UFC Freedom 250 Isn’t the Only Strange Event the White House Has Hosted
On June 14, the South Lawn of the White House hosted a full UFC fight night for billionaires, lawmakers, cabinet members, and the Trump family. UFC Freedom 250 was something everyone was talking about, though not everyone took kindly to the garish event. Days after the seven-bout card was held, critics are still talking. It will go down as one of the strangest spectacles ever held at the White House, but, believe it or not, it’s not the only odd one. President Donald Trump’s Freedom 250 has some pretty stiff competition on the list of strange White House events.
UFC Freedom 250 isn’t the only fight night held at the White House
Sure, UFC Freedom 250 was the first UFC event to be held at the White House, but it isn’t the first time that fists flew on Pennsylvania Avenue. Theodore Roosevelt, an amateur boxer and an avid lover of the sport, hosted sparring sessions inside the White House several times during his presidency.
According to historians, the 26th president was known to spar with everyone from aides and close pals to professional fighters. He was even injured during a 1905 sparring session with a military officer. A well-landed punch partially detached Roosevelt’s retina, leaving him with permanent vision loss. The difference between Roosevelt’s boxing matches and Trump’s UFC card is simple. Roosevelt didn’t publicize his, and he wasn’t afraid to hop into the ring himself. Trump settled for sitting next to the octagon, not getting in it, and he told everyone who would listen about it.
An impromptu cheese party was an odd White House event
During the 1800s, security around the White House looked very different. So different, in fact, that Andrew Jackson happily invited the public over to eat some cheese one time. As the lore goes, the 7th president of the United States accepted a pretty large gift. A block of cheese weighing half a ton was delivered to the president’s house. While he OK’d the delivery, he apparently wasn’t particularly forward-thinking.
With over 1,000 lbs of cheese going bad inside the halls of the building, Jackson pivoted and invited the public inside to have a nosh. The cheese was devoured, and the impromptu dinner party is cemented in the history books as one of the most bizarre events to ever take place at the White House.
The White House was once the scene of séances
Over the years, the White House has been the scene of happy moments, sad moments, and tense moments. One of the saddest led to one of the most bizarre. Mary Todd Lincoln spent some of her darkest days in Washington, D.C. In early 1862, Lincoln’s son Willie fell ill, most likely with typhoid fever. The 11-year-old’s condition deteriorated rapidly. He died on February 20, 1862. Mary was so inconsolable that she could not bring herself to attend the funeral.
In the months that followed, Mary Todd Lincoln set about healing by trying to contact her son. She held séances in the White House, hoping to reach him and gain understanding and closure. Abraham Lincoln is said to have attended the séances, too. When you think of the White House, you probably don’t expect séances to be held there.
