William Howard Taft, the 27th US President, was known as Big Lub to his childhood friends, because of his weight. In college, his friends knew him as “Old Bill.” Although Taft received comments and teasing about his size, he used his weight to his advantage by becoming intramural heavyweight wrestling champion at Yale University.
Taft is remembered as being the fattest president. He was known to have an enormous appetite that included high calorie meals. His weight problem led to many embarrassing incidents including loud belches and chronic flatulence. In addition, there is evidence suggesting that during Taft’s presidency he had severe obstructive sleep apnea because of his morbid obesity.
On one embarrassing occasion at the White House, Taft became stuck in the bathtub. He called for his staff to dislodge him and directed them to use butter to complete the task.
After his presidency, Taft went on to lead a much healthier life when he lost 80 pounds and discovered a love for the outdoors. This undoubtedly extended his life as he lived to be 72 years old.
President Taft's enduring legacy includes many things named after him. Historic sites, buildings, streets, schools, towns and even geocaches. Perhaps there is even a bathtub somewhere with his name on it….the Taftub!
Permission to place this geocache was granted by Don Nehmer, Capital Program Business Manager for MMSD.
Geocache at your own risk, be respectful of plant life and obey parking regulations. Stay off of private property. Because this cache is located near a residential area, we recommend not caching at night.
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