29. Calvin Coolidge kept a small zoo of pets and a strange morning ritual
Among the many animals kept as pets by President Coolidge were a pygmy hippopotamus, lion cubs, a wallaby, and several other exotic animals and birds, as well as a pack of dogs, cats, and at least two raccoons, one of which found White House life not to its taste and escaped. Coolidge also enjoyed a daily scalp treatment which involved his head being massaged with petroleum jelly, often while he enjoyed his breakfast, which he habitually took while in bed. The purpose of the treatment was lost to history. After his retirement from public life the man known as Silent Cal penned his autobiography and a newspaper column he called Calvin Coolidge Says.