You would think that an actor who rose to fame (and enjoyed all the riches) after a major hit television show or movie might remember everything about their experiences on set. But surprisingly, that’s not the case! Acting is a brutal job, with lots of auditions and rejections and plenty of downtime and self-doubt. But even when it’s good, it can be challenging, apparently. Because some actors don’t remember anything about the hit productions that they starred in years after the fact! We’re not talking about missing a detail here or there; we’re talking about every little thing!

If you don’t believe us, just read on. In this list, we’ll tell the tales of ten actors who enjoyed unimaginable success from amazing career-defining roles only to promptly forget everything about the experiences they’d had. They may have reached the heights of Hollywood’s competitive career ladder, but they’ve forgotten some of the things that got there in the first place. Oops?

Related: 10 Things Famous Filmmakers Regret About Their Classic Movies

10 Michael J. Fox

The early ’80s were a crazy time for everybody. The age of the yuppies had dawned on the world and given us a whole host of new things. Fast cars, the nascent computing industry, fast money, and the go-go style that would be en vogue for the next decade and then some. It also gave us the incredible rise of Michael J. Fox. The actor became a household name for two reasons in the 1980s: He starred in the popular sitcom Family Ties and moonlighted as the likable leading man in the Back to the Future trilogy. But oh, yeah, it’s actually that moonlighting which is the issue here!

Fox acted simultaneously in the sitcom and the movie series. He’d film the sitcom all day long, then head to a different studio and do the movie. And in between, he was barely sleeping at all! Because of that—and likely also at least in part because of the major health challenges he has faced related to Parkinson’s Disease, too—he doesn’t remember filming the movies at ALL! Yes, seriously!

“When I did the movie, I was doing Family Ties at the same time,” he remembered years later during an interview with Kelly Ripa and Michael Strahan. “So, I was doing Family Ties in the daytime and Back to the Future at night. So a lot of it is a blur to me. I mean, I saw the movie, and I was like, ‘Oh! That’s what we were doing?’”^[1]

9 Brie Larson

Brie Larson had to film a few very emotional scenes when she shot the movie Room. One scene, in particular, was extremely difficult to film: a shot in which her character is released from the custody of police officers and reunited with her son. To film that scene, Larson had to run away from actors playing cops as though she were in horrible fear. And the adrenaline that built up in her body to do that affected her body. Then, it was all made worse when she slipped and fell on ice during the struggle with those actors. The sum total of all that meant that Larson’s brain somehow blocked out that scene and much of her other work in the movie!

“I was in such an adrenaline rush,” Larson told the Denver Post about filming the scene and forgetting it afterward. “I was running through the snow in socks with just those track pants and a tank top and no bra. And I guess I was fighting [the police officers] off and hitting them, and then I slipped and fell on the ice, and then, when I went to dive into the police car. I guess I hit my head.” Scary!^[2]

8 Avan Jogia

Avan Jogia was one of many child stars who rose to fame on the Nickelodeon sitcom Victorious. He spent his teenage years working on set there alongside many other people who would go on to be big stars—including, most notably, Ariana Grande, Victoria Justice, and Elizabeth Gillies. But there was a dark undercurrent attached to Victorious during its television run. While the stars seemed innocent and wholesome on screen, they were actually partying extremely hard while away from the camera. And for Jogia, the partying affected his memory considerably.

Years after filming wrapped and the show faded off into the sunset, Jogia popped up on TikTok to recall just what it had been like. Commenting on a video on that popular social media app, he admitted that he did not remember filming one single episode. Not one! He was partying too hard at night to recall anything he’d done on the show over several seasons! “When you don’t remember the plotline to a SINGLE victorious episode,” Avan wrote on the social media site, “but you remember going out partying every night.” That’s when you know you’re partying hard… maybe a little too hard.^[3]

7 Colin Farrell

Colin Farrell struggled with drug addiction during much of the height of his Hollywood career, so he now can’t remember a lot of the projects he worked on at the time. While the actor was known on screen as being both an incredible hunk and a total badass, things were fast falling apart off-screen. Take the project Miami Vice, which he filmed right before he went to rehab to get clean from drugs. Because he was in such a low place at the time, he now can’t remember anything about that project. Not one scene, not one line of dialogue, not one set-up or shot—nothing.

