Category: Politics and Government

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France’s Worst President

Paul Deschanel was a French politician, orator, and writer who served as the 10th President of the French Third Republic in 1920. While he enjoyed a long, distinguished political and literary career, he is best remembered for his brief, tragicomic presidency, which lasted just seven months before being cut short by a severe mental breakdown.

Rise to Power

  • Distinguished Career: Prior to his presidency, Deschanel was an influential parliamentarian representing the Eure-et-Loir department for 35 years. He served twice as President of the Chamber of Deputies (the lower house of Parliament), notably holding the position throughout World War I, where he gained fame as a patriotic orator.
  • Literary Achievement: An accomplished intellectual, he authored numerous books on literature and political science and was elected to the prestigious Académie française in 1899.
  • Defeating “The Tiger”: In January 1920, Deschanel achieved his lifelong ambition of becoming president by defeating Georges Clemenceau—France’s legendary wartime Prime Minister—in a surprise election victory.

The Presidency & Mental Collapse

Shortly after taking office, Deschanel began suffering from severe anxiety, depression, and neurological deterioration, likely brought on by dementia or extreme overwork. His erratic behavior quickly became the talk of Paris:

  1. The Train Incident (May 24, 1920): While traveling overnight on the presidential train to Montbrison, an intoxicated or confused Deschanel fell out of his compartment window while trying to open it. The train was moving slowly, so he survived with only minor scrapes. Dressed only in his pajamas, he walked to a nearby railway track-watcher’s cottage, claiming to be the President of France. The worker’s wife famously brushed him off at first, thinking he was a drunk local.
  2. Strange Public Episodes: Reports began surfacing of other bizarre occurrences—such as signing state documents as “Napoleon” or “Charlemagne,” receiving dignitaries while wearing only his presidential sash, and wandering into a lake fully clothed at the Château de Rambouillet.

Resignation and Legacy

  • Resignation: Realizing he was unfit to govern, Deschanel resigned on September 21, 1920, after just 216 days in office. He was succeeded by Prime Minister Alexandre Millerand.
  • Recovery: After resting at a sanatorium, his mental health improved significantly. He was elected to the French Senate in early 1921, where he served until his death from pleurisy in April 1922.
  • Historical Impact: Beyond the popular folklore surrounding his train fall, Deschanel was notable for his progressive stance on foreign affairs and his lifelong opposition to the death penalty; notably, no state executions took place during his time as head of state.
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Worst Beach

10 Interesting Facts About Dead Horse Bay

  1. Ghastly Origin of the Name:
    In the 1850s, the surrounding area housed numerous rendering plants. Dead horses from the streets of New York City were brought here to be boiled down into glue, fertilizer, and animal oil, giving the bay its macabre name.
  2. A Treasure Trove of Vintage Trash:
    In the 1950s, a cap holding back a massive 1930s landfill burst open. Ever since, decades-old trash, predominantly from the 1920s to the 1950s, has been washing up onto the shore continuously.
  3. The “Glass Bottle Beach”:
    Dead Horse Bay is famous among urban explorers and collectors for its carpet of vintage glass bottles. Thousands of perfume bottles, medicine vials, soda bottles, and liquor flasks from early 20th-century New York line the beach.
  4. Accidental Time Capsule:
    Because the landfill buried items in an oxygen-deprived environment before it ruptured, many delicate artifacts—such as leather shoes, nylon stockings, bone buttons, and plastic toys—remained remarkably preserved for over half a century.
  5. Connected to Robert Moses:
    Famous NYC urban planner Robert Moses used garbage, sand, and incinerator ash in the 1930s to fill in the marshland, aiming to connect Barren Island to Brooklyn to expand Marine Park.
  6. Barren Island’s Ghost Town:
    Before becoming a giant landfill, Barren Island (which borders Dead Horse Bay) was home to a tight-knit community of factory workers, immigrants, and off-grid residents. The city evicted the remaining community members in the 1930s to clear space for Floyd Bennett Field.
  7. Radioactive Discovery and Closure:
    In 2020, the National Park Service indefinitely closed the primary beach area at Dead Horse Bay after elevated levels of gamma radiation—traced back to buried vintage industrial waste like radium dials—were detected on the surface.
  8. A Clanging Symphony of Sound:
    Visitors to the beach often noted a distinct sound: as tides roll in and out, thousands of glass bottles bang against one another and against rocks, creating a unique, wind-chime-like clanging sound.
  9. Part of a National Recreation Area:
    Despite its industrial and toxic past, Dead Horse Bay sits on land managed by the National Park Service as part of the Gateway National Recreation Area in Brooklyn, New York.
  10. A Haven for Horseshoe Crabs:
    In addition to historical detritus, the bay serves as an important spawning ground for horseshoe crabs—ancient marine arthropods that come ashore every spring during full and new moons to lay their eggs.
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10 Worst Kamala Harris Jokes

When Kamala enters a room, Siri automatically stands up.

