Barack Hussein Obama made history on January 20, 2009 when he was sworn in as the first African American President of the United State of America. That, and for being the first person named “Barack” to do anything famous. The son of a Kenyan father and American mother, we hear Barry – as his childhood friends used to call him – is spending his 51st birthday playing a round of golf and then chilling out at Camp David, the Presidential retreat in Maryland. In honor of his birthday, here are 10 fun facts you probably didn’t know about Barry O. Happy Birthday Mr. President!
1) Obama collects Spider-Man and Conan the Barbarian comics2) The “most powerful man in the world” once applied to appear in a black pin-up calendar while at Harvard. The all-female committee rejected him. I bet they hate themselves now.
3) On his desk, Obama keeps a carving of a wooden hand holding an egg. This is not because he loves breakfast, but because it’s a Kenyan symbol meant to remind us of the fragility of life.
4) Politics seems to run in the family. Obama’s late father was also in government – in Kenya. He served as a senior economist.
5) Like many of us, Obama once attended a buddy’s stag party (it was for his half-sister’s fiancé). Unlike all of us, he left when the stripper showed up.
6) The American President is an adventurous eater. While he lived in Indonesia as a young boy, he tried out local delicacies like dog meat, snake meat, and roasted grasshoppers. Yum.
7) His favourite films are Casablanca and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Apparently the Prez hasn’t seen a movie in a while.
8) His name, Barack, means “one who is blessed” in Swahili.
9) He is an avid and accomplished basketball player, and was nicknamed “O’Bomber” in high school for his skills. The Taliban would agree, but for very different reasons.
10) We all know Obama won a Nobel Peace Prize, but did you know he’s also won a Grammy? That was in 2006 for the audio recording of his best selling book, Dreams From My Father.