“I couldn’t remember a single frame of doing it,” Farrell told the Irish Mirror years later about the memory loss he suffered from drug addiction while filming the movie. “I was at the premiere and didn’t know what was happening next. But it was strange because I was in it. The second [the film] was finished, I was put on a plane and sent to rehab as everyone else was going to the wrap party.”^[4]

6 John Boyega

John Boyega once blacked out during the filming of a scene in his anthology series Small Axe. But it wasn’t drug-induced or something like that—instead, he was so upset at the content of the scene and the difficult and emotional portrayal he had to give on camera that his mind somehow blocked it out. The scene came with John portraying a British police officer fighting to reform racism within the department in the 1980s. In the shot, John’s character discovers sickening graffiti messages and slurs painted on his police locker by other racist cops. The set-up and the content of the scene enraged him so much that he went into a fury.

“I don’t remember filming that scene,” Boyega later told the Radio Times. “I just remember fuming and being angry. I didn’t see the locker room or the locker door until those cameras were rolling. So that reaction was all natural to the character and the choices I thought he would make.” Jeez. That’s how you know it was a powerful scene—and a masterful acting job—about a very difficult subject.^[5]

5 Courteney Cox

Times were so hectic, and life was so busy during her run on Friends that Courteney Cox doesn’t remember filming most of the show. It was her highest-profile project by far, and it brought her an insane amount of wealth, stardom, and public adulation. But if you asked her about it now, her mind would draw a blank on nearly everything about that iconic ’90s sitcom and the role she played as Monica Geller!

Things got so hazy for Courteney during filming that she actually went back and re-watched the entire show during the pandemic to try to jog her memory. But it didn’t really work! “I don’t remember even being on the show,” she told Jimmy Kimmel after revealing her pandemic-related binge-watching move. “I have such a bad memory. I remember obviously loving everybody there and having fun, and I remember certain times in my life that I was there, but I don’t remember episodes.” Really?! We get that they all run together a bit after you do a few hundred of ’em, but damn!^[6]

4 Raven-Symoné

Raven-Symoné has spent her entire life on television. She grew up on The Cosby Show, and the whole world saw her go from a child to a teenager every week on that sitcom. She was beloved by pretty much all of America from the very start of that run. But the problem for her wasn’t the gig itself—it was that she totally failed to remember it afterward! During her teenage years, Raven-Symoné first started realizing just how much of filming the show she’d forgotten. Confused about why she couldn’t remember anything, she went to a therapist for help. Eventually, the expert figured out that Raven-Symoné had been dissociating during filming due to her training as an actor and her push to get through the job.

“I don’t remember a scene,” she told TV One years later about her memory lapses. “I don’t remember anything while it’s a rehearsal or a camera… I do not remember as soon as the cameras start. Something clicks off, and I do what I’m trained to do. When I turned 18, I knew something was going on, so I started going to therapy, and it’s disassociation. I just black out, I turn into who I’m supposed to be when the camera is on, and then, I come back to when normal life resumes.”^[7]

3 Matthew Perry

Before Matthew Perry tragically passed away, he admitted that persistent substance abuse and troubles with addiction had radically altered his memory. Among the first things to be wiped out of his brain were any memories he had of filming episodes of Friends during its run. Sadly, the man who brought joy to so many people across the world as Chandler Bing doesn’t remember a single thing about the sitcom—and that blank space carried out over multiple seasons.

