Wonderfully weird photos of presidents who may not have realized there were cameras around.
Ronald Reagan wags his hands and makes faces at reporters attending a dinner for the White House News Photographers Association after asking whether the gesture would be kept "off the record" and saying he'd waited years for the opportunity. May 19, 1983.Bettmann/Getty ImagesLyndon Johnson is interrupted by his pet dog Yuki jumping up on the desk while he prepares to sign a meat inspection bill. 1967. Bettmann/Getty ImagesGeorge W. Bush pauses to embrace a person dressed as the Easter Bunny during the annual Easter Egg Roll on the South Lawn of the White House. March 24, 2008.Chip Somodevilla/Getty ImagesGeorge H.W. Bush takes a toboggan ride with Arnold Schwarzenegger at Camp David. 1991.Jean-Louis Atlan/Sygma/Getty ImagesGeorge H.W. Bush participates in an aerobics exercise class at a YMCA. 1980. Gene Del Biano/CQ Roll Call/Getty ImagesRonald Reagan wears sweatpants aboard Air Force One. Date unspecified.Wikimedia CommonsRichard Nixon shouts gleefully after he was nominated as the GOP nominee for president. July 27, 1960. Bettmann/Getty ImagesA stickler for keeping in shape, Harry Truman, "coach" of the Truman Athletic League organized by the newsmen who covered his trip, leads the club in calisthenics aboard the U.S.S. Missouri on the 12-day cruise from Rio de Janeiro. 1947. Bettmann/Getty ImagesCalvin Coolidge wears the feathered headdress given to him by the Sioux during a celebration at Deadwood, South Dakota. 1927. Bettmann/Getty ImagesGerald R. Ford campaigns from atop a circus elephant. 1950.Bettmann/Getty ImagesTheodore Roosevelt poses beside a slain elephant during a hunt in Kenya's Meru Boma district. 1909.Bettmann/Getty ImagesAfter learning he has been selected as the Republican Party's nominee for president, Warren G. Harding joins the band at his home in Marion, Ohio, playing the tuba. 1920. Bettmann/Getty ImagesHalloween fun in the Oval Office as Caroline and John Jr. play "trick or treat" with their father, John F. Kennedy. October 1963.U.S. National ArchivesBill Clinton walks with his cat, Socks, on his shoulders. Date unspecified.U.S. National ArchivesJimmy Carter stands in a pile of peanuts at the Carter family peanut warehouse in Plains, Georgia. At the time, Carter was taking time off from campaigning as a presidential candidate. 1976.Bettmann/Getty ImagesGerald Ford walks with the Kilgore College Rangerettes in Kilgore, Texas, during the Texas presidential primary. Date unspecified.Wally McNamee/CORBIS/Corbis/Getty ImagesTheodore Roosevelt and his companion, Baron Rudolf V. Stalin Pacha, ride camels in the Khartoum Desert of Sudan. 1909.Bettmann/Getty ImagesWoodrow Wilson is blindfolded so he can draw the first capsule for induction in the World War I draft lottery. 1917. Bettmann/Getty ImagesRonald Reagan with his costars Diana Lynn and Bonzo, in a publicity still from the 1951 comedy, Bedtime for Bonzo.Bettmann/Getty ImagesCalvin Coolidge and Speaker of the House Fredrick Gillett exercise in the Congressional gym. 1923. Library of Congress/Corbis/VCG/Getty ImagesDuring a press barbecue at his Ranch, Lyndon Johnson shows off his riding skills as he cuts a cow from the herd. November 4, 1964. Bettmann/Getty Images
Dressed in pristine suits, coached by a team of handlers, and constantly aware that there are cameras around, U.S. presidents are almost always the very picture of poise when they're in front of a lens.
This, of course, makes it all the more striking when some lucky photographer catches the president in a candid moment that reveals just how human these people are after all.
From Ronald Reagan in sweatpants to Teddy Roosevelt on safari, above are some of the most unusual presidential photos ever taken.
History Uncovered Podcast Episode 44: The Secret Lives Of U.S. Presidents Did you know that Abraham Lincoln was a champion wrestler or that Lyndon Johnson was a fervent practical joker? These are the most fascinating facts and lesser-known stories about America's presidents.
