It all started aboard a steamship on the Mississippi River.
In our latest episode, we bring you the story behind the story—the story being my recently published article in Smithsonian magazine: “Popular Lore Claims That William Howard Taft Got Stuck in a Bathtub. New Research Sheds Light on the Legend’s Forgotten Origins.” (Check it out and support the work Smithsonian is doing to preserve history!)
Listen now:
When I first started researching the history of the story that President Taft got stuck in a White House bathtub, I never intended to uncover new details about its origin. But I just couldn’t help myself.
I found that the historical consensus that traced the story to White House chief usher Ike Hoover’s 1934 memoir was off. Hoover may have popularized the story, but he was not, as previously thought, the progenitor.
We may never know exactly where the story came from or whether it’s based on a real incident (or series of incidents across the country, if you believe the local tales) but for now, I’m confident that the earliest printed version of the story dates to 1929 in an article by travel writer and adventurer Lewis R. Freeman for American magazine—and it’s a wild tale that involves a Mississippi steamship and one inimitable Major Butt.
Listen now:
Check out the Plodding Substack post “Taft’s Nationwide Bathtub Tour” for even more bathtub lore!
*Correction: In the episode, the Wichita house where Taft supposedly got lodged in the bath was referred to as the Charles Long House—that should be Chester Long.
