The Last Words of Presidents

The last words of every president.

Serious Jibber-Jabber - Edmund Morris

Conan has a new web series where he sits down with people and does lengthy, completely serious interviews about potentially serious subjects. It's called "Serious Jibber-Jabber" and his first guest on the series is Presidential Biographer Edmund Morris.

Edmund Morris wrote biographies of Theodore Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan. Conan loved the three-book biography of Roosevelt so much, he had him on his show. You could tell that it was one of the interviews in which he was actually interested in the guest. Perhaps just having 5 minutes to talk to him was a main reason for starting this series.

Note: in case you haven't realized already, this isn't a comedy piece and it's 47 minutes long. I likes it.

The Nerdiest Moment Ever

I was lying on the couch watching (I think) the History Channel over the weekend when a commercial came on for an upcoming special. "Did you know two U.S. Presidents were avid skinny dippers?" To which I replied (yes, I spoke out loud to the television), "John Quincy Adams and Theodore Roosevelt".

Now, I wasn't making a joke (to my tv) and I wasn't venturing a guess. I knew the actual two presidents to which they're referring. That's extreme nerdity (good or bad). Nobody should really know that offhand.

But I've come this far so I might as well go all the way....

I object to the term "skinny dipping" in this instance. It's a bit misleading. "Skinny dipping" is something high school kids do during games of "Truth or Dare"; it's something "Stiffler" would do in "American Pie 8: The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull". John Q. Adams and Teddy Roosevelt swam nude outdoors for exercise and health (it was believed that the shock of cold air and/or cold water was invigorating and good for one's constitution). Let's not degrade their legacy with stupid terms. Next they'll be saying that Archimedes yelled, "Eureka!" and went streaking.