Introducing…
ISSUE NO. 6.5 // BAREKNUCKLE BOXERS
A short note … about long underwear
Welcome to the first issue of Presidential Briefs. Down and dirty (no attempts at animation), no preamble, no regular release schedule, no overthinking or over-fussing, and mostly “above the fold.” These tiny posts wouldn’t necessarily be about briefs, per se. But they aren’t necessarily not not about briefs. Like this one. If it gets your knickers in a knot, well, stop scrolling.
I’ve shared the “eat my shorts” doodle before. But if you’ve been dying to get to the bottom of what kind of underwear Theodore Roosevelt wore — wait no more!
Friends of Sagamore Hill confirmed that Roosevelt wore long flannels, which later became known as “long johns.” There are a few different theories on the etymology of “long johns,” but they may have gotten their name from the country’s most famous athlete at the time — bareknuckle boxer and good friend of Roosevelt John L. Sullivan.
Sullivan made an appearance in my sketchbooks back when I read about Benjamin Harrison. Years before Amazonian animals feasted on Theodore Roosevelt’s underpants, the combination of cholera and a much-anticipated boxing match between Sullivan and Corbett completely overshadowed Harrison’s announcement that he was running for reelection.
Harrison lost his reelection, then married his niece (25 years his junior). They had a baby and lived happily ever after. Until he died. She outlived him by 47 years. The end.
Doodles from when I read The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt’s Darkest Journey, by Candice Millard, and Benjamin Harrison, by Charles W. Calhoun.
Follow along on Instagram for more doodles, presidential trivia, and shameless self-promotion.
