50 lesser known facts about Barack Obama




• He collects Spider-Man and Conan the Barbarian comics

• He was known as "O'Bomber" at high school for his skill at basketball

• His name means "one who is blessed" in Swahili

• His favourite meal is wife Michelle's shrimp linguini

• He won a Grammy in 2006 for the audio version of his memoir, Dreams From My Father

• He is left-handed – the sixth post-war president to be left-handed

• He has read every Harry Potter book

• He owns a set of red boxing gloves autographed by Muhammad Ali

• He worked in a Baskin-Robbins ice cream shop as a teenager and now can't stand ice cream

• His favourite snacks are chocolate-peanut protein bars

• He ate dog meat, snake meat, and roasted grasshopper while living in Indonesia

• He can speak Spanish

• While on the campaign trail he refused to watch CNN and had sports channels on instead

• His favourite drink is black forest berry iced tea

• He promised Michelle he would quit smoking before running for president – he didn't

• He kept a pet ape called Tata while in Indonesia

• He can bench press an impressive 200lbs

• He was known as Barry until university when he asked to be addressed by his full name

• His favourite book is Moby-Dick by Herman Melville

• He visited Wokingham, Berks, in 1996 for the stag party of his half-sister's fiancι, but left when a stripper arrived

• His desk in his Senate office once belonged to Robert Kennedy

• He and Michelle made $4.2 million (£2.7 million) last year, with much coming from sales of his books

• His favourite films are Casablanca and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

• He carries a tiny Madonna and child statue and a bracelet belonging to a soldier in Iraq for good luck

• He applied to appear in a black pin-up calendar while at Harvard but was rejected by the all-female committee.

• His favourite music includes Miles Davis, Bob Dylan, Bach and The Fugees

• He took Michelle to see the Spike Lee film Do The Right Thing on their first date

• He enjoys playing Scrabble and poker

• He doesn't drink coffee and rarely drinks alcohol

• He would have liked to have been an architect if he were not a politician

• As a teenager he took drugs including marijuana and cocaine

• His daughters' ambitions are to go to Yale before becoming an actress (Malia, 10) and to sing and dance (Sasha, 7)

• He hates the youth trend for trousers which sag beneath the backside

• He repaid his student loan only four years ago after signing his book deal

• His house in Chicago has four fire places

• Daughter Malia's godmother is Jesse Jackson's daughter Santita

• He says his worst habit is constantly checking his BlackBerry

• He uses an Apple Mac laptop

• He drives a Ford Escape Hybrid, having ditched his gas-guzzling Chrysler 300

• He wears $1,500 (£952) Hart Schaffner Marx suits

• He owns four identical pairs of black size 11 shoes

• He has his hair cut once a week by his Chicago barber, Zariff, who charges $21 (£13)

• His favourite fictional television programmes are Mash and The Wire

• He was given the code name "Renegade" by his Secret Service handlers

• He was nicknamed "Bar" by his late grandmother

• He plans to install a basketball court in the White House grounds

• His favourite artist is Pablo Picasso

• His speciality as a cook is chilli

• He has said many of his friends in Indonesia were "street urchins"

• He keeps on his desk a carving of a wooden hand holding an egg, a Kenyan symbol of the fragility of life

• His late father was a senior economist for the Kenyan government




50 lesser known facts about Barack Obama

50 lesser known facts about Barack Obama

Compiled by The Telegraph. www.telegraph.co.uk

Know anything about this? Email us
Email a friend Privacy policy
Misc
Link to this page
Newsletter: Sign up
Keep BoreMe fresh: Contribute

View by top voted  |  date

Guest (373 days ago)

He's an old school, Chicago political HACK. There is nothing new about him. Look at the retreads he's bringing into his administration. CHANGE? My ass. Let's just HOPE he doesn't ruin the country in his one term.

Guest (371 days ago)

snark
 Reply  Vote up  down  Spam or offensive? 

Guest: Pete Star (373 days ago)

#51 - His turds don't smell. LOL!

Guest: Maxwell (373 days ago)

I can't honestly believe that so many people would want to change to another 'blood or glory' merchant, especially when it's not their blood which they put at risk. At least if Obama keeps his promise a lot of mothers will have their sons home, alive - otherwise, more coffins, billions more dollars bleeding out of the country and Bush's cronies getting even richer as a result. What the hell is the matter with you people?

Guest: Proud American, Jonneybgood (355 days ago)

Latest comment: "Fuc off all you pencil neck morans. "
 Reply  Vote up  down  Spam or offensive? 

Guest (372 days ago)

Ah yes, the USA as terrorists. Doesn't stop The World from coming hat-in-hand every time The World gets itself in a jamb, does it? Hat-n-hand for cash, food, help repelling invading armies - you know - little stuff. You're right. We should pull back and shut the gates. No more heavy-lifting or largess for The World. See how benevolent the ChiComs and the Russians will be. Or the terrorists for that matter. Ingrates. Enjoy Sharia.

