ZMT: Tuesday, June 27, 2023

What is the most common surname in the U.S.?

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The Story Behind 9 of the Most Common Surnames in the World

Naming conventions vary across the globe, but here's the history behind some of the world's most storied surnames.

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Which Vice President wrote a hit song? 🎵

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Original photo by Everett Collection/ Shutterstock

U.S. Vice President Charles Dawes wrote a hit pop song.

Not many Americans know the name Charles G. Dawes today, but they should. As one of only three U.S. Vice Presidents to receive the Nobel Peace Prize during their lifetimes (for his work to preserve peace in Europe), he's reserved a place in the history books alongside Theodore Roosevelt and Al Gore. But perhaps even more notably, he's also the only veep with a No. 1 hit pop song. Dawes was a self-trained pianist and flautist as well as a banker, and in 1911, 14 years before he'd become Calvin Coolidge's Vice President, he wrote a short instrumental piece titled "Melody in A Major." The song received some attention during Dawes' lifetime, but it wasn't until 1951 — the year he died — that American songwriter Carl Sigman put lyrics to Dawes' creation and called it "It's All in the Game." Seven years later, Tommy Edwards became the first Black artist to reach No. 1 in the U.S. with his doo-wop-influenced rendition of Sigman's song.

But that wasn't the end of Dawes' posthumous music stardom. The song soon transformed into a pop standard, and was covered by a variety of artists across several genres. There's Nat King Cole's big band affair (1957), Elton John's upbeat cover (1970), Van Morrison's sorrowful take (1979), Issac Hayes' soulful remix (1980), and Merle Haggard's country creation (1984), just to name a few. To this day (and for likely many days to come), Dawes remains the only chief executive — President or Vice President — to score a hit on the Billboard Hot 100.

Numbers Don't Lie

California district that elected Sonny Bono, the only member of the House with a No. 1 pop song, in 1994

Year Charles Dawes won the Nobel Peace Prize for efforts to ease tensions in Europe after WWI

1925

Total No. 1 hits for Mariah Carey, the most of any solo artist

Number of VPs before Alben W. Barkley, the first to be called "Veep" (it was his grandson's idea)

President Calvin Coolidge had a lot of pets, including a pygmy hippopotamus.

While Charles Dawes had a No. 1 pop single, his boss also had a few quirks. Calvin Coolidge, the 30th U.S. President, had arguably the most exotic collection of pets of any American chief executive (though Theodore Roosevelt gave him a run for his money). During his presidency, Coolidge had six dogs, a bobcat, two raccoons, a goose, a donkey, a cat, a bear, two lion cubs, an antelope, a wallaby, and more. But the strangest of Coolidge's pets was probably Billy, a pygmy hippopotamus, who was given to Coