Though not the first President of the United States (he
was the 6th), or even the first in his family, John Quincy Adams did have a lot
of firsts. He was the first president who
did not hold slaves, the only
President to later serve in Congress
and the first President to ever be photographed.
Preferring
trousers to knee breeches and wearing his hair short instead of in a ponytail,
John Quincy once accepted the gift of an alligator (another
first) from Marquis de Lafayette. He kept his reptilian friend in the unfinished East
Room of the White House and enjoyed showing it off to visitors. Possibly due to
his wife (America’s only foreign-born
First lady – to date), silkworms were also Friends of the Famous family. The production of silk is called Sericulture. Sadly, in the process they die; for the cocoons must
be boiled.
Having kept
a diary since age 11, by the time of his death John Quincy had amassed an
impressive collection of first-hand accounts of the early American republic
period; fifty volumes of which are
kept at the Massachusetts Historical Society. ∞
Emmy award-winning
comedic actress and spokeswoman for Jenny Craig, Kirstie Alley has fourteen special
ring-tailed friends called Lemurs, but she doesn’t recommend them as pets
because they live to be nearly thirty years old, require a strict diet and
constant care. Endemic to Madagascar, lemurs are considered one of the most
endangered mammals on earth. Roman mythologists believed they were the restless spirits of the undead, which
could explain reputed complaints from Ms. Alley’s neighbors. But Ms. Alley
deems them “Zen”, spiritually speaking, and claims they even sit in the lotus
position. ∞
As records go, our third and final friend in the A category is Adwaita;
who made only one. Weighing in at a mere 551
pounds the Aldabra tortoise lived to be an estimated 255 years old, and believed to be among the
longest-living animals in the world! ∞
Have you ever been given an unusual pet? Would you keep and
alligator? Do you have any unusual pets?
It's the Blogging A to Z April 2016 Challenge! Sign up or check out more blogs here.
