President howard tafts bathtub located

Rumors abound that the 27th president of the United States, William Howard Taft, got stuck in a bathtub at the White House due to his portly size. Specifically, most stories say he was only removed once six people helped pry his flabby, naked body out, and some looser interpretations even suggest he died from the ordeal.

Welcome to Ripley’s History Off the Record, the show that explores the parts of history your textbooks never talked about. Today, we’re investigating a president who often gets little coverage, filling in the gap between founding father presidents and FDR. Sure, there’s another Roosevelt in there that gets attention, but by and large presidents Hayes through Hoover aren’t that well known. Even I could tell you precious little interesting things about President Chester Alan Arthur, but—in my very humble opinion—Taft at least deserves a little more than a body-shaming anecdote.

Taft's Struggles

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What does January being National Bathtub Safety Month have to do with this week’s newsletter? This obscure designation instantly brought to mind President William Howard Taft’s bathtub fiasco. As the “story” goes, President Taft was finishing up a bath when, due to his size, he was unable to get out of his White House bathtub – he was stuck. Can you imagine this story breaking on social media today?
The Taft tale is just that – a legend. So that raises the question: what other popular and often-repeated “facts” about American history are also myths? Surprisingly, there are a lot of them! And while some misconceptions are harmless, other incorrect, persistent narratives warp our understanding of American history and can even negatively affect the present.
Luckily, the Archives has the documents to set the record straight. Read on!

Patrick Madden
Executive Director
National Archives Foundation

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The Bathtub Blunder

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Did America’s Largest President Get Stuck in a Bathtub?

Rumors abound that the 27th president of the United States, William Howard Taft, got stuck in a bathtub at the White House due to his portly size. Specifically, most stories say he was only removed once six people helped pry his naked body out.

While it is true that Taft was America’s heaviest president, the story itself has less evidence. Could the bathtub story be true? Or, is it a lingering bit of a political smear campaign?

William Howard Taft

By all measurements, Taft was indeed the heaviest president. A wrestler and dancer in his younger years, he stood six feet tall and weighed in at 340 pounds by the end of his presidency. Despite his size, Taft was always commended for his gentle spirit. He was said by many to be the politest man in Washington. And himself admitted that he was much too quiet for the politics of his office. In the same way that George Washington struggled to manage his teeth , Taft struggled