Scary Facts, Critical Thinking Class

4 Pages 1033 Words

Scary Presidential Facts

Do you ever get those emails that have those weird facts in them and you just wonder how can this be true? Well, I was checking my email one day and sure enough I got one of those emails. It sounded like it was true, I mean I am not a history buff so I could not be totally sure, but there was only one way to find out, research it.
This crazy email that I received was stating that every president that gets elected in a year that ends in a zero dies in office or has survived an assassination attempt. Now that sounds a bit crazy. This especially got my attention because; George W. Bush was elected in 2000. I wanted to see if this was true, to see what the future had in store for Mr. Bush.
Sure enough it was true. William Henry Harrison, elected in 1840, died in office from pneumonia. Abraham Lincoln elected in 1860, assassinated while in office. James A. Garfield, elected in 1880, assassinated while in office. William McKinley, elected in 1900, assassinated while in office. Warren G. Harding, elected in 1920, died in office from a heart attack. Franklin D. Roosevelt, elected in 1940, died in office from cerebral hemorrhage. John F. Kennedy, elected in 1960, assassinated while in office. The next president is the only lucky one out of the bunch, but he still had a close call. Ronald Reagan, elected in 1980, survived an assassination attempt. Now, if you just remembered that Mr. Bush was elected in 2000, you are right, so we will see if this is a curse for presidents elected in a year that ends in a zero.
The next part of the email really freaked me out, and I’m positive it will do the same to you. Here we go:
Abraham Lincoln was elected to Congress in 1846.
John F. Kennedy was elected into Congress in 1946.
Both of these statements are indeed true. Both of these presidents were elected into congress 100 years apart.
Abraham Lincoln was elected President in 1860.
John F. Kennedy was ...