Random Weird Things You Didn't Know About Living In The White House (30 items)

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  (#1) The President Is Billed Every Month For Food And Incidentals

  There's no free lunch (or breakfast, brunch, or dinner) for the first family: All presidents and their families have to pay for their own food, dry cleaning, toothpaste, and other incidentals while in office; they're billed at the end of the month. Mental Floss notes the sticker shock caught Nancy Reagan off-guard, as she claimed nobody had informed her or President Reagan about having to pay for what they used from their salary. It shouldn't be a huge problem given how much the president gets paid, but expenses can add up quickly. 

  There's no charge, however, for food served at White House state functions - the taxpayers take care of this.
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  (#2) The West Wing Is Reportedly Full Of Roaches And Mice

  In 2017, White House officials allegedly submitted numerous requests for repairs and new equipment. But, as reported by NBC Washington's News4 I-Team, the most eye-opening one was for pest control to eradicate the mice getting into the Situation Room and the Navy's mess hall in the White House.

  In addition to this, News4 says there are apparently roaches in the West Wing.
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  (#3) There Is No Private Entrance Or Exit To The Residence

  It makes sense the first family can't just come and go as they please, but did you know, according to The Obamas by Jodi Kantor, they do not have any private entrances or exits where they live? It's one of the downsides to living in a combination fortress/museum.

  Staff and tourists have access to the Diplomatic Reception Room - close to where the entrance to the White House bedrooms is located - during regular operating hours, so the first family has to crouch behind brown screens to avoid detection.
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  (#4) White House Wi-Fi Isn't Great

  If your weak Wi-Fi is keeping you from your favorite sites, the first family feels for you. The Obamas told CBS on Super Bowl Sunday 2016 about the many Wi-Fi "dead spots" in the White House, and that the Obama girls got "frustrated" by them.

  In the weeks following this interview, the Roosevelt Room in the White House apparently saw improved Wi-Fi. This allowed White House personnel to briefly broadcast an event on Facebook Live, according to Newsweek.
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  (#5) There Is A Dentist's Office In The Basement

  The first family doesn't have to go far to get a dental filling: There's a dentist's office both in the basement of the White House and at the presidential retreat at Camp David. In a University of Michigan School of Dentistry newsletter, President George W. Bush's personal dentist says Bush "didn't require a lot of care" and "never talked politics."

  The basement also features a variety of shops, including ones that sell flowers, chocolates, and carpentry services.
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  (#6) Carpet Stains From First Pets Aren't Always Removed Immediately

  You would think someone would quickly take care of pet stains from the White House carpets, but this is not always the case. It's unclear if other administrations' pets left a mess behind, but there is one little legacy that remains confirmed.

  Obama family biographer Jodi Kantor tells The Guardian that thanks to the Bush family's cats, stains remained on the carpet when the Obamas took residence in the White House.
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  (#7) The President's Honey Comes From An On-Site Beehive

  If the first family wants to eat honey (or brew beer with it), they have a sweet little honey factory right on the property. Around 35,000 "first bees" live on the White House lawn and are taken care of by the official beekeeper, one of the more unusual White House careers.

  The beehive was built in 2009 - the first of its kind - and is located near the first lady's vegetable garden.
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  (#8) Kids Of Presidents Can Have Their Prom At The White House

  The White House sure beats a gymnasium or a VFW hall. Vanity Fair reports that first daughter Susan Ford threw the only (so far) White House prom in 1975. The 17-year-old partied with her fellow classmates from Holton-Arms School and her 21-year-old college-age date in the East Room until 1 am.

  It wasn't entirely a splashy display of wealth and power: The class actually paid for the prom with funds raised at bake sales and school fairs. Considering how crazy White House parties can get, prom is incredibly wholesome.
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  (#9) Presidents Can Get Nightly Massages

  White House ushers attend to the president's every need, right up until they go to bed. But what if they fall asleep outside of their bedroom? According to Reader's Digest, President Lyndon Johnson used to fall asleep on a massage table during his nightly rubdown, meaning his usher would have to wait until he woke up to be officially off duty.

