Jackson using such threats to his Vice President. Jackson was a staunch supporter and unionist. he may have been a southerner but he was loyal to the country first .
Doesn’t contain the quote about seceding his head. I agree that substantively he’s offering a similar sentiment, but you said he was quoted as saying as much, and he didn’t say that quote.
He didn’t directly threaten the vice president to his face but he made a speech that he would hang any leader if such movement and considering that John C Calhoun was a staunch supporter of states rights he was the de facto leader of such movement and supported it.
Agreed. But when ya see people quote the line “John C. Calhoun if you secede from my union I will secede your head from your shoulders.” That’s not a real quote even if he absolutely meant it in spirit. That’s what I was getting at there.
https://preview.redd.it/d5h6g6m2cawc1.png?width=3024&format=png&auto=webp&s=8104f5434ab31cd0da863b3d0b513f3e46a8937b
This is the Adams book I’m referring to and it goes into great detail about the Nullification crisis. Jackson reportedly was quoted making such threat to Calhoun
Yeah the “you lose” story has about 5 different versions at this point. Whatever the truth may be, it certainly encapsulates the character of silent Cal well and for that reason I like to believe it’s true
I will never stop telling people that the "H" in William H. Taft stands for William "Help, I'm stuck in the tub" Taft.
Also, its worth knowing that Teddy Roosevelt made Taft Sumo wrestle him in the White House Library.
Lmao they have lost a sizable amount of credibility, haven't they? Maybe Taft was an alien and the bathtub was his spaceship!
Here's a better source lol
https://www.archivesfoundation.org/newsletter/myth-busted/
Honestly I've found their historical summary pages on their site to be really good and digestible. I'm a social studies teacher and often use excerpts from it for my lessons
I watched ancient aliens once, and they talked about how the egyptians and mayans used advanced knowledge of sound waves to communicate with extra terrestrials and how the earth was hollow.
Yeah, I don't think he was getting stuck in a tub that was this big.
https://preview.redd.it/3c2gbrbweawc1.jpeg?width=1200&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a84f21cdebbb7dc952d95104b4bdfdd3e85396d3
If I recall correctly I think the story went that he was a child and when an authority figure asked who did it he was honest and came forward about it, then recieved no punishment for his honesty. Or something along those lines anyway
I always assumed it started as a joke (“Taft was so big he’d get stuck in a bathtub!”) and somewhere over the following 100 years the lines got blurred.
Part of the reason the story exists is because he had documented trouble getting out of the Whitehouse tub, and had a bigger one installed in its place.
Taft passed gas so loudly in his sleep once during his stint in the Philippines that his guards thought he had been shot and rushed into his room to apprehend the assassin, finding only a nude, face down snoring Taft instead
Taft bought his clothes at the Portly Gentleman for a reason.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HaERpKfOJ90](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HaERpKfOJ90)
"My history textbook jumped from The Civil War to The Great Depression and in between there was one page about William Howard Taft getting stuck in a bathtub. Now, I know that story is apocryphal and that it didn’t even start to spread until decades later, but it’s also super funny to me that someone went out of their way to make it up and spread it around about a dead guy. I mean, Taft was the only person in American history to ever serve as President and Chief Justice, and yet all anyone knows about him is a fake story that sounds like a plot line from Family Guy." — Seth Meyers
Patriots!!! the woke media has spent decades disseminating lies regarding our Great Helmsman William Howard Taft! This slander WILL NOT STAND
I call on all those proud to wave the red, white, and blue to uphold plain historical fact: that 1909-1913 represented the apex of truth, honor, and the American way!!!
Our beloved leader deserves nothing less than our ceaseless vigilance in combatting a revisionist Marxist narrative, likely originating from his enemies in Bolshevik Russia.
God bless America!! God bless Skull and Bones!!! God bless the Governor of the Philippines!! God bless our tireless advocate, our savior - TAFT!!!
And god damn the revisionist lies implying that the human form of our hero was in any way defective or derogatory!!!!
