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January 2009
 
10 Weirdest
1
Inauguration Day Blunders
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By Megan Shay taken from
http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/Features/Lists/?article=InaugurationDayBlunders&gt1=27004
 
 A very historic Inauguration Day is approaching. But a few presidential inaugurationsbecame historic for less-than-flattering reasons. From extravagant parties and unruly 
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 mobs to streets littered 
4
with poisoned pigeons, let's revisit history's most memorableInauguration Day mishaps
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.
1. Long winded
The longest inaugural speech in U.S. history was given by
President William Henry Harrison
,clocking in at one hour and 45 minutes. Harrison delivered the long-winded
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speech during asnowstorm and without an overcoat
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, circumstances that are often blamed forhis untimely death by pneumonia. However, it wasn't exposure to the elementsthat really caused his illness. It was actually a common cold, caught weeks afterthe inauguration, which turned into pneumonia and was likely worsened by the hectic
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 schedule of a newly elected president who had no time to rest.
2. Sneaking out the back doorPresident Andrew Jackson
, regarded
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as a "man of the people," had to flee
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through theback door of his own inaugural reception in 1829 when the crowd crashed
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his party.Thousands of supporters came to the capital for the inauguration, and thoughsome came looking for jobs, most came to support Jackson and cheer
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theirnew president. After his speech, however, the crowds swarmed
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the reception,mingling
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with government officials and generally regarding the house as theirs. mud
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wastracked in, china and glasses were broken, and the crowds only left when the refreshmentswere put on the lawn
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outside.
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les plus bizarres
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des bourdes, des boulettes
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indiscipliné
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jonché des déchets
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contretemps, incidents
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verbeux
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un pardessus
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intense, mouvementé
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estimé, considéré
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s’en fuir
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se taper l’incruste
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acclamer, applaudir
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essaimer
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se mêler à
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la boue
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la pelouse, le gazon
 
January 2009
 
3. Don't feed the pigeons
On the day of 
President Richard Nixon
's 1973 inauguration, Pennsylvania Avenue wasdotted
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with sick and dead pigeons. At the president's request, the inaugurationcommittee spent $13,000 to spread
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a chemical bird repellent
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on the treebranches along the parade route to deter
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the pigeons. According to theWashington Post, the chemicals in Roost-No-More were supposed to cause the birds' feet toitch
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so they wouldn't roost
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in the trees. Unfortunately, the birds ate the repellent,causing them to get sick and die along the parade route.
4. Less is more?
After criticism for his first inauguration in 1981, which cost $16.3 million for nine white-tie
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 balls,
President Ronald Reagan
attempted to scale back
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the budget and have amore "for the people" celebration. However, the budget ballooned
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from $12million to $20 million, and there were 10 balls instead of nine and two galasinstead of one. Apparently, "scaling back" meant that the balls were black tie
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instead of white
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and the entertainment was less high-brow
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than at previous events, according tothe Washington Post.
5. Turn up the heat
After the north wing of the Treasury Building proved too small for
PresidentUlysses S. Grant
's first inaugural ball in 1869, a temporary structure was built inJudiciary Square for his second inaugural ball in 1873. Unfortunately, thestructure had no heat or insulation, so guests danced in their coats and hats tostay warm in the minus-4-degree temperature, according to the Joint CongressionalCommittee on Inaugural Events. Making matters worse, the food was cold, the hot chocolateand coffee ran out
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and the poor caged canaries -- used as decorations -- froze to death.
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parsemé
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disperser
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un agent répulsif 
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dissuader
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avoir des démangeaisons
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percher, se nicher
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très formel, un smoking exigé
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réduire
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s’augmenter
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un peu moins formelle que la tenue pour « white tie » mais un smoking quand même exigé
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tenue très formelle de soirée
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intellectuel
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s’épuiser
 
January 2009
 
6. Sink or swim
The weather was so bad at
President Abraham Lincoln
's second inauguration thatpedestrians who could not swim were urged
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to stay away from the muddy,rain-soaked streets. According to the Washington Post, the great poet WaltWhitman actually referred to the rain as "slanting rain, full of rage." It wasdefinitely
not 
a nice day for a parade.
7. Rats!
For
Richard Nixon
's second inauguration, Vietnam War protesters dragged
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around a 25-foot-long rat made out of paper and chicken wire
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. To the protesters, the ratwas symbolic of President Nixon. It was part of the largest Inauguration Dayprotest in U.S. history, with more than 25,000 protesters. Interesting, then, thataccording to the Washington Post, the ceremony went well and was "unmarred
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by anyserious incidents."
8. Coat check, pleaseUlysses S. Grant
's first inauguration in 1869 ended with fights in the coat-check
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line andmany guests abandoning their coats and hats due to an extremely long wait. TheWashington Post reported that the coat check was staffed by illiterates whowere unable to read the claim tickets, which surely slowed down the line evenmore. A similar event occurred at the end of the evening of a 1989 inaugural celebrationwhen Republicans actually stormed the coat check of the Texas State Society's Tie and Bootsball, later referred to as "The Bastille Day Coat Check Affair."
9. It's getting hot in here
At the first inaugural ball, held for
James Madison
in 1809, it reportedly got so hot inside thehotel that revelers
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broke out windows for ventilation. Madison's wife Dolleymust have been quite warm, herself -- she was wearing a gown
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with a longvelvet train
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and a Parisian headdress
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decked out with feathers and whitesatin.
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vivement conseillé
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traîner, tirer
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grillage de basse-cour
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sans être marqué
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vestiaire, consigne
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les fêtards
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une robe du soir
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une longue traîne de velours
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une coiffe, une coiffure
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