While appearing on BBC’s Radio 2 in the UK for an interview, Perry was asked whether he has a favorite or least favorite episode of the hit series. He admitted that he couldn’t really answer that question because substance abuse problems had wiped entire seasons out of his mind, so he was drawing a permanent blank. “Oh, my goodness. I think the answer is I don’t remember three years of it, so none of those,” he told the interviewer. “I was a little out of it at the time—somewhere between Seasons 3 and 6.”^[8]

2 Frankie Muniz

Frankie Muniz spent five long years of his life—and of his impressionable childhood, no less—filming Malcolm in the Middle. But when it came time to recall those moments years later, his mind completely drew a blank. While appearing on Dancing with the Stars as an adult, Frankie revealed that he’s been dealing with memory loss for a long time. DWTS producers had been hoping that he would share memories of moments like when he attended the Emmys as a teenager. But he disappointed them when he told them that he couldn’t remember anything about events like that.

“They were going to ask me those questions, and I told them, ‘To be honest, I don’t remember going to the Emmys when I was nominated,’” he told EW about the unfortunate interaction. “I don’t have any stories or anything cool for the package. I don’t specifically remember being nominated, or what I felt, or what we did. My mom told me we went to the dentist that day.” Wow. As for the cause behind the lapse? Frankie isn’t exactly sure why it happened, but he thinks it’s due to suffering from several concussions during his life, as well as more than a dozen mini-strokes. Scary!^[9]

1 Rainn Wilson

Rainn Wilson starred in The Office as the unforgettable Dwight Schrute, but when it came time to recall those moments years later, well, they proved to be pretty forgettable indeed. The actor admitted during a podcast appearance recently that he remembers “so little” of working on the hit television show. Even when he watches back episodes to try to jog his memory, there are scenes that he can’t remember filming at all. The occasion was the “You Made It Weird” podcast with Pete Holmes, and Wilson revealed to him on it: “Do you know what happens to me when I watch The Office? I go, holy f**k, I’m 57, I’m almost 60. I don’t remember anything about shooting any of that.”

He wasn’t kidding about that, either. The television star continued: “There will be a scene where Dwight is pushing a shopping cart down the stairs and then falls out a window and Creed throws up and… it’s some big thing, and I’m just like, ‘We shot that? I have no memory of that.’ I don’t remember, like, what month it was, what year, what season is this? It’s crazy how little of 200 episodes over nine seasons that I actually remember.”^[10]

Aside from levitating beds for the super-rich, there hasn’t been a lot of advancement in bed design of late—or at all, for thousands of years. There’s only so much you can do without compromising the functionality of a horizontal thing to lie down on. But that doesn’t mean the history of beds is not without interest. Here are ten examples of quirky designs that time most definitely forgot.

10. The Great Bed of Ware

The Great Bed of Ware was a pop cultural icon, referenced by Shakespeare and Jonson. In the play Twelfth Night, Sir Toby Belch proclaims of a large piece of paper that it’s “big enough for the [Great] Bed of Ware.” Constructed around 1590, this enormous four-poster is over three meters wide to accommodate more than four couples. It’s almost the same from top to bottom and, standing at a height of 2.67 meters, it’s taller than many people’s bedrooms—even today.

This giant bed was named for Ware, a town in Hertfordshire, once a convenient stopping-off point for travelers between Cambridge and London. Many who slept in the bed carved initials in the wood or left their seals in red wax. Now on display at London’s V&A, the bed is a stunning example of Elizabethan craftsmanship, complete with intricate Renaissance motifs: acanthus leaves, lions and satyrs, painted people, and more. The antique vandalism by sleepers only adds to the overall allure.

The Great Bed of Ware has changed hands several times over the years, housed at five different inns before it wound up at a fortified manor. There it was largely forgotten until 1931 when the V&A acquired it for £4,000—roughly £340,000 in today’s money and more than any other furniture they’ve bought. Interestingly, it was loaned back to Ware in 2012 for a year—with the help of cranes.

9. The box bed

The box bed, or lit clos, resembled a cupboard. It was basically a wooden box with a bed inside that was popular 600 years ago—for some highly practical reasons. For one thing, it afforded sleepers privacy and space at a time when families lived in cramped single rooms. It also retained warmth in harsh winters. More importantly, though, it protected sleepers from intrusion by wild animals—wolves, bears, and so on—or even just livestock wandering through (the origin of counting sheep?). 