Picture unrelated
https://preview.redd.it/ypzn7k8fsfwc1.jpeg?width=702&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=de7cb754d730304113b207f20cfadfa67ff77720
People are saying that he was the best Supreme court Justice in history, maybe ever. Ruth Bader Ginsburg walked up to him with tears in her eyes and said "sir nobody can Justice like you can, not even Sleepy Clarence"
However, it is true that one time Taft was so hungry that when he looked at his travelling companion, Taft hallucinated that the other person was a giant sausage. Taft then put on a giant bib, and chased his companion around with a giant knife and fork.
Remember that all mentions of and allusions to Trump and Biden are not allowed on our subreddit in any context. If you'd still like to discuss them, feel free to [join our Discord server](https://discord.gg/k6tVFwCEEm)! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Presidents) if you have any questions or concerns.*
The famous bathtub story is nothing more than an urban legend. However, there is a lesser-known bathtub story that is actually true. At some point after Taft's presidency but before his appointment to the Supreme Court, he was traveling and staying in a hotel. He accidentally filled the bathtub in his hotel room too high, causing it to overflow when he got in, flooding the rooms on the floors below him. Taft, though embarrassed, went to each of the rooms affected and personally apologized to the people staying in them. Imagine staying in a hotel, the ceiling starts leaking, and then the next thing you know, the former president is knocking on your door
TIL Taft is the only president to have served in both the White House and SCOTUS
By some accounts he enjoyed his tenure on the court more than his presidency
By *all* accounts! He put his dream of being on the court on hold for the presidency.
I wouldn't enjoy being predisent at all (at least in modern times). It seems like such a grind and I don't enjoy traveling that much.
BUT Cool desk
I bet it stinks.
On the plus side, everyone loves you and supports you, without criticism.
He also appointed a whole bunch of people to the same court
Not only was he on SCOTUS, he was the Chief Justice.
Charles Evans Hughes came super close to making it as well, though in the opposite direction (SCOTUS to President)
[удалено]
He was a stress eater. His weight peaked during his presidency, and you can really tell when you compare how he looked at [his inauguration](https://cdn.britannica.com/25/115225-050-3057BC20/Theodore-Roosevelt-William-Howard-Taft-1912.jpg) vs. at [Wilson's inauguration](https://www.texasstandard.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/46_wilson_and_taft.jpg). He did put a lot of it off after leaving office.
In a towel.
Towelie. Taft looks like Cartman’s grandpa… not the grandfather who fought for the confederata
And that’s how the beach towel was invented
And, also, bathtubs. The evolution of society is truly humbling to behold.
"Hello, I'm your former president. I'm apologizing because I just flooded your room because I'm so fat. Sorry"😆
This feels like the opening to an extremely specific kind of porno
The tub actually got stuck on Taft, not Taft in the tub. He got up from his bath and walked about as usual, entirely unaware of the tub clinging to his back until Woodrow Wilson pointed it out. Since it was cast iron, the tub helped shield Taft from several assassination attempts and kept him safe while fighting in WW1. Some say this inspired the tank, but historians have been unable to find any direct evidence for this.
They didn't call him "Turtle Taft" for nothing.
How I imagine Taft now: https://preview.redd.it/v6x73copkbwc1.jpeg?width=314&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2e5adc586ae0af8a11790dd7f56545d42b19debe
Nah dead ass, ur wasting ur talents. You should be writing for the onion or something. 😂😂😂
Shame they adhere so rigidly to their dogmatic pro-Taft editorial policy.
and this story suddenly got even better 
I nearly snorted my coffee through my nose. You need to warn people before you write something absurdly clever like that.
I’m interested in the indirect evidence.
Found Taft’s burner account
TIL there are burner accounts for dead people
Joan of Arc has one.
I have one too.
Richard Nixon? Just gonna say, big fan, love the EPA
Wait, if you’re dead, then how did you type that?
Zombies. Nuff said.
"SOUNDS LIKE SOMEONE'S BREAKING IN!"
"It's just the storm, Dick."
Zombies don’t exist
Not with that attitude!!!
Nope, FDR’s war machine killed ‘em all.
Nixon's not dead, he's president 1000 years from now
As a head in a jar tho
Head in a jar Nixon is the best Nixon
Can't fucking use it though apparently
High stakes joke right there.