She once gave a speech so confident that the podium started clapping.

Kamala doesn’t argue — she “clarifies energetically.”

When Kamala says, “Let’s get started,” three committees spontaneously form.

Kamala’s favorite exercise is “holding people accountable.”

Kamala’s laugh has been officially declared a renewable energy source.

Her favorite party game? “Cross-Examine the Host.”

Kamala once debated her GPS about the fastest route — and won.

When Kamala starts a sentence with “Here’s the thing,” you know the thing is about to happen.

Kamala Harris has had so many titles now – Vice President, Senator, District Attorney – her business cards must be the size of a CVS receipt.

From California AG to VP – she traded prosecuting criminals for sitting next to them during State of the Union addresses.

She’s mastered the political skill of saying “the Vice President agrees” while her facial expression says something entirely different.

Why did Kamala Harris bring a pencil to the Senate? Because she’s always ready to draw bipartisan support.

Kamala doesn’t need a cape. Her pantsuit already has superpowers.

Kamala Harris once gave a speech so powerful, the teleprompter asked for a raise.

Kamala Harris once filibustered a traffic jam.

Kamala Harris doesn’t just break glass ceilings. She recycles them into podiums.

Kamala’s speeches are so sharp, they come with a warning label: “May cause inspiration.”

Kamala’s favorite board game? Checks and balances.

Kamala Harris doesn’t just read the Constitution. She edits it for clarity.

Kamala Harris once gave a pep talk to a vending machine. It started dispensing hope.

Kamala’s favorite workout? Running for office.

Why did Kamala Harris excel at hide-and-seek? She’s a pro at finding the joy in every situation.

How did Kamala Harris fix her broken watch? She took it to the debate and argued it back to life!

How does Kamala Harris play Monopoly? She buys Park Place and turns it into a community joy center.

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Worst Personality Turn

People who can construct things including art, music or writing find fulfillment and joy in their creations. However, those who can’t, or believe they can’t, tend to use the same energy, but to destroy things.

How can we help redirect people who are destructive into constructive pursuits?

Perhaps if this became a ‘thing,’ the world would be free from bullies, crooked politicians and undesirable people. Maybe helping everyone become constructive would even end warfare.


constructive vs destructive

constructive vs destructive

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Worst Waste of Tax Dollars

The US Navy set out to create an advanced, centralized computer network to automate inventory, supply chain management, and bookkeeping across its global fleet and shore stations.

Originally budgeted in the tens of millions of dollars (initial estimates for software and implementation were around $33 million), the project was plagued by severe technical flaws, poor management, hardware incompatibilities, and massive scope creep.

As costs skyrocketed past $200 million with little usable functionality delivered, Congress stepped in. The project was audited heavily by the General Accounting Office (GAO), and after spending roughly $230 million (the equivalent of over $1 billion today), the program was officially scrapped without ever becoming fully operational.

Defense critics and government oversight committees frequently cited the project as a textbook example of massive waste, concluding the military spent hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars and walked away with nothing useful.

In a similar case, the United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS) spent $180 million just to decide if they should buy a $1.8 billion computerized tax return system. They decided no.

The IRS proposed TAS, a massive, centralized computer network designed to replace its aging computer hardware and give thousands of employees instant access to taxpayer files. The total projected cost to procure, install, and run the complete system was estimated at $1.8 billion.

Over several years of research, preliminary design, systems testing, and feasibility studies, the IRS and the Department of the Treasury spent approximately $180 million planning and preparing for the system.

The project faced intense backlash from Congress, the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA), and privacy advocates over fears of government surveillance, potential misuse of centralized taxpayer data, and astronomical cost overruns. Under heavy Congressional pressure and rising public opposition, the Treasury Department and the IRS officially canceled the project before the full system was ever purchased or deployed.

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Worst Laws in the United States

The following is excerpted from a book published in 1858:

THE FAMOUS CONNECTICUT BLUE LAWS. – These laws, enacted by the people of the “Dominion of New Haven,” became known as the blue laws because they were printed on blue paper. They were as follows: –

The governor and magistrates convened in general assembly are the supreme power, under God, of the independent dominion. From the determination of the assembly no appeal shall be made.

No one shall be a freeman or have a vote unless he is converted and a member of one of the churches allowed in the dominion.

Each freeman shall swear by the blessed God to bear true allegiance to this dominion and that Jesus is the only king.

No dissenter from the essential worship of this dominion shall be allowed to give a vote for electing of magistrates or any officer.

No food or lodging shall be offered to a heretic.