Guest: Pete Star (370 days ago)

Guest below - learn to count you have 2 #56's in your dumb rant. Obama's brother lives on $12 a year because its all he needs. His illegal Auntie should be deported to Kenya.

Guest: ian (373 days ago)

As he idolises the paedophile warlord mohammed,he condones paedophilia as islam incorporates it.Ask a muslim man how he was sexually abused during his bacha bereesh night with his dad and uncles.Then ask a muslim girl what her mufa'khathat night of being sexually abused was like!!The mighty eagle wipes out the nation of islam,so come on America ditch this terrorist and start bombing the islamic nations!Start with mecca,please!!

Guest: Uncle Spam (373 days ago)

Everything I read/hear about the guy makes me feel more positive about the future. Still amazed the Americans did something right for a change in electing him.

Guest (373 days ago)

He's a Chicago politician.

Guest: big dan with ham (374 days ago)

liked the weed, likes dylan, miles,he the man!

Guest: George Bush (371 days ago)

Well now I've got everything all screwed up, it's time for me to head back to Texas and watch how it should be done.

darkddmasterDarkddmaster (372 days ago)

Dear God (or any other power you may believe in) can the world just get along! Why can't we all just sit down and stop acting like little squabbling children! This list is just supposed to be a few entertaining tidbits about the new U.S. president, "• His favourite snacks are chocolate-peanut protein bars", yeah that sure is influencial in the world! This site is BoreMe.com, not "bitchabouttheworld.com", just read this and get a chuckle, then move on to the next item on the site! Yes, I am american, and americans and all others abroad need to learn to think before speaking!

Guest (373 days ago)

Maxwell you want to see coffins? When the terrorists attack again, and kill Americans on our home soil, and Obama is waiting for the phone call from Biden/Soros to tell him what to do while his BVD's fill up with last nights homemade chili, you'll get your coffins. And after that, there'll not be a retaliatory attack, there will be a "criminal investigation", and much tut-tutting, and hob-nobbing of the UN, George Bush will STILL get the blame, the terrorists will laugh, and attack again.

Guest (373 days ago)

#52 He won't release his college grades or his thesis (wonder why?). #53 See him raise that arm? George Soros pulled a string! #54 George Soros and Warren Buffet will not get richer because Obama is in office. Well, OK they will, but at least it won't be Bushitlers friends getting rich off the office. Change! Yay!

aelred57aelred57 (373 days ago)

Wow!! An "impressive" 200 pound bench press. I would be impressed if he were in junior high. And of course he doesn't drink much alcohol, Allah won't allow it.

Guest (373 days ago)

>YAWN< fascinating >YAWN

Guest (370 days ago)

Yeah Pete, I'm sure Barak offered his brother some cash, but the bro said "no thanks, I'm all set." Come on. Obama is a lying effing hypocrite, and what is baffling is how so many people buy his act without even questioning it. I guess feeling good via delusion is preferable to rational thought these days. BTW, you really think Auntie is going to be deported (with a nice chunk of change from her well-to-do nephew)? Riiiiiiiiight. Hahahahahaha

Guest (370 days ago)

#55 Has a brother in Kenya living in a shack on $12 a year. Yeah. Spreading that $4.2 million around..... #56 His dear, dear Auntie living in poverty, in public housing in Boston Massachusetts - as an illegal alien. More wealth spreading in the Obama family. Change. Right. #56 He's a lying fkng hypocrite people! Wake up!

Guest (372 days ago)

It's people like the contributor below who are responsible for McCarthyism and who clearly view the remainder of humanity with a white supremacist eye. Just a little too KKK for my liking. Take a long look inward before criticise the rest - you, after all 're-elected' Dubya. 'Nuff said?

Guest (374 days ago)

He can walk on water. He will bring peace to the middle East. Yes he can, Yes he can.

Guest: guest (372 days ago)

The republicans have bankrupt the usa economy and they have tarnished the re of thr usa too. Americans don`tseem to understand that the rest of the world sees them as terrorists and the best thing they can do to avoid terrorist attacks in their own homeland is to stop trying to control other nations. Surely ALL nations have sovereign rights, even if they disagree with american strategy.

Guest (373 days ago)

"• He and Michelle made $4.2 million (£2.7 million) last year, with much coming from sales of his books" Wait. He didn't redistribute any of that to ME!

Guest (372 days ago)

I daresay the brunt of most of the criticism here is directed against the US. To accuse me of being KKK because I dare stand up to the abuse is pretty weak. The fact of the matter is, the US has been the most benign superpower in history. Perfect? Of course not. But you who are so quick to criticize sure don't waste any time in looking our way when things go sour for you, do you? That's why you hate us. You need us more than we need you.

Guest (364 days ago)

illegal president, stupid american voters, right now the last thing we need is socialism - americas first and last not 100% white president

Guest: Fablehaft (358 days ago)

how do you know when an obama is lying? He begins the sentence with: "Okay, well, here's the truth....."