The Most Interesting People in Politics and History: 250 Anecdotes

Some samples: 1) When the United States was fighting the war in Vietnam, a sergeant wrote famed photographer Yousuf Karsh and requested a copy of a portrait that he had taken of Eleanor Roosevelt. Mr. Karsh wondered why a young man would be interested in a portrait of a woman who had been First Lady before he was born, so he wrote the soldier. As it turned out, the soldier was not young, but instead he was a career soldier who had been wounded in the Korean War. Ms. Roosevelt had visited him and many other wounded soldiers. Of course, Ms. Roosevelt was not a great beauty, but she was a great human being who genuinely cared for other people. She showed genuine concern for this soldier and other soldiers. The soldier wrote Mr. Karsh, “When she came in, I thought she was the homeliest woman I ever seen—and when she left, the most beautiful.” 2) In 1969, the town of Picoaza, Ecuador, elected as its mayor a foot powder named Pulvapies. This is what happened. Taking advantage of an upcoming election, the Pulvapies foot powder company rolled out an advertising campaign that made it seem as if their foot powder was a real person who was really running for mayor. The ads proclaimed in big letters: VOTE FOR PULVAPIES. Of course, a foot powder cannot become mayor, so the election was voided, a new election was held, and a real human being was elected mayor. However, the new mayor made himself unpopular, and these signs appeared in the town of Picoaza: “BRING BACK PULVAPIES!” and “PULVAPIES, THE BEST MAYOR WE EVER HAD!” 3) President George W. Bush was widely despised both at home and abroad. In Seattle, Washington, a manufacturer of backpacks and laptop bags doubled sales because its products have a tiny laundry label that says, “Nous sommes desoles que notre president soit un idiot. Nous n’avons pas vote pour lui.” Translated from the French, the label says, “We are sorry that our president is an idiot. We did not vote for him.”