  The usher claims LBJ on occasion didn't wake up until 5 am.
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  (#10) It's Easy For A First Kid To Sneak Up To The Roof, Apparently

  You would think the White House's roof would be off-limits, but plenty of rambunctious first kids have managed to sneak up there, according to The New York Times. MLive reported that Steve Ford brought a friend up there to listen to Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven."

  Per Texas Monthly, Jenna Bush Hager said she managed to escape the mansion's "millions of ghosts" to sneak a first kiss with her now-husband.
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  (#11) You Can't Adjust The Thermostat In Your Home Office Without Sparking Controversy

  Born in Hawaii, President Obama enjoyed a warm room - and his critics gave him plenty of heat for it. The "green" president received accusations of "stunning hypocrisy" for setting the Oval Office thermostat on high.

  How high? His chief of staff told The New York Times, "You could grow orchids in there."
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  (#12) Someone Will Record Your Favorite Shows For You (Even Before VCRs And DVRs Existed)

  These days, video-on-demand (VOD) services and DVRs make it easy for a member of the first family to catch their favorite shows (and there is likely a member of the White House staff to help arrange viewings), but it wasn't always so simple.

  Lady Bird Johnson, for example, loved the show Gunsmoke, but attending official functions as first lady prevented her from watching it. According to Growing Up Rich by Tom Gill, White House staff somehow recorded the show for her every week, even though there was no such thing as VCRs or DVRs at the time.
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  (#13) Even The President Picks Up Dog Poop

  President Obama enjoyed taking his dog Bo for late-night walks, but Secret Service agents weren't the ones picking up the poop, according to Washingtonian. The former commander in chief took care of Bo's droppings all by himself.

  So it's fair to say some presidential duties literally stank at times.
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  (#14) The First Family Can't Open Windows

  It makes sense from a security standpoint at the White House, but you have to admit that it's a bummer to never be able to open a window in your home and feel a cool breeze flow through.

  While on Ellen, first lady Michelle Obama said this was something she looked forward to the most when leaving the White House: simply cracking a window.

   
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  (#15) Moving Into The White House Only Takes About Six Hours

  Moving a new president into the White House doesn't take as long as you might think. According to Slate, thanks to the staff of more than 90 dedicated ushers and movers, it typically takes roughly six hours to move everything into the White House. It's a feat only accomplished after extensive planning and a long walkthrough with the first family.

  Why so fast? There is no downtime for the staff.

   
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  (#16) All Of The Wine Served At The White House Is Made In The US

  While it's true the first family can special order just about any food or drink they desire, the only wine served in the White House is American wine, mainly from Virginia, Idaho, and California.

  Have a hankering for something European? You won't find it on the property - French wine was taken off the menu during the Ford administration.

   
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  (#17) Almost None Of The Original Furniture Is In The White House, Thanks To The British

  While some of the furniture and art in the White House is old, nothing except a single painting of George Washington is from the original house. This is because in 1814, British forces burned the White House down to the ground. James Madison's wife Dolley famously saved George Washington's portrait during the fire.

  Before being evacuated from the White House - thanks to looming British troops - she selected some personal items to take with her. She knew the Brits would more than likely torch her house, so she grabbed the portrait that hung above the White House's fireplace. Now, in the White House, Dolley's portrait looks upon Washington's - a symbol of what she did for him when she was first lady. 
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  (#18) You Might Still Have To Make Your Own Bed

  Just because presidential kids have White House staff members to attend to their every need doesn't mean they're exempt from chores. For example, the Obamas instructed first daughters Sasha and Malia to make their beds and clean up after themselves.

  According to The Week, Michelle Obama believed so strongly in this that it was reportedly the first thing she told the staff upon arriving at the White House.

   
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  (#19) The White House Serves Hipster-Friendly Coffee

  Enjoying pour-over coffee is a hipster stereotype, but the numbers don't lie: The Chemex-brand glass brewing device is hugely popular, so much so that the Massachusetts company was struggling to keep them in stock at the start of 2016.

  President Obama's hip administration managed to snag 150 of them, according to MassLive, even getting them etched with the Presidential Seal. 
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  (#20) It's Cool To Slide Down The Banisters (If You're The President's Kid)

  Radar Online reports Michelle Obama wasn't certain the White House would make a great home for her daughters until she saw them sliding down the banisters. It's a rite of passage for many presidential children: The Bush twins enjoyed the solarium's banisters a lot, according to CNN.

