The Who2 Blog

The Dresses (and Skeletons) of the First Ladies

US Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division

GUIDE:  This is the dress Mary Todd Lincoln wore in 1865… And, if you grab her arm and pull, you’ll see what a creaky skeleton she had.  It could often be heard outside of her body as she performed her duties… Does anyone know which famous catchphrase resulted from this?

BOY SCOUT (hesitantly): “Abraham Leakin’ heard Mary Todd Creakin’ and decided to oil her bones?”

GUIDE: That’s right.

John Bailey Owen presents a truly odd dream-essay about an imaginary new wing of the Smithsonian.
 
Owen also wrote The Day Coffee Stopped Working for the current New Yorker.

 

Related Biography

Share this: