I was recently viewing a YouTube video about U.S. presidents and what they did for fun. While watching this entertaining and educational video that included various portraits or photos of the presidents, I couldn’t help but notice that, by image alone, I did not know who most of them were. If I am being honest, I could not even name all 45 U.S. presidents (or 46, if you count Grover Cleveland twice since he served two terms with Benjamin Harrison in between).

This made me wonder, what makes some U.S. presidents so memorable and others so forgettable?

I am convinced that much of this comes from our elementary school studies. Of course, we are more likely to recall those who presided during our lifetimes, or those whom we have seen in the TV era, but that’s not the entire answer. If you were asked to name the 10 most memorable U.S. presidents outside of your lifetime, you might rattle off George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln or Teddy Roosevelt. Most all of us could recognize those U.S. presidents by a photo or image. In more recent years, some of you may throw in Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower or John Kennedy — and you would likely be able to pick them out in photos, too. My fellow Iowans might even mention Herbert Hoover. That’s a total of nine. Many Americans would struggle to name any more U.S. presidents, let alone recognize their images. OK, Richard Nixon makes 10.

All this also makes me wonder what our two most recent presidents, Joe Biden and Donald Trump, will be remembered for in a century? Or if they will be remembered at all. That’s difficult to contemplate with both of them at the top of the news most every day right now.

Time can be forgiving of mistakes, certainly, but time rarely makes a mostly unmemorable U.S president more memorable — unless the authors of the school textbooks and the teachers who use them choose to make that happen.

My friend Kevin used to make this point with a practical joke I would play along with. When he would meet someone for the first time, he would turn to me and say, “Doesn’t he look like a young Martin Van Buren?” And I would nod in total agreement. He would also use Warren Harding or Chester Arthur, or, his favorite, Millard Fillmore. I have yet to meet anyone who could pick out these U.S. presidents by one of their portraits or photos, let alone from images of their youth.

Will someone play the same joke in 100 years using Donald Trump or Joe Biden, or will one or both of them be carved on the side of a mountain? Time will tell.

Have a terrific Tuesday, and thanks for reading.

Shane Goodman
President and Publisher
Big Green Umbrella Media
shane@dmcityview.com
515-953-4822, ext. 305
www.thedailyumbrella.com

View Shane Goodman's archived columns from past issues here.

CITYVIEW announced its 2023 Best Of Des Moines® readers' choices Jan. 31. You can find all the results from the poll in the February issue of CITYVIEW magazine!

Best local trivia night

1. Iowa Distilling Company

2. Coa Cantina

3. The Hall

SEE BEST OF DES MOINES® EVENT PHOTOS HERE...

Therapy is doggone fun

Davis enjoys programs with her canine.

By Rich Wicks

Cari Davis of Winterset has enjoyed dogs all her life, and she’s sharing that opportunity with others in some innovative ways.

“I started showing dogs in 4-H when I was a kid, and I’ve always had a dog. As I got older, my son showed dogs in 4-H,” she says. “I had a Golden Retriever named Kiowa, and he was just exceptional. That would have been 17 years ago that I got Kiowa as a puppy. I was a teacher at I-35 at the time.”

When Davis heard the Winterset Library wanted to start a “Read to Rover” program, in which a kids would spend time reading to a trained therapy dog, she thought Kiowa would be a good candidate.

She helped Kiowa get through all of the requirements.

Read more in the August issue of Winterset Living magazine 

Happy Birthday Stormy Miller!

These celebrities were born on this date: James Corden, Ty Burrell, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Annie Proulx, Ari Stidham, Beenie Man, Bo Koster, Bill Parcells, David Marks, Diana Nyad, Giada De Laurentiis, Howie Dorough, Paul Doucette, Steve Kroft

SUBMIT: Send your birthday greetings and congratulatory notes to: tammy@iowalivingmagazines.com

The answer to yesterday's riddle:
What do you call two people who have lost their psychic abilities? A PAIR-A-NORMALS! - John Zeitler. Also sending in guesses were Gail Tomlinson, William Snyder, Deb Taylor

Today's riddle

What do you call a wolf that can catch a deer with either paw?

Have a guess? Email tammy@iowalivingmagazines.com

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