  Theo Bear writes in The Mouse in the White House that Teddy Roosevelt's six kids slid down the banister on the regular.
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  (#21) You Can Still Cook Your Own Breakfast

  The first family does have an "unmanned" kitchen in their living quarters that they are free to use. WSJ reports first lady Hillary Clinton liked cooking scrambled eggs for her daughter Chelsea. Why? It was her daughter's favorite comfort food.

  Moreover, the humble dish supposedly helped create a sense of "normalcy" for Chelsea.
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  (#22) There's A Storage Facility Of Old Stuff From Past Presidents That The Current President Can Use For The White House

  If you come to the White House with minimal furniture (like the Obamas did in 2009), fret not. According to Slate, there is a warehouse of old furniture and several pieces of art collected from past presidents that the current president can put up in the White House - many of which are true treasures. Among the art collection are Georgia O'Keeffe and Norman Rockwell paintings.

  There are also gifts from dignitaries around the world, antique rugs, and a four-poster bed. 
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  (#23) You Almost Never Carry Any Cash

  There's no rule against it, but presidents and first families have little need to carry cash or credit cards, especially while in the White House (even though their groceries and other amenities are not free).

  Why should they, when everything they consume is either added to their tab or paid for by taxpayers?

   
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  (#24) One Presidential Kid Says The White House Is Filled With 'Millions Of Ghosts'

  Presidential daughter Jenna Bush Hager was convinced the White House was haunted. She told Texas Monthly that "millions of ghosts" inhabit the mansion, and she claimed to have once heard "opera noises" coming from the fireplace.

  Her twin sister Barbara has also allegedly heard spooky "1950s piano music" in a White House bedroom late at night.
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  (#25) Presidents Can Redecorate The Oval Office (But Some Don't)

  White House Museum claims that every new president is allowed to redecorate the Oval Office, including designing a custom rug (like Laura Bush did for her husband's office). But that doesn't mean they all do: Eisenhower and Carter left things alone, and Reagan waited until his second term to change the rug.

  President Obama mixed things up quite a bit, adding stripes to the wall and quotations on the rug.

   
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  (#26) The First Family Sees Movies Before The Rest Of Us

  Hollywood is happy to send films to the White House Family Theater, according to White House Museum, even movies that aren't yet available for public viewing. Originally a cloakroom, the theater was built in the 1940s and seats about 40 people.

  The Guardian reports George W. Bush enjoyed the Austin Powers trilogy and action movies, including 9/11-themed films like United 93.
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  (#27) Presidents Play Video Games, Too

  No word if President Obama enjoyed next-generation consoles like the PS4 or Xbox One (like Frank Underwood on House of Cards), but his daughters did receive a Nintendo Wii as a Christmas present in 2008, according to The New York Times. The former commander in chief reportedly plays Wii Sports.

  Apparently, President Obama was far better at video-game bowling than real-life bowling (he scored a 37 while campaigning).

   
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  (#28) A President's Kids Can Decorate However They Want (Including With Boy Band Posters)

  Most of the White House is essentially a museum, but the first family's living quarters are a little more relaxed, especially when it comes to decorating and renovating. The president's children, for example, are allowed to put up posters and paint their rooms however they wish, according to the Chicago Tribune.

  The president and first lady still have to approve it, of course, but it's not like putting new wallpaper in the Oval Office.

   
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  (#29) There's A Putting Green Just Outside The Oval Office

  Just outside the door to the president's home office is a putting green designed to help the commander in chief perfect his putt. President Clinton moved it there in 1995, and George W. Bush and Barack Obama have enjoyed it ever since.

  President Eisenhower installed the first putting green in 1954, though it was in a different location at the time.

   
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  (#30) It's Hectic For The Staff To Prepare For A New President

  Per New York Daily News, staff members have "mere hours" to get things situated for an incoming president. And it takes more than 90 staff members to get things into tip-top shape before the president arrives. Aside from the actual moving, the staff needs to have a stock of the presidential family's food preferences, prepare for their particular needs and wants, as well as get the household under control.

  According to former White House chief usher Gary Walters, the process of a president getting settled in was "organized chaos."

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