“I picked this up exclusively because I thought it would be a palatable way to learn some shit that might score me some points at bar trivia. I don’t know if anyone will ever ask about the stuff in here, but by the time I finished, I didn’t care. It’s awesome.
I’ve never enjoyed a story about a President more than I did when I read about Poll, Andrew Jackson’s pet parrot.
Here’s an excerpt from a reverend’s memoir, regarding the parrot and Jackson’s funeral:
“Before the sermon and while the crowd was gathering, a wicked parrot that was a household pet, got excited and commenced swearing so loud and long as to disturb the people and had to be carried from the house.”
Why was a parrot at a funeral?
How foul-mouthed, exactly, does a parrot have to be ejected from a funeral that it was attending?
How does a parrot become that into swearing?
How loud does a swearing parrot swear?
We could go on and on, but we don’t need to. Being ejected from a funeral is always a good story. When the ejected person is a parrot, and when that parrot is ejected for swearing profusely, you may have one of the greatest stories of all time on your hands.”