It was used throughout Europe from the Middle Ages to the 1800s. So its design varied widely from simple wooden boxes to objets d’art with elaborately carved, painted, or paneled sides. Some had curtains, prioritizing privacy, while others had doors (often sliding doors) to prioritize safety from animals. Most were also raised off the ground, allowing for storage beneath.

8. Dr. Graham’s Celestial Bed

Scottish-born eccentric James Graham didn’t finish medical school but called himself a doctor all the same. His particular interest, after five years in America where he was captivated by Benjamin Franklin’s lightning rods, was in the healing potential of electricity. He saw it (or at least touted it) as a miraculous cure-all, especially for sexual vitality.

He opened his Temple of Health in 1780 at London’s Adelphi Terrace. Visitors were met with perfumed air, mood lighting, and electrical demonstrations, including sparks and flashes from Leyden jars and the Temple’s centerpiece: a giant phallic conductor flanked by two semi-globes. What most came for, though, was the Celestial Bed. Combining pseudoscience with erotic titillation, this bed (three meters wide and four meters long) was surrounded by magnets and other devices to maximize the chance of conception—as well as sexual pleasure, which he said was the key to healthy offspring. It was also packed full of stallion tail hair and oats, and there was music and lighting for ambiance. Above them on the ceiling was a giant mirror and on the headboard was inscribed the biblical imperative: “Be fruitful. Multiply and Replenish the Earth.” Couples paid a hefty fee of 50 guineas to 100 pounds a night.

Although successful for a time, people soon saw through it. Amid mounting debts, Dr. Graham fled London for Edinburgh and, after some time in jail for indecency, set himself up in the mud bath trade—promoting them as the path to immortality.

7. Thomas Jefferson’s alcove bed

Thomas Jefferson’s alcove bed at Monticello was literally built into the wall between rooms—namely his bedroom and his study. This way, he had easy access to both. 

Of course, it also gave him easy access from both—which was useful for keeping to his strict routine of getting up early and sleeping in the evening.

This was also the bed he died in, on July 4, 1826, 50 years to the day after the Declaration of Independence was adopted.

6. Self-making bed 

The fairly ludicrous concept of a self-making bed appears in several patents. One, from the 1980s, involves a system of arms and rollers to smooth down the covers after use. According to the inventor, the arms are mounted onto the bed frame and use rotating wheels and helical screw rollers to stretch and flatten bedspreads from the center to the edges. Proceeding from the foot of the bed to the head, they serve to smooth and secure the covers in place.

Powered by an electric motor connected to a drive shaft, these somewhat terrifying arms were specially designed to avoid messing up the sheets in returning to their start point. It’s not exactly clear if the bed was ever made but it’s hard to imagine it would have caught on.

Even so, there is something similar on the market today. Instead of mechanical arms, Smartduvet’s inflatable layer just under the cover lifts and smooths out the wrinkles.

5. Two-penny hangover

In the 19th century, England’s industrialization gave rise to a surge in population, leading to a homelessness crisis (or a golden age of vagabonds, depending on how you look at it). The answer from charities in London was a range of simple beds for the destitute—among which was the “two-penny hangover”.

Basically, this was a communal sleeping arrangement where tramps paid tuppence to sit on a bench and lean over a rope strung from one side of a room to the other. Although it provided support throughout the night—and some security, by virtue of being indoors—it wasn’t the most comfortable solution. Not only were sleepers crammed in together but, at dawn, the rope was simply dropped to the floor, waking the sleepers to shove them out the door. Fittingly, the two-penny hangover is one possible origin of the relatively modern term “hangover,” as in the after-effects of getting wasted. (Incidentally, the phrase “sleep tight” comes from a medieval rope bed that had to be tightened every so often to support a mattress.)

Another sleeping arrangement for tramps, aimed at the more discerning and well-to-do vagrant, was the “fourpenny coffin”. Despite the macabre shape, these wooden boxes at least afforded tramps a horizontal sleep. They also came with a very simple covering.

4. Piano bed

In the 19th and early 20th centuries in America, the piano was a must-have piece of furniture. Even if no one ever played it, it became a status symbol for the parlor. 

