Presidential Plumbing Trivia

Ben Franklin Plumbing Van
Ben Franklin Plumbing Van
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President’s Day is today so we thought it would be fun to share some interesting presidential plumbing trivia with you.master-bath-1952-se

A common presidential myth is President Taft got stuck in the White House bath tub but there is a lot more to say about President Taft and plumbing.

Yahoo news reports that “President Taft and his Justice Department were involved in breaking up the Bathtub Trust, a cartel of porcelain makers who were bent on creating a price-fixing monopoly that controlled bathtubs and toilets.

Also, President Taft had an extra-large tub in the White House to accommodate his size. The tub remained in the White House until it was being removed during a renovation.

The super-tub came from J. L. Mott and Sons pottery in New York. In 2009, the National Archives had a replica tub on display, along with the order for the original tub.”

In a rare behind-the-scenes look at what happens in the White House, this is a picture of the workers who installed the bathtub for William Howard Taft. Somehow this photo made it into the newspapers and embarrassed Taft.

Below is a picture of what whitehousemuseum.org calls “The Other Master Bathroom.” It is “a mini-suite with its own walk-in closet and bathroom. When rebuilt in the Truman reconstruction, the shower stall was even designed with a skylight that gets light from a rooftop skylight funneled down through a little closet. This is the shower that Lyndon Johnson installed such powerful nozzles in that Richard Nixon later claimed nearly flung him out of the stall.”

On the topic of plumbers, it is interesting to note that President Nixon assigned a team of aides known as “the plumbers” to stop leaks about Watergate from getting to the press. They didn’t succeed.

Thankfully The Plumbers at Ben Franklin Plumbing AZ are ready and willing to help you with your plumbing needs. Whether you require a custom bath tub, specialized water pressure or even have secrets to keep, we are at your service this President’s Day and always. (602) 273-1740

 

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/clearing-william-howard-taft-bathtub-112026911.html

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