Saturday, October 17, 2009

White House Facts

* Though Barack Obama is the first Black occupant of the White House, the mansion has a far older Afro-American connection. It was built by Black labourers, both slave and free.
* There are 132 rooms, 35 bathrooms and 6 levels in the White House. There are also 412 doors, 147 windows, 28 fireplaces, 8 staircases and 3 elevators.
* The kitchen's open-hearth fireplace was replaced by a cooking stove in 1801. Today it has 5 full-time chefs. It can serve dinner to 140 guests and hors d'oeuvres to more than 1000 people.
* To cover the outer surface of the White House requires 570 gallons of paint.
* Electricity was installed in 1891. The House acquired its first electric refrigeratotr in 1926 and air-conditioning in 1933.
* Central Heating System was fitted in 1837 and running hot water piped into the first family's second floor bathroom in 1853; first hydraulic elevator in 1881, the first electric elevator in 1898.

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