Of course, it also had a big footprint, like a bed—which explains why some chose to combine them. Smith & Co.’s 1885 “Convertible Bed in Form of Upright Piano” didn’t actually work as a piano; it just looked like one. Inside, a fold-out wooden bed frame left no space for hammers and strings—let alone acoustics.

An earlier patent, from one John McDonald of New York, in 1869, described a “keyboard musical instrument … that … may be opened up to serve as a bed and which, when closed, shall have every appearance of and may in fact be a real instrument.”

3. Rotating bed

What if your bed was like a giant lazy susan? First introduced in 1968, the rotating bed was designed by Luigi Massoni (and later immortalized by the spy Austin Powers). It had a circular mattress that could be rotated in either direction on wheels built into the base.

The rotating bed also appeared in Hugh Hefner’s Playboy Mansion, where it was something of a centerpiece. Quaintly, his featured a built-in telephone and stereo system.

Although rotating beds are still on the market, they’ll forever be a throwback as a concept.

2. Arcuccio co-sleeper

As the parent of a baby, you can say goodbye to sleep. If you’re not waking up to deal with its screams, you’re worried because you’re not hearing any. But you can’t just sleep with the baby in your bed because of the risk of suffocation and overheating.

It was to address this problem that, in the 17th century, the arcuccio co-sleeper was designed. Here was a baby bed that allowed mothers to breastfeed without getting up, or, in theory, even waking up. It was kind of like a wooden cage for the baby, designed to be placed right on the bed with its mother. The key innovation was a cutout for her breast, giving babies easy and intuitive access, while also preventing suffocation by keeping the bulk of the mother’s body, as well as the bedclothes, at bay.

It became so well known in Florence that its use was practically mandatory.

1. Baby cage

Patents for cage-like cribs suspended from windows several floors up were surprisingly common in the early twentieth century. One, from 1919, appeared after an influential pediatrician said children who sleep outdoors grew up stronger. Aimed at urban families, it was basically a bird cage for a baby that parents could attach to the window frame of their gardenless apartments.

Eleanor Roosevelt was among the baby cage’s fans. But the idea was less popular with her neighbors—one of whom threatened to report her for hanging her daughter out of the window. “This was a shock,” Roosevelt wrote later; she’d thought she was being “a most modern mother.”

Also known as a window crib or health cage, its fledgling popularity hasn’t survived to this day.

Ever since Richard Nixon got busted for the whole Watergate affair, presidential scandals have become depressingly normalized. Reagan had Iran-Contra. Clinton had his affair with Monica Lewinsky. Biden plagiarized, and Trump seemed to commit an impeachable offense every 48 hours for four years straight, and that wasn’t even counting the guy’s personal life. But in all the chaos, multiple other historical affairs involving US presidents have been forgotten or swept under the rug. Let’s take a look at a few long-lost presidential affairs from yesteryear…

10. The Petticoat Affair

The Petticoat Affair, also known as the Peggy Eaton Affair, was a serious social and political scandal during Andrew Jackson’s administration in the early 1830s. At its core was the marriage of Peggy Eaton, a young widow, to John Henry Eaton, a prominent politician and close friend of the President.

The scandal erupted due to the social snubbing Peggy received from Washington’s elite. Many of the cabinet members’ wives, led by Floride Calhoun (wife of Vice President John C. Calhoun), ostracized Peggy Eaton because of rumors about her allegedly improper conduct before her first husband’s death.

President Jackson, empathizing with Peggy’s predicament and drawing from his own experiences with his late wife Rachel, staunchly supported the Eatons. The scandal led to a reshuffling of Jackson’s cabinet, known as the “Kitchen Cabinet,” as several members, notably Vice President Calhoun, resigned over the issue.

9. The Teapot Dome Scandal

The Teapot Dome Scandal was another serious political scandal that unfolded in the early 1920s, during Warren G. Harding’s presidency. This one centered on the secret leasing of federal oil reserves, including the Teapot Dome in Wyoming and other locations in California, to private oil companies without competitive bidding.

