Taft's Tub-Time Troubles
William Taft was the 27th president of the United States as well as the tenth chief justice of the United States Supreme Court. He is the only person to have ever held both of these offices in a lifetime. Taft was nominated by Theodore Roosevelt to become president after Roosevelt could no longer run. Even though it was never his desire to become president, he accepted the nomination and won with the help of Roosevelt’s support.
William Taft also has the title of “largest president”. Weighing in at just over 350 pounds, he became the heaviest president in history after his inauguration in 1909. Throughout his life, rumors about his weight were not uncommon, and they continued through his presidency. One of the more elaborate and well known rumors is the one about him getting stuck in a bathtub in the White House. According to this rumor, “The White House got a tub that was so big a president couldn’t possibly get stuck in it.” This porcelain tub was handcrafted by a Manhattan company to hold even the heaviest people such as William Taft. Measuring at over seven feet long and 41 inches wide, the creators of this tub were certain of its ability to hold anyone, no matter one’s size. They even took a photograph with four men sitting in the tub to prove their point.
However, according to this rumor, Taft was unable to get out of the bathtub after bathing one day. Most stories say that it took the efforts of six people to remove his portly body from the tub. The debacle managed to stay a secret for many years, but eventually it was leaked to the public and that’s when this rumor truly began spreading. Amusingly, there is no evidence that this rumor is true. No reports were made from the White House or Taft regarding the incident. Along with this, the story only emerged 20 years after the fact, so it is unlikely that this funny accident ever happened at all.
That is not the only story involving Taft and his bathtub, though. It is said that Taft enjoyed the accommodation of this specialty tub so much that he had it installed in his private homes and yacht after leaving the White House. One day, as Taft was bathing, his bath water spilled onto the floor of his home and leaked onto his guests on the floor below. This was because his size displaced the water immensely. He later joked about the incident and said, “I’ll get a piece of that (the ocean) fenced in some day, and then when I venture in, there won’t be any overflow.”
While the first story is fun to believe, I don’t think that actually happened. This tub was so huge that I doubt Taft could get stuck even though he was big. I think this is just a story made up by the public to humor themselves. I do believe that the second story is real because Taft actually joked about the incident, which confirms its authenticity. I also don’t think that his feelings were hurt by the rumors because he had lived his whole life with people joking about his weight and had learned to embrace it.
Do you think this first story is real? Why or why not?
Do you think the second story is real? Why or why not?
Do you think these rumors upset William?
Works Cited:
Klein, Christopher. “Did William Howard Taft Really Get Stuck in a Bathtub?” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 9 Feb. 2016, www.history.com/news/did-william-howard-taft-really-get-stuck-in-a-bathtub.
“William Howard Taft.” The White House, The United States Government, www.whitehouse.gov/about-the-white-house/presidents/william-howard-taft/.
Replies
I always heard about this story but never looked it up. Thanks for educating me about it. Great story choice and well done Ava! Great title! I think the best ever.
I don't think that either can really be proven as real or not real. They're both just funny stories without a lot of real facts or anything. I don't think he was offended by the stories, he seemed like he didn't care very much and almost thought they were funny.
I agree with you, they are both funny stories that don't really have any proof. The only reason I'd think that the 2nd story is real is because Taft made a comment about it to the press, so I'm assuming it happened if he was talking about it. I also don't think Taft cared very much about the rumors. It seemed like he was a man of good nature who could take a joke.
I don't really think that either one of the stories is truly real. The first one I definetly feel was just made up by the public just to humor themselves and the second one I also feel like the public made it up and that President Taft heard about the rumor and kind of just played along with it just to be funny. I think that William Taft usually just joked about his weight and never really took offense to any of them. I think that he just liked to play along with them.
I never considered that Taft might have been playing along with the public's joke about the 2nd story. That is a good point. I'm not really sure if he was just playing along or it actually happened. I agree with you, and I also don't think the first story is real. Taft was a very humerous man, so I don't think he was offended by the rumors.
Both of these stories aren't very clear if they are real or not. They're both just light-hearted rumors that are fun to believe whether they are true or not. I don't really think that Taft was very upset about the stories judging by the comments he made about the rumors.
I think that the first story is fake and the second is more likely to be real. Of course, they are all just light-hearted and just a funny story used to entertain. I also don't think that Taft was upset about the rumors. He had gone through his whole life hearing things about his weight so by the time he was president, I don't think they affected him much.