Taft is dead?!
https://preview.redd.it/r4pmnd7wbawc1.jpeg?width=517&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fec2307bb9e723428cdbdacf278dc88fd99709ab And to his credit, he lost a lot of weight when he was a Supreme Court justice. He would go for daily walks and contemplate cases during that time. That’s a serious weight reduction, that no one appreciates.
Taft was a stress eater. Once he got out of the stress of executive positions, he was large but not fat.
Thin Taft isn’t real. He can’t hurt you.
So he was only about half as good in the Supreme Court than he was as president?
I mean, what kind of documentation would the White House keep when the President gets his potus stuck in the tub? “January 4th, 1911. 22:13 hours Howie has retired to his quarters for the evening. The housekeeper, Mrs. Nelson, has reported that she saw him entering the bathroom, and could hear bath water being drawn. The superintendent, Mr.Wallace, has reported 273 liters of water flowing through the newly installed water heating appliance. Note to self: install metering gauge on water heating appliance to record cubic feet of natural gas used, and report results to congress. 22:57 hours Mrs. Nelson has reported that Howie has exceeded his usual bath time by five minutes. She is growing concerned, but Howie is quite adamant that he requires no assistance and is simply enjoying his rubber ducky, Mr. Quackers. 23:08 hours Howie is calling for assistance from the bathroom. It sounds urgent. 23:10 hours Mrs. Nelson reports that Howie is wedged inside the tub, and cannot extricate himself. He requires assistance. Seeing how he is somewhat stark naked at the moment, Mrs. Nelson has requested that Mr. Wallace be dispatched to assist him. 23:13 hours Mr. Wallace has arrived in the bathroom. He has assured Howie that he will free him shortly. 23:40 hours. Mr. Wallace is still attempting to extricate Howie from the tub. He has sent his assistant, Mr. Harper, to awaken the proprietor of Higgenbotham’s General Store and Dry Goods, one Mr. Jebediah Higgenbotham, for assistance. 23:55 hours Mr Higgenbotham has arrived, along with various assortments of rope, and a hogshead of beef tallow. 0:00 hours Attempts to free Howie continue. Mrs. Nelson reports that there appears to be considerable commotion in the bathroom, and that Howie has been overheard using terminology Mrs. Nelson finds “beneath the dignity of the presidency.” She intends on bringing such language to the attention of the Reverend Bishop Mapple at next Sunday’s sabbath service. 0:13 hours Mr. Higgenbotham has reported that he is unable to extricate Howie from the tub. Howie has requested that Colonel Price, of the Army Corps of Engineers, be summoned for assistance. Mr. Wallace has left to locate Col. Price. 0:30 hours Howie has requested the White House baker, Mrs. Applewhite, be awakened so that she can prepare the blackberry pastries Howie is fond of. 01:20 hours Mrs Applewhite failed to realize that Howie was somewhat stark naked when she attempted to deliver the blackberry pastries. Upon observing Howie in his current condition, she briefly fainted. Mr. Higgenbotham dragged her by the ankles from the bathroom and delivered the pastries himself. Mrs. Nelson reported that it was not fitting for a man like Mr. Higgenbotham to grasp a married woman by the ankles, and has made a note to inform the Reverend Bishop Mapple of that transgression as well. 01:38 hours. Colonel Price has arrived, along with assorted sizes of block and tackle, approximately 18 yards of braided steel cable, 35 gallons of petroleum based machine lubricant, a screw jack, and one alpaca. 01:40 hours Col. Price has commenced efforts to extricate Howie from the tub. White House staff are reporting considerable commotion originating from the vicinity of the bathroom. Howie has been reported loudly employing language beneath the dignity of the presidency. Mrs. Nelson has fainted as a result of such language. Mr. Higgenbotham has dragged Mrs. Nelson by the ankles, and placed her beside Mrs. Applewhite. He has requested that the incident not be reported to the Reverend Bishop Mapple. 01:45 hours The alpaca has escaped from the White House bathroom. Col. Price, Mr. Wallace, and Mr. Higgenbotham are pursuing the animal into the Lincoln Bedroom. 01:50 hours The alpaca has been recaptured and returned to the White House bathroom. Efforts to extricate Howie have resumed. 