Albert B. Fall, the Secretary of the Interior, played a central role in the scandal. He accepted bribes and loans from private oil companies in exchange for granting them lucrative leases to exploit the reserves. Harry Sinclair and Edward Doheny were prominent figures involved in this scandal, representing Sinclair Oil Corporation and Pan American Petroleum respectively.

The scandal came to light as investigations were conducted, revealing the corruption and bribery that had taken place. Fall became the first Cabinet member in US history to be imprisoned for crimes committed while in office. The Teapot Dome Scandal tarnished Harding’s administration and eroded public trust in the government, emphasizing the need for transparency and ethics in public office.

8. The Credit Mobilier Scandal

The Credit Mobilier scandal was a classic case of 19th-century American corruption, featuring intrigue, kickbacks, and even a railroad or two. Back in the late 1860s, during the construction of the First Transcontinental Railroad, the Credit Mobilier construction company was formed. Sounds innocent enough, right? Well, not quite.

See, the insiders of Credit Mobilier were also high-ranking officials of the Union Pacific Railroad, which was awarded the contract for building the eastern portion of the railroad. Here comes the twist: Credit Mobilier drastically overcharged the government for the construction, making huge profits while Uncle Sam footed the bill. To keep things hush-hush, they generously greased the palms of various politicians with company stock at a bargain. A bribe disguised as a stock option — now that’s an innovative financial maneuver.

Predictably, this cozy arrangement didn’t remain a secret forever. Journalists got wind of it and blew the case wide open, leading to congressional investigations (among those investigated, but ultimately absolved, was Schuyler Colfax, the Vice President to Ulysses S. Grant) and a fair share of public outrage. 

7. The Whiskey Ring Scandal

Ulysses S. Grant was a great general and created the Justice Department to fight the KKK. But as President, he did oversee a lot of corruption. The Whiskey Ring scandal in particular was like a plot twist in a 19th-century political drama, blending tax evasion, bribery, and the allure of whiskey. During the post-Civil War period, the federal government imposed a hefty tax on distilled spirits, a significant source of revenue. However, some distillers and government officials had a different recipe in mind.

In the early 1870s, a group of distillers and government agents conspired to evade taxes by underreporting their whiskey production. The plan was audacious but effective: pocket the tax money that should have gone to the government and ensure friendly faces were placed in key positions to facilitate this scheme. President Ulysses S. Grant’s own private secretary, Orville Babcock, was allegedly implicated in the ring.

The party came to an end when an honest Treasury Department clerk, John McDonald, blew the whistle. The subsequent investigations exposed the ring’s operations, leading to numerous indictments and convictions, including Babcock’s. This scandal not only shed light on the pervasive corruption in the Grant administration but also highlighted the importance of enforcing tax laws and maintaining integrity within government ranks. 

6. Nixon’s Secret Bombing of Cambodia

In the tumultuous era of the Vietnam War, President Richard Nixon added a controversial chapter by secretly ordering the bombing of Cambodia. This covert operation, known as the Cambodian Incursion, commenced in 1969. The rationale behind it was to target North Vietnamese supply routes (the Ho Chi Minh Trail) and base areas that extended into Cambodia.

However, Nixon’s decision to conduct these bombings without the approval or even knowledge of the U.S. Congress triggered a storm of legal and moral debates. The executive branch had overstepped its constitutional authority, bypassing the checks and balances system. The lack of transparency only fueled public distrust in the government, already exacerbated by the ongoing anti-war movement.

Furthermore, the Cambodian Incursion escalated the conflict geographically and extended the duration of the war. The bombings also had devastating consequences for Cambodia, destabilizing the region and contributing to the rise of the Khmer Rouge, which later plunged Cambodia into the horrors of the genocide. 

5. Grover Cleveland’s Illegitimate Child

Grover Cleveland, the 22nd and 24th President of the United States, found himself entangled in a scandal involving allegations of fathering an illegitimate child. In 1874, while he was a bachelor and a lawyer in Buffalo, New York, Cleveland supposedly had a relationship with Maria Halpin, a widow. The relationship ended, and Halpin gave birth to a son, Oscar Folsom Cleveland, in 1874. Cleveland, upon learning of the child, took responsibility and provided financial support.

