Re-Birthplace of Presidents
Ohio proudly boasts that it has been home to eight United States presidents. Some may say it’s only seven because William Henry Harrison—most famous for refusing to wear hat or overcoat during his overly-long speech on an overly-cold Inauguration Day then catching pneumonia and dying 31 days into his presidency—was actually born in Virginia. But of course Ohio is going to fight for the right to claim a president who literally didn’t have the sense to come in out of the rain.
Along with Harrison,, Ohio is responsible for Ulysses S. Grant, Rutherford B. Hayes, James Garfield, Benjamin Harrison, William McKinley, William Howard Taft, and Warren G. Harding. Their histories are a colorful series of highs and lows, assassinations, military service, scandals, and getting stuck in a bathtub. One could argue that W.H. Harrison may have got off easy.
While Ohio has the most presidents, it’s been awhile since we’ve been able to claim one. One might even wonder what they would think of what their home state has become. Such was the premise of the above video that came out in 2013.
Once upon a time in Central Ohio there was a magical place called COSI... the center for science and industry... a place where you could sit in John Glen's space capsule, lift a car straight off the ground, watch a Laurel and Hardy flick in the year 1930, capture your shadow, and more... so much more... you could even meet the 42 presidents of the United States...
When this place was moved to a new home in 1999, those wonderful, strange and eclectic things went into storage, rarely to see the light of day... until now...
Join William Howard Taft, Benjamin Harrison and Warren G Harding one hot summer day as they adventure through modern day Columbus, Ohio.
The video, made by Corey Aumiller and Dan Gerdeman, is a tour of Columbus as the three commanders in chief hit the links (Taft loved his sports even though he needed an assistant to tee up the ball for him when golfing), browse the library to see how history remembered them, toss the pigskin around the Ohio State horseshoe, grab some ice cream, check out the state fair, and hit the clubs among their stops. When done, they make their way back to their warehouse. If they shared any pictures with the others, you know W.H. Harrison was mad he stayed cooped up inside and missed the great weather.
