Readers of Commonplace will not be surprised to learn that one little mistranslation from one language to another can be embarrassing. Whether it is one misplaced letter when cheering General Douglas MacArthur, an incompetent […]
As President Harry Truman’s daughter, Margaret, played the piano one day, she was startled as one leg of the piano suddenly dropped through the floor of the White House residential level. Engineers […]
Armchair lawyers often throw around caution about the color of ink that is needed when signing a legal document, and they certainly do not approve of using a pencil. If there was […]
“Three things ruin a man: power, money, and women. I never wanted power. I never had any money, and the only woman in my life is up at the house right now.” […]
President Harry Truman occasionally practiced Abraham Lincoln’s technique of venting anger through letters that were written, but not sent. Truman — who at this point had been out of office for almost […]
Mrs. Henrietta Nesbitt was the chief housekeeper of the White House during the administration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. She believed the White House should lead the way in setting an example […]
Any study of the Korean War would be incomplete without looking into the conflict between President Harry Truman and General Douglas MacArthur. Truman’s firing of MacArthur was a pivotal event in American […]
President Harry Truman’s parents agreed their son’s middle name should honor his grandfather, but they were not in agreement about which one: Anderson Shipp Truman or Solomon Young. They decided that “S” […]
Commonplace Fun Facts 