In 1758 Martha Dandridge Curtis was 27 and recently widowed, and a very wealthy woman. That year George Washington, also 27 and already a colonel in the Virginia militia (and not at all wealthy) met Martha via the Virginia high-society social scene and proceeded to court her. Courtship was quick, and they were married in January 1759, in what at the time was viewed as a marriage of convenience. They were, however, happily married for 41 years. (Note: The marriage took place at the plantation that Martha owned, in what was called the “White House.”)
When Johnny Met Louisa
Louisa Catherine Johnson, who was born in London, met John Quincy Adams at her home in Nantes, France, in 1779. She was 4; he was 12. Adams was traveling with his father, John Adams, who was on a diplomatic mission in Europe. The two met again in 1795 in London, when John was a minister to the Netherlands. He courted her, all the while telling her she’d have to improve herself if she was going to live up to his family’s standards (his father was vice president at the time). She married him anyway, in 1797, and his family made it no secret that they disapproved of the “foreigner” in their family. Nevertheless, they were married until John Quincy Adams’s death in 1848. Louisa remains the only foreign-born First Lady in U.S. history.
When Jimmy Met Ann
In the summer of 1819, James Buchanan, 28, became engaged to Ann Coleman, 23, the daughter of a wealthy iron magnate in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. He spent very little time with her during the first months of the engagement, being extremely busy at his law office, and rumors swirled that he was seeing other women and was only marrying her for her money. The rumors are believed to be untrue, but Ann took them to heart, and in November, after several distraught weeks, she wrote to him that the engagement was off. On December 9 she died of an overdose of laudanum, possibly in a suicide. Buchanan was devastated, and even more so when her family refused to allow him to see Ann’s body or attend her funeral. He disappeared for some time but eventually returned to his work in Lancaster. After Ann’s death, Buchanan vowed that he would never marry. He didn’t… and remains the only bachelor president in American history.
When Gracie Met Calvin
One day in 1903, Grace Anna Goodhue was watering flowers outside the Clarke School for the Deaf in Northampton, Massachusetts, where she taught. At some point, she looked up and saw a man through the open window of a boardinghouse across the street. He was shaving, his face covered with lather, and dressed in his long johns. He was also wearing a hat. Grace burst out laughing, and the man turned to look at her. That was the first meeting of Grace and Calvin Coolidge. They were married two years later.
When Harry Met Bessie
In 1890, when they were both small children, Harry Truman met Bess Wallace at the Baptist Church in Independence, Missouri. They were both attending Sunday school. He was six; she was five. Truman later wrote of their first meeting: “We made a number of new acquaintances, and I became interested in one in particular. She had golden curls and has, to this day, the most beautiful blue eyes. We went to Sunday school, public school from the fifth grade through high school, graduated in the same class, and marched down life’s road together. For me she still has the blue eyes and golden hair of yesteryear.” Bess and Harry were married in 1919.
Content continues below ad
When Lyndie Met Lady Bird
Lyndon Baines Johnson met Claudia “Lady Bird” Taylor in 1934, a few weeks after she’d graduated from the University of Texas. Johnson was a 26-year-old aide to Texas congressman Richard Kleberg, and was in Austin, Texas, on business. They went on a single breakfast date, at the end of which Johnson proposed marriage. She said she’d think about it. He returned to Washington, and sent her letters and telegrams every day until he returned to Austin 10 weeks later, when she accepted. “Sometimes,” she later wrote about her husband, “Lyndon simply takes your breath away.”
When Richie Met Pattie
Thelma “Pat” Ryan graduated from the University of Southern California in 1937 at the age of 25. She got a job as a high school teacher in Whittier, a small town not far from Los Angeles, and became a member of the amateur theatrical group the Whittier Community Players. In 1938 Richard Nixon, a 26-year-old lawyer who had just opened a firm in nearby La Habra, joined the theater group, thinking that acquiring acting skills would help him in the courtroom. In their first performance, Nixon was cast opposite Ryan. He asked her out, and asked her to marry him on their first date. They were married three years later.
When Ronnie Met Nancy
Ronald Reagan wrote in his autobiography that he first met Nancy Davis when she came to him for help. He was president of the Screen Actors Guild, and she couldn’t get a job acting in movies because another Nancy Davis’s name had shown up on the Hollywood blacklist of alleged communists. But according to Jon Weiner’s book Professors, Politics, and Pop, SAG records show that Nancy’s blacklist problem occurred in 1953, a year after the Reagans were married. So how did they meet? Reagan biographer Anne Edwards says that in 1949 Nancy, who had just become an MGM contract player, told a friend of Reagan’s that she wanted to meet him. The friend invited the two to a small dinner party, and the rest is history.
When Georgie Met Laura
Joe and Jan O’Neill lived in Midland, Texas, and were childhood friends of Laura Welch. In 1975 another childhood friend, George W. Bush, came back to Midland after being away for a few years. The O’Neills bugged Laura to go out with George, but she didn’t want to. She later said that the O’Neills were only trying to get them together “because we were the only two people from that era in Midland who were still single.” She finally agreed to meet him at a backyard barbecue in 1977, when she was 30 and he was 31. George was smitten; Laura was, too. They were married three months later.
