“Volcano Schmolcano.”
~Harry Randall Truman
Harry Truman was born in 1884. He served in World War I before going into politics, where he became the 33rd President of the United States. He held that office from 1945 to 1953, and he died at the age of 88 in 1972 in Kansas City, Missouri. Harry Randall Truman was born twelve years later in West Virginia, also served in World War I, and went on to live a pretty similar life to his presidential namesake, only instead of leading the free world, he lived in a cabin near Mount St. Helens with 16 cats and got buried under hundreds of feet of mountain debris after stubbornly refusing to leave his home during the nation’s deadliest volcano eruption. So, they’re pretty much the same dude.
And while there are hundreds of books about President Truman, there’s less literature on Harry Randall Truman, the man who became famous for a few months for saying, “Fuck you, volcano, come at me, bro,” until the volcano, you know. Came at him. Bro. So let’s take a moment to recognize a proud American who loved his home while failing to fully comprehend how volcanoes worked.
Harry Randall Truman: Unsuccessful Volcano Dodger
America Fun Fact of the Day 