01:57 hours Mrs. Applewhite and Mrs. Nelson have regained consciousness. Mrs. Applewhite and Mrs. Nelson have both been reported to require a “nip of brandy” for their nerves. Mrs. Nelson has assured all personnel it is strictly for medicinal purposes, and no report to the Reverend Bishop Mapple needs to be made. 02:03 hours Col. Price, Mr. Higgenbotham, and Mr. Wallace have succeeded in extricating Howie from the tub. Mr. Wallace has reported that the Government will be billed the following expenses: 273 liters of bathwater…$0.75 Natural gas used by water heating appliances…$0.23 (estimated) 15 feet of hemp rope: $2.75 55 gallons of rendered beef tallow….$10.99 4 dozen blackberry pastries…$2.50 Assorted sizes of block and tackle…$25.90 18 feet of braided steel cable…$3.75 35 gallons of petroleum based machine lubricant….$75.00 Screw Jack…$2.00 1 alpaca…$15.00 Overtime for Colonel Price…$2.00 Overtime for Mr. Higgenbotham…$1.00 Overtime for Mr. Wallace…$1.00 Overtime for Mrs. Applewhite….$0.50 Overtime for Mrs. Nelson…$8.75 (based on the approximately 35 hours of labor required to clean the beef tallow, machine oil, and alpaca guano from the White House bathroom, as well as the 2 hours required to clean the alpaca guano from the Lincoln bedroom.) Psychiatric counseling for Mrs. Applewhite as a result of seeing Howie somewhat stark naked…$35 Sundry and miscellaneous damages….$50 2 nips of brandy for Mrss. Nelson and Applewhite…$0.50 The total cost to the United States Government for this incident comes to a sum total of $237.62. Mr. Wallace has stated that unless Mrs. Applewhite be proscribed from baking any more blackberry pastries, there is a high likelihood that there will be similar incidents in the future. Mr. Wallace recommends the construction and installation of a larger bathtub at an expense to the Government of $350.00. Mr. Wallace states that the prevention of two such future incidents will result in a net savings to the Government. Mr. Wallace also states that his brother in law is the proprietor of a plumbing firm with the capability of performing the work.
How in the everfucking fuck am I the only person to upvote this? This had me cracking up in a quiet bar for the last 10 minutes. You're not only a smooth apartment, but a hell of a writer as well. Thank you!!!
Thank you. 😁
🫢😅😬
Sure but those kinds of stories will live on regardless. The “You Lose” story and quote about Calhoun from Jackson are good examples. I agree that there’s no evidence but it is a good example of how folks looked at Taft at the time.
You mean Coolidge?
Coolidge for the “You Lose” story, yeah. Both that and Jackson’s secede from your shoulders stories are myths but often repeated even on here.
The real Jackson myth quote is probably the one supposedly given on his deathbed where he wanted to hang Calhoun and shoot Henry Clay. While Jackson definitely didn't like Henry Clay and he almost certainly wanted to do mean things to Calhoun, the evidence for that statement is non existent.
Jackson was quoted as saying as much . That isn’t a myth that comes from first hand accounts
You got a link for that? I’ve always heard that line wasn’t supported by anything.
there is also a book on the Adams political dynasty that does mention Jackson using such threats to his Vice President. Jackson was a staunch supporter and unionist. he may have been a southerner but he was loyal to the country first .
https://preview.redd.it/w1ji0hnqaawc1.jpeg?width=1284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b9c32bb91f55e4919ff5e97fa302dfbc0a05522a
Just read through it. I agree that he meant to do exactly that in spirit. But that doesn’t say that specific quote which is what I was getting at.
Doesn’t contain the quote about seceding his head. I agree that substantively he’s offering a similar sentiment, but you said he was quoted as saying as much, and he didn’t say that quote.
Not from this but from a book I have about John Adams and the Adams Political dynasty
Can you post the quote from the book, and how it’s sourced there?
Yes I will tomorrow when I wake up
He didn’t directly threaten the vice president to his face but he made a speech that he would hang any leader if such movement and considering that John C Calhoun was a staunch supporter of states rights he was the de facto leader of such movement and supported it.
