This week, we had President's Day on Monday. It falls right after Chinese new year, but there's no special significance to that - but if we ever had a Chinese president, it would make remembering either day easier for those who aren't very time-conscious. What makes the lives of presidents interesting is the realization that they're much like us. Because we tend to associate leaders with royalty and greatness, it's difficult to think of them in mundane terms. Yet, when we do catch a glimpse of them messing up or being completely “human,” it's considered novel or even strange.

Actually, it's strange we should react this way to the foibles of people in high places, but we do it just the same. Though this should have been in last week's paper, we'll include this brief entertainment for your amusement. Remember, this is stuff you didn't learn in school. Consider the odd as normal, and incorporate it into your personal educational scheme.

* Starting with the White House, before Theodore Roosevelt came along, the president's dwelling was called the Executive Mansion. Roosevelt officially named it the White House in 1901.

* Ever heard of George Hanson? He was the first representative to serve a full one-year term and be called President of the United States in Congress Assembled. He approved and authorized the Great Seal of the United States.

* If you're not left-handed, this won't come to you as a big deal, but James Garfield was the first left-handed President.

* U.S. Grant was the first President to run against a woman candidate, Virginia Woodhull, who was a nominee of the Equal Rights Party in 1872.

* Andrew Johnson was snockered at his vice-presidential inauguration. Apparently, he had been downing whiskey in an effort to assuage a case of typhoid fever.

* James Garfield, it has been said, could write in Latin with one hand, while writing in Greek with the other hand - at the same time!

* Martin Van Buren was the first president born in the United States. He was one of my favorites, though he was considered to be one of the most unpopular presidents in history.

* Thomas Jefferson was an avid tinkerer who has been credited with inventing the wooden coat hanger and a host of other things. Historians, however, see little evidence of original thought in his tinkerings.

* Warren Harding died while on a campaign swing to California. A psychic had warned his wife that the president should not travel, but Harding had other ideas. Harding also liked poker and bathtub gin. In fact,

he gave up all of the White House china in a game gone bad.

* One of our presidents has been identified with jelly beans. Can you name which one? While Ronald Reagan was in the White House, he ordered 12 tons of jellybeans for his 1980 inaugural party. 40 million jelly beans were consumed. (Reagan started eating jelly beans when he gave up smoking in the early 1960's.)

* Millard Fillmore (another of my favorites) didn't make an inaugural address, while John Tyler, President from 1841-1845, was a busy fellow with two wives (both were First Ladies) and 15 children.