No one shall cross a river on the Sabbath but authorized clergymen.

No one shall travel, cook victuals, make beds, sweep houses, cut hair, or shave on the Sabbath Day.

No one shall kiss his or her children on the Sabbath or feasting days.

The Sabbath Day shall begin at sunset Saturday.

Whoever wears clothes trimmed with gold, silver, or bone lace above one shilling per yard shall be presented by the grand jurors and the selectmen shall tax the estate L300.

Whoever brings cards or dice into the dominion shall pay a fine of L5.

No one shall eat mince pies, dance, play cards, or play any instrument of music except the drum, trumpet, or jews harp.

No gospel minister shall join people in marriage. The magistrate may join them, as he may do it with less scandal to Christ’s church.

When parents refuse their children convenient marriages, the magistrate shall determine the point.

A man who strikes his wife shall be fined L10.

A woman who strikes her husband shall be punished as the law directs.

No man shall court a maid in person or by letter without obtaining the consent of her parents; L5 penalty for the first offense; L10 for the second, and for the third imprisonment during the pleasure of the court.

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Worst Thing to do with Clocks

Daylight Savings Time, an American phenomenon has been debated for years. Springing ahead can be dangerous. The number of people who suffer strokes during the two days following moving the clock ahead is eight percent higher.

Daylight Saving Time (DST) is practiced in dozens of countries around the world, yet it remains one of the most debated and misunderstood seasonal traditions. Here are 10 fascinating facts about its history, impact, and origins.

Here’s more about DST

  1. Benjamin Franklin Did Not Invent It
    While Benjamin Franklin wrote a satirical 1784 essay suggesting Parisians wake up earlier to save on candle wax—even proposing firing cannons at dawn—he never suggested changing the clock. The modern idea was actually conceived in 1895 by George Hudson, a New Zealand entomologist who wanted extra evening sunlight after work to collect bugs.
  2. It Was First Adopted to Save Coal During WWI
    The German Empire was the first nation to officially adopt Daylight Saving Time on April 30, 1916, as a wartime measure to conserve coal. The United Kingdom and other European nations followed weeks later, and the United States introduced its own version in 1918.
  3. Farmers Are Not Fans
    A widespread myth claims DST was created to help farmers, but agricultural workers were actually its fiercest opponents. Disrupted animal schedules—like cows refusing to produce milk an hour earlier—and misaligned supply chains led farmers to lobby heavily against it. In the US, farmers led the push to repeal DST after WWI.
  4. It Costs More Energy Than It Saves in Some Places
    While created for energy conservation, modern studies show DST has a negligible effect on energy usage and can even increase it. A famous 2006 study in Indiana found that while DST reduced lighting demand, it increased home air conditioning and heating use, raising total electricity bills across the state by $9 million annually.
  5. It Triggers Measurable Health Risks
    The spring shift forward causes a collective loss of one hour of sleep, which leads to notable spikes in public health issues. Epidemiological studies show a ~24% increase in heart attack risk on the Monday immediately following the spring shift, alongside spikes in workplace injuries, fatal traffic accidents, and miscarriages among IVF patients.
  6. Not All of the United States Observes It
    In the US, Hawaii and most of Arizona do not observe DST (Arizona opted out in 1968 due to its extreme summer heat, as residents preferred earlier nightfall). US territories—including Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands—also do not observe DST.
  7. The US Tried Year-Round DST in 1974 (and Hated It)
    During the 1973 OPEC oil embargo, President Richard Nixon signed a bill instituting year-round DST starting in January 1974. Public support plummeted when winter arrived, as children were forced to commute to school in total darkness, leading to high-profile traffic accidents. Congress repealed the law just eight months later.
  8. A Two-Minute Window Helped a Draft-Dodger
    During the Vietnam War, an American born on November 2, 1963, at 1:10 AM local time used DST to dodge the draft. His home state was undergoing the standard fall clock shift on that date. When his birth time occurred, the clock turned back to 1:00 AM, making his official standard time 12:10 AM—which shifted his birthdate back to November 1 and altered his draft lottery number.
  9. It Drives Retail and Commerce Politics
    The golf, outdoor recreation, and candy industries have historically been major lobbyists for extended DST. Extra daylight in the evening encourages consumers to shop, play golf, and spend money outside. In 1986, the US extended DST by a month largely through lobbying efforts by golf and barbecue equipment manufacturers.
  10. A Chaos-Causing Period Known as “Chaos Time”
    Before the US Uniform Time Act of 1966, states, towns, and cities could choose whether or not to observe DST and when to start it. This created total logistical chaos; a 35-mile bus ride between Steubenville, Ohio, and Moundsville, West Virginia, passed through seven different time changes in less than an hour.