When Barry Met Michelle
In 1989 Michelle Robinson was working at a Chicago law firm when she was assigned to mentor a summer associate from Harvard with a “strange name”: Barack Obama. Not long after, Barack, 27, asked Michelle, 25, on a date. She later admitted that she was reluctant to date one of the few black men at the large firm because it seemed “tacky.” Robinson finally relented, and after dating for several months, she suggested they get married. He wasn’t interested. One night in 1991, during dinner at a Chicago restaurant, she brought it up again. Again, he said no. But when dessert showed up, there was an engagement ring in a box on one of the plates. They were married in 1992.
from Reader's Digest http://ift.tt/1LCoxCR
New moms, listen up! If you’re thinking of following in the footsteps of your favorite celeb mommy by eating your own placenta post-birth, you might want to reconsider.
Placenta encapsulation is how women most commonly ingest the organ after giving birth. The placenta is sent away to a company that heats it, dehydrates it, and then grinds it up to be placed into pills. It’s touted as being a postpartum miracle by potentially increasing the release of the hormone oxytocin (this helps the uterus return to its normal size and can promote mom-and-baby bonding), restoring iron levels in the blood (many new moms struggle with low iron after delivery), staving off 
Ladybugs are one of the few insects people actually like. But look twice before you let one crawl on your finger. Ladybugs might be 
A Spirit Airlines flight just made an emergency landing for an unusual reason—and it wasn’t due to bad weather or a mechanical issue. Apparently, a baby just couldn’t wait for his flight to land before joining the world.
Ritz-Carlton’s first fleet will only roll out three 298-passenger yachts—but boy, do they pack a big punch. Each will have 149 suites with private balconies, two penthouses, and a restaurant that boasts a three Michelin-starred chef. And they are also available for private rental if you, y’know, want to splurge.
The ships were designed by Ritz-Carlton and the Swedish cruise-ship design company Tillberg Design, who also worked on the Norwegian Cruise Line. Although we’re just getting wind of this magnificent project, the company has apparently tossed the idea around for several years.
“We will be one of the smallest, ultra-luxury cruise ships in the market… and we’re hoping to attract those who wouldn’t consider a mainstream cruise, but would entertain a highly-curated yacht style experience,” Herve Humler, President and COO of The Ritz-Carlton Company, told 
Making comments about the haircut they prefer on you or wishing you’d spend less on comic book memorabilia is one thing, but if your partner is asking you to change major things—your career, your religion, your studies, or other things you consider core parts of your personality—that’s a serious red flag, says Fran Walfish, PhD, Beverly Hills family and relationship psychotherapist, author of The Self-Aware Parent, and co-star of Sex Box on WE tv. “An important part of being in a successful relationship is to give up trying to control other people, especially your spouse or partner,” she says. Instead of trying to change you, a good partner will support you in your goals. And if they do disagree with something serious? A healthy couple will talk it out, either privately or in therapy, until they reach an understanding—one of the 
History junkies, prepare to be amazed! Time, Inc. (the company that owns Time, Life, and Fortune magazines) has just discovered a 60-year-old time 
Blackheads are a bit different from the typical red bump that comes to mind when you think of acne. When a pore or hair follicle fills with debris or dead skin cells then gets open to skin, a blackhead forms. “It turns black because it’s exposed to oxygen and oxidizes,” says board-certified dermatologist 
We’re about two years away from the June 2019 release of 
Here’s where it gets really sad. Andy Sr., already sickly, came down with polio, which meant that all of his belongings had to be burned—including toys. But, he stashed Woody away before he could be burned. Eventually recovering from polio, he met his wife as an adult and had Andy Jr. BUT, around the time Andy’s sister was born, he came down with post-polio syndrome, which he ended up dying from—but not before he entrusted his precious Woody doll to his son. (Be right back, we’re drying our tears.)
Most of us don’t think twice about refilling our plastic water bottles. After all, it’s all in the name of personal hydration—plus, it’s eco-friendly! And there’s absolutely nothing harmful about a simple bottle of water, right?
Science just proved it, too! In a 
There’s nothing more refreshing than iced coffee when you need a caffeine fix in the summer, but recent news might have you thinking twice before ordering your next cold brew. A 
Aaron Wolfe, 40, is a filmmaker and a writer. He lives in Belmont, Massachusetts.
My older brother, older sister, and I are in grade school. One day I come home, and I’m frustrated. I sheepishly ask my mom to no longer put Middle Eastern food in my lunch.
I grew up an hour south of Louisville, Kentucky, in a town of a thousand people where nobody locks their doors, you get questions like whether you go to the Methodist church or the Baptist church, and everyone smiles and waves at everyone, whether they know you or not, whether they like you or not.
One hot day I was playing with the kids next door, and I found out that in other people’s houses older kids had later bedtimes. I was five years old, and my sister Lisa was two years younger.
And it all comes tumbling out: “It’s not fair and all the time with Lisa I get into trouble and she doesn’t … and we should not have the same bedtime!”
