It’s not quite “six degrees of separation” (or Kevin Bacon) but the Washington Post has an interesting piece on how the entire 239-year history of the U.S. covers the lifetimes of just three former presidents and President Obama:

When President Obama was born (1961), President Herbert Hoover was still alive (1874-1964). When Hoover was born, President Andrew Johnson (1808-1875) was still alive. When President Johnson was born, President John Adams (1735-1826) was still alive. And just like that, we’ve connected present day to the Founding Fathers.

Not to say that any of these people knew each other, of course. I just find this sort of thing interesting, in a terribly geeky way.

This tidbit was also intriguing: Continue reading →