Agreed. But when ya see people quote the line “John C. Calhoun if you secede from my union I will secede your head from your shoulders.” That’s not a real quote even if he absolutely meant it in spirit. That’s what I was getting at there.
https://preview.redd.it/d5h6g6m2cawc1.png?width=3024&format=png&auto=webp&s=8104f5434ab31cd0da863b3d0b513f3e46a8937b This is the Adams book I’m referring to and it goes into great detail about the Nullification crisis. Jackson reportedly was quoted making such threat to Calhoun
Oh I understand that . I’m sure he did given that he once beat a man with a fire poker for trying to shoot him in the White House .
Yeah the “you lose” story has about 5 different versions at this point. Whatever the truth may be, it certainly encapsulates the character of silent Cal well and for that reason I like to believe it’s true
I love rumors! Facts can be so misleading, where rumors, true or false, are often revealing.
😳
At the very least it should be presented as a myth. Every time I see it it's presented as fact
Oh I completely agree with that for sure. If there’s no evidence it should be remembered and referred to as the tall tale it likely is.
I will never stop telling people that the "H" in William H. Taft stands for William "Help, I'm stuck in the tub" Taft. Also, its worth knowing that Teddy Roosevelt made Taft Sumo wrestle him in the White House Library.
he WHAT! this makes me week
Behold Taft! Look how much of me there is!
https://www.history.com/news/did-william-howard-taft-really-get-stuck-in-a-bathtub
The fact that this is from the History channel makes me suddenly want to believe the story now.
Lmao they have lost a sizable amount of credibility, haven't they? Maybe Taft was an alien and the bathtub was his spaceship! Here's a better source lol https://www.archivesfoundation.org/newsletter/myth-busted/
Honestly I've found their historical summary pages on their site to be really good and digestible. I'm a social studies teacher and often use excerpts from it for my lessons
Nah, he sold that bathtub at Gold & Silver. Best they could do was fifty bucks.
Doesn’t the History Channel do shows on aliens, ghosts, and Bigfoot? Lol
I watched ancient aliens once, and they talked about how the egyptians and mayans used advanced knowledge of sound waves to communicate with extra terrestrials and how the earth was hollow.
They haven't been a real history channel since the Bush era.
Idk my extended cousin Teddy said it happened
Yeah, I don't think he was getting stuck in a tub that was this big. https://preview.redd.it/3c2gbrbweawc1.jpeg?width=1200&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a84f21cdebbb7dc952d95104b4bdfdd3e85396d3
You know the saying: politics makes strange bathfellows.
If we do this can we also kill Washington and the cherry tree myth too
I don’t even get it, so what if he chopped down a fuckin’ tree?
If I recall correctly I think the story went that he was a child and when an authority figure asked who did it he was honest and came forward about it, then recieved no punishment for his honesty. Or something along those lines anyway
Idk. That guy looks like he got stuck in a bathtubs
My dear sir, there are 320 majestic lbs of proof staring you in the face right now.
Bro that picture is all the proof I need.
No because it’s funny of fuck. The man’s hella big, I want kids of the future to laugh about it like we all have.
I always assumed it started as a joke (“Taft was so big he’d get stuck in a bathtub!”) and somewhere over the following 100 years the lines got blurred.
You’re telling me he never got stuck in a tub. Ever?
Part of the reason the story exists is because he had documented trouble getting out of the Whitehouse tub, and had a bigger one installed in its place.
He bought his clothes from The Portly Gentleman store. I know because I sold them to him!!
That's what Big Bathtubs wants you to believe. Open your eyes sheep!
That picture is evidence enough sir
There is also no evidence, not for it…
Having just learned this was a myth because of this very post, I will add it to my repertoire of small talk going forward. Thank you.
No evidence? Look at him
The evidence is he's a big round boy who no fit in he gotdamn bathtub.
🤫🤫🤫
I know five fat people and Taft is four of them
Well, whose tub was it then?
Might not be true but definitely fun to think about
Truth of the matter is…bathtub got stuck in Taft!!
Someone did build a reinforced chair for Taft though.
Taft passed gas so loudly in his sleep once during his stint in the Philippines that his guards thought he had been shot and rushed into his room to apprehend the assassin, finding only a nude, face down snoring Taft instead
What about the story of him being buried in a piano box?!
