When Barack Hussein Obama was inaugurated on January 20, 2009, it was Abraham Lincoln's Bible that was utilized when he was sworn into office.

Thomas Jefferson was the first president to be inaugurated in Washington, DC, then called Federal City.

The first presidential inauguration of George Washington was held in New York City, on April 30, 1789, at Federal Hall in lower Manhattan.

George Washington’s second inauguration was the first to be held in Philadelphia. His swearing in took place in the Senate Chamber of Congress Hall, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on March 4,1793. This inaugural address was the shortest on record, 133 words.

The first U. S. President not born a British subject was Martin VanBuren

William H. Harrison gave the longest inaugural address at 8,445 words.

James Buchanan's was the first inauguration to be photographed.

The first inauguration ceremony to be recorded by a motion picture camera was William McKinley's.

The first president to ride to and from his inaugural in an automobile was Warren G. Harding.

Calvin Coolidge's inauguration was the first to be broadcast on radio.

The first inauguration to be televised was Harry S Truman's.

Lyndon Johnson was the only president to be sworn in by a woman, U.S. District Judge Sarah T. Hughes.

The only retired presidents that did not attend their successors' inauguration ceremonies were John Adams, John Quincy Adams, Andrew Johnson, and Richard Nixon.

Thomas Jefferson began the custom of writing to Congress to accept the inauguration and arrange the time for the ceremonies.

Rutherford B. Hayes was the first president to take the oath of office in the White House.

The first president whose mother attended the inauguration was James A. Garfield's.

The only president not sworn in on a Bible for his inauguration was Theodore Roosevelt. It was also this inauguration that telephones were installed to carry the ceremony live to the press.

The only president to be given the oath of office by his father was Calvin Coolidge.

The first president to be inaugurated with both of his parents present was John F. Kennedy. He was also the last president to wear traditional stovepipe hat to the inauguration.

Richard Nixon was the first to take the oath of office utilizing two Bibles. They were family heirlooms.

In the last issue, I related several stories to you about what I call functional illiterates from the consumer side of the issue. This time I am going to relate some shocking situations I was in while working for a school district back in the late-seventies and early-eighties.

Fall term of 1976 I was doing my practice teaching at a junior high. I taught seventh-grade history and science. The first day I was to meet with the principal. He gave me a lecture about how "certain students" should be ignored and I shouldn’t waste my time with them. He never came out and told me what specific students he was referring to.

By way of format, I prepared had to prepare the lesson plans and they had to be approved by the teacher of that class. Also, while teaching, the teacher was there to observe me at all times. The very first day, I explained the assignment to the students then inquired if they had any questions. A few students raised their hand. I called on Rusty, I will never forget his name, and he asked a question. Before I could reply, the teacher at the back of the room said loud enough for everyone in the room to hear, "You were told to ignore the dummies. Go on to the next person." I was shocked but went ahead and called on another student. Her question was identical to Rusty’s. The teacher then said aloud that her question was a good one and deserved an answer! It didn’t take long for me to figure out that it was the slow learners that I was supposed to ignore. I didn’t agree with this at all, but my teaching credentials were on the line so I told my professor about the situation. He advised that unfortunately he had no control over the situation and just to do my best. At the end of the term, I met with my professor for my evaluation. Imagine, under the "Negative Comments" section, the teacher had written "Spends time with slow learners."