Since he began his bid for the presidency, lots of rumors and myths have been floating around about Barack Obama. Some of them are true. Some are false. Some positive. Some negative. Now that he's been elected and inaugurated, most of the controversial rumors about the new President will probably take a back seat to what he does as the President. But that doesn't mean we can't still have a little bit of fun with the new POTUS. Want to learn a bit more about the man who's running the U.S.A.? Take a welcome break from reading the political news and check out our 10 Barack Obama fun facts-- chances are some of them will be news to you!
1. He's a Nerd
Who says you can't be cool (and powerful!) and a nerd at the same time? Well, Obama definitely is. For years, he's been a comic book collector, collecting both Spider-Man and Conan the Barbarian comic books. Another nerdy touch? He has also read every book in the Harry Potter series (though he probably used his two kids as an excuse for that one). He also likes playing Scrabble-- his favorite word-nerd pastime!
2. He's a Grammy Winner
When you think of somebody standing at a podium thanking his producer (rather than giving a rousing speech about foreign policy), you probably don't think of the new President. But Obama has a Grammy award under his belt, too. In 2006, he won one for reading aloud the audio version of his book, Dreams from My Father.
3. He Hates Ice Cream
Anybody who hates ice cream must be a little bit strange, right? Well, President Obama has an excuse. As a teenager, he worked for awhile at a Baskin-Robbins ice cream shop. Now he hates the stuff-- all 31 flavors of it.
4. He Had a Pet Monkey
For the next several months, the gossip of America will be all about the Obamas shopping for a new dog-- the one promised to Sasha and Malia upon moving in to the Whitehouse. But Obama has experience with much stranger pets-- he had a pet monkey, Tata, when he was a boy living in Indonesia.
5. He Thinks He's Sexy
Plenty of women all over the world think that Barack Obama is a pretty sexy President. And apparently, he would agree. When he was at Harvard, he actually applied to be featured in a calendar of African-American pin-ups at the university. Unfortunately, the ladies in charge of the committee didn't agree, and turned him down. I wonder what those photos would have looked like in his campaign ads!
6. He Knows About Loans
Most Presidents understand the day to day struggles of average people in only the most abstract way. But President Obama isn't one of them. In fact, he paid off his student loans only recently. Four years ago, he was still paying for his Harvard education. But when his books became the huge successes they are today, paying off those loans suddenly became easy.
7. He's a South Paw
Of the 44 Presidents of the US to be elected since the country's birth, Obama is only the sixth to be left-handed.
8. He's not Afraid to Try New Things
The new President is adventurous in a whole bunch of different ways-- and was, even as a child. While living in Indonesia as a kid, Obama tried plenty of new foods, including snake meat, dog meat, and even baked grasshoppers. These days, though, the President's favorite snack is a chocolate and peanut protein bar-- hold the dog meat, please.
9. He Didn't Pass on the Politics Gene
In some families, like the Bush or the Kennedy family, politics runs in the blood. That doesn't appear to be true of the Obama family. Barack and Michelle Obama's two girls, Sasha and Malia, don't want to follow in their famous dad's footsteps. Malia wants to be an actress one day, and Sasha wants to be a dancer and a singer. They do want to go to Yale, first, though... so it looks like the Obamas are doing something right with their two girls!
10. He likes it spicy
Every President (or Presidential candidate) has their specialty in the kitchen. Barack's? A spicy homemade chili.