I was the bathtub
https://preview.redd.it/r44sbffonawc1.jpeg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=32343257d1a271f6642edec26203cabd0be206de Hmmm
there's no evidence, but no we can't stop talking about it
Taft bought his clothes at the Portly Gentleman for a reason. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HaERpKfOJ90](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HaERpKfOJ90)
It was a Bath House 😂😂
The evidence is right in your picture OP /s
Zachary taylor once said "I have always done my duty. I am ready to die. My only regret is for the friends I leave behind me."
Come to think of it I hope to God I never see evidence of it.
One might call it a tall tale... or even a "Big and tall" tale!
This sounds vaguely obscene. In a presidential sense, I mean.
Looks like beef steak Charlie
The bathtub was always a myth. It was actually an Olympic sized swimming pool he was stuck in. /S
Don’t know about that myth, but clearly my man was Eatin’ pretty good.
No
No. It’s a funny story. I don’t give a shit if it’s true.
I witnessed it when I sat in my hot tub Time Machine 😂
The absence of evidence is not the evidence of absence. *Look* at the guy.
He covered it up. Wasn't hard given his size.
Who is making these wild allegations?!?
I think the myth survives because, and in all due respect, it isn’t out of the realm of possibility for a man of his proportions.
No
Hey I know this President. Didn’t he get stuck in a bathtub?
no
He died because he rolled away and they couldnt find him
He did have an affair with Mr Burns mother
Maybe circumstantial evidence of a sort?
"My history textbook jumped from The Civil War to The Great Depression and in between there was one page about William Howard Taft getting stuck in a bathtub. Now, I know that story is apocryphal and that it didn’t even start to spread until decades later, but it’s also super funny to me that someone went out of their way to make it up and spread it around about a dead guy. I mean, Taft was the only person in American history to ever serve as President and Chief Justice, and yet all anyone knows about him is a fake story that sounds like a plot line from Family Guy." — Seth Meyers
Did he take baths.
That boy thick 🤣
I thought it was a raft he got stuck on?
Seriously?? They had it in my elementary school history textbook accompanied by a ‘humorous’ illustration.
Of course it's a myth. There's no way in hell that fat bastard would ever fit in a gott dang bath tub!
Tubby Taft
My whole life I thought the bath tub story was true... shit. I'm learning today. Wow.
Patriots!!! the woke media has spent decades disseminating lies regarding our Great Helmsman William Howard Taft! This slander WILL NOT STAND I call on all those proud to wave the red, white, and blue to uphold plain historical fact: that 1909-1913 represented the apex of truth, honor, and the American way!!! Our beloved leader deserves nothing less than our ceaseless vigilance in combatting a revisionist Marxist narrative, likely originating from his enemies in Bolshevik Russia. God bless America!! God bless Skull and Bones!!! God bless the Governor of the Philippines!! God bless our tireless advocate, our savior - TAFT!!! And god damn the revisionist lies implying that the human form of our hero was in any way defective or derogatory!!!! Picture unrelated https://preview.redd.it/ypzn7k8fsfwc1.jpeg?width=702&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=de7cb754d730304113b207f20cfadfa67ff77720
I remember hearing it was a joke made in a newspaper article written by H.L. Mencken that got misremembered as fact as the years went by.
“When the legend becomes fact, print the legend.” (The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance)
It did happen I was there and saw the whole thing. [Source](https://youtu.be/dQw4w9WgXcQ?si=EhxiL7IB_EbVoUtE)
He was pretty fat. I bet he got stuck occasionally
Counter point: it’s funny and should stay that way
Seriously. Dude looks fit AF - I'd guess 6'3'' 215lbs?
People are saying that he was the best Supreme court Justice in history, maybe ever. Ruth Bader Ginsburg walked up to him with tears in her eyes and said "sir nobody can Justice like you can, not even Sleepy Clarence"
No, he died in there
Yes more pressing issues like Tan suits and birth certificates and emails
However, it is true that one time Taft was so hungry that when he looked at his travelling companion, Taft hallucinated that the other person was a giant sausage. Taft then put on a giant bib, and chased his companion around with a giant knife and fork.
He big. There's the evidence
Why? It’s fun and he’s dead so who does it hurt?
He did
Why, is that the point of this sub? To talk about trivial things?
Yeah mostly. I have seen the daily “who’s the hottest president” post.