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Showing posts from April, 2023

That Time A President Had a Foul-Mouthed Parrot

Heyo! I took March off for mental health, but I am back! If you follow me on Tumblr, you know it wasn't planned. What started as a week off became an entire month, but I'm not here to talk about it. Today's post is about US president, Andrew Jackson's foul-mouthed parrot. Andrew Jackson purchased an African Grey Parrot from Decker & Dyer in Nashville on June 5, 1827, for $25 (worth $760 today). The parrot who was named Poll was a gift for Jackson's wife, Rachel. Rachel passed away the following year of a heart attack so newly elected President Jackson became Poll's caretaker. Now this is when I admit my research fell short because not much is known about Poll other than an incident at Jackson's funeral in 1945. It is said that Poll "squawked, squeaked and swore like a sailor" when Jackson died. This has been one of my favorite stories from history because I, myself love birds, and the thought of a bird who swears is so funny. An African Grey Pa...