15 Dad Facts for Father's Day
Gather around the grill to toast Dad on Father's Day, a national holiday that has been celebrated in the United States for over a century. Here are 15 fascinating things about Dad that you can share with him today.
1. Halsey Taylor created the drinking fountain in 1912 as a memorial to his father, who died of typhoid fever in 1896 after drinking tainted public water.
2. George Washington, our country's celebrated father, had no children of his own. Washington may have been sterile as a result of a form of tuberculosis he contracted as an infant, according to a 2004 report. He did adopt Martha Custis's two children from her first marriage.
3. The king's birthday is also known as National Father's Day in Thailand. Fireworks, speeches, and acts of charity and honor are all part of the festivities, with the most notable being the donation of blood and the release of captive animals.
4. After a critical review of Harry Truman's daughter Margaret's concert in the Washington Post in 1950, the president came out swinging: "Someday I hope to meet you," he wrote. "You'll need a new nose, a lot of beefsteak for black eyes, and maybe a supporter below if that happens!"
5. Winnie the Pooh was produced by A.A. Milne for his son Christopher Robin. Pooh was influenced by Robin's teddy bear, Edward, which Christopher had received as a present for his first birthday, as well as their father-son trips to the London Zoo, where Christopher's favorite bear was Winnie. Christopher Robin's pet swan was called Pooh.
6. Geraldo Rivera's father-in-law was Kurt Vonnegut for a short period. Rivera's marriage to Edith Vonnegut ended in 1974 due to his proclivity for women. "If I see Gerry again, I'll spit in his face," her protective father was quoted as saying. In a few of his novels, he also included an unflattering character called Jerry Rivers (a chauffeur).
7. Andre Agassi's father was a boxer who competed in the 1948 and 1952 Olympics for Iran.
8. Charlemagne, the Frankish king who unified much of Western Europe through military campaigns in the eighth century and has been nicknamed the "king and father of Europe" [PDF], Charlemagne was also a loving father to about 18 children, and most Europeans can name Charlemagne as an ancestor today.
9. Don Messick, who voiced Papa Smurf, also voiced Scooby-Doo, Ranger Smith on Yogi Bear, and Astro and RUDI on The Jetsons.
10. In 2001, cosmonaut and International Space Station commander Yuri Usachev got a talking picture frame from his 12-year-old daughter while in orbit. RadioShack made the gift possible by filming the gift's presentation for a TV commercial.
11. The 1967 hit single "Something Stupid" by Frank and Nancy Sinatra was the first father-daughter collaboration to reach number one on the Billboard pop music chart.
12. In the seahorse's underwater world, the male is the one who carries the eggs and gives birth to the babies.
13. Gene Hackman would have played Mike Brady's father on The Brady Bunch if show creator/producer Sherwood Schwartz had his way.
14. The song "Isn't She Beautiful" by Stevie Wonder is about his newborn daughter, Aisha. You can hear Aisha crying throughout the song if you listen closely.
15. Dick Hoyt has driven and dragged his cerebral palsy son Rick through hundreds of marathons and triathlons. Rick is unable to speak, but he has been able to communicate by the use of a specially built computer. When Rick was in high school, they ran their first five-mile race together. "Dad, when we were running, it felt like I wasn't impaired anymore!" Rick wrote to his father after they were done.
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