Chunk 18: Time for some heavy relief.

It’s been a pretty torrid week in American politics, what with the continuing protests and violence in the streets, and accusations that Trump has previously referred to fallen soldiers as “suckers” and “losers”.

So yeah, yuck.

As a relief for everyone, I’ve decided to make this chunk about a much lighter topic. And by lighter, I mean heavier, because today, we’re going to talk entirely about America’s fattest president, Howard Taft.

History remembers Taft, the 27th President of the United States, for two reasons: he is the only individual to also serve as the Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court (a large feat in itself), and because, in his prime, Taft weighed in excess of 350 pounds, which is just shy of 160 kilos.

Speaking of prime, part of the reason for Taft’s girth was his insistence on eating steak each day for breakfast. In fact, according to official diaries, his morning meal would consist of: one 12-ounce steak, two oranges, several pieces of buttered toast plus plenty of milk-and-sugar-fortified coffee.

Throughout the remainder of the day, he was known to enjoy grapefruit, potted or grilled partridge, broiled venison, waffles with maple syrup and butter, hominy, hot rolls and bacon. His doctor also cautioned him about his excess intake of possum, but he was loath to listen. After all, who isn’t partial to the occasional marsupial munching?

But give Taft some credit: he didn’t like eggs, and thus somehow managed to restrain himself. Kudos, Howard.

While his achievements as president were - unlike the man - rather slight, there are two stories about him that have become Washington folklore.

One is how he once became wedged in the White House bathtub, needing the help of six men, each carrying slabs of butter, to pry him loose.

The second is that as a massive baseball fan (well, pretty much a massive anything), he used to - very considerately - buy two seats at each game, allowing those beside him to feel less restricted.

And so, at one particular game, Taft arrived with his two tickets to show the collector, calming explaining why one individual required two seats. To which the collector reportedly replied, “Yes sir, but these seats are on different sides of the aisle”.

Good times.