This matter surfaced during the 1884 presidential campaign when Cleveland was the Democratic nominee. His opponents sought to tarnish his image by highlighting this scandal. Instead of denying the paternity allegations, Cleveland admitted to paying child support and acknowledged the possibility of being the father. He managed to weather the storm by being forthright and transparent about the situation, which helped to mitigate the scandal’s impact on his electoral prospects.

In a surprising twist, Cleveland was elected as the 22nd President of the United States. His handling of the scandal showcased his honesty and directness, qualities that appealed to the public. 

4. Warren G. Harding’s Extramarital Affairs 

Warren G. Harding, the 29th President of the United States, was involved in a scandalous series of extramarital affairs during his time in office. The guy was known for his charisma and affable demeanor, and clearly used that for some ill-gotten romantic gains. He soon became embroiled in several romantic relationships outside of his marriage to Florence Kling Harding. Notably, he was linked to women such as Nan Britton and Carrie Fulton Phillips.

One of the most infamous affairs was with Nan Britton, which began before Harding assumed the presidency. Britton claimed to have had a long-standing relationship with Harding, resulting in the birth of a daughter named Elizabeth Ann in 1919. Despite the affair’s scandalous nature, it came to light after Harding’s death, tarnishing his posthumous reputation.

Harding’s affairs were a poorly kept secret in political and social circles, but their full extent only came to light years later, helping him survive politically. 

3. Andrew Johnson’s Drunkenness

Andrew Johnson, the 17th President of the United States, was known for his struggles with alcohol and instances of public intoxication. His fondness for getting wasted was embarrassingly evident during his time in the public eye, both before and during his presidency. Johnson’s behavior was often erratic and at times embarrassing, which raised concerns about his ability to govern effectively.

Reports of Johnson’s drinking habits date back to his years in Tennessee politics, where his penchant for alcohol was pretty well-known. This carried into his Presidency, and he was observed inebriated on several occasions during important events. 

Johnson’s alcohol consumption during a time of great national significance fueled criticism and speculation about his fitness for office. But honestly, given how awful he was as President, maybe this shouldn’t come as that much of a surprise. 

2. Nixon’s Enemies List 

Yeah, Nixon had more scandals than just Watergate. During his presidency, there emerged an infamous “Enemies List,” officially titled the “Opponents List.” This list was compiled by aides in the Nixon administration to track individuals whom they perceived as political adversaries or critics of the president and his policies. The list included politicians, journalists, activists, and various public figures who were seen as detrimental to Nixon’s administration.

The list was revealed during the Watergate scandal, which engulfed Nixon’s presidency. It became public knowledge after it was disclosed by Dean Butterfield, a former White House counsel, during Senate hearings on the Watergate break-in and subsequent cover-up. The revelation shocked the nation, as it indicated a systematic effort to undermine political opponents.

The existence of this list proved how psychotically paranoid Nixon was, and how far he was willing to go to suppress dissent and opposition. 

1.  Andrew Jackson’s Duels 

Andrew Jackson, the seventh President of the United States, was involved in several duels during his lifetime. Maybe it shouldn’t be too surprising, since the guy was also known for his fiery temperament and unwillingness to let bygones be bygones in his personal life. 

One of the most infamous duels involving Andrew Jackson took place in 1806 with Charles Dickinson. Dickinson had insulted Jackson’s wife, Rachel, in a published letter. In their duel, Dickinson shot Jackson first, hitting him in the chest near the heart. Jackson, determined to defend his honor, took aim and fired, killing Dickinson. The bullet that struck Jackson remained lodged near his heart for the rest of his life.

Another notable duel was with Missouri Senator Thomas Hart Benton in 1813. In this duel, both men fired shots but missed, and they subsequently reconciled, forming a lifelong friendship. So that’s nice, we guess. But there really are better ways to make a pal than by failing to murder each other over petty grievances. 

Jackson’s willingness to defend his honor through dueling was a reflection of the societal norms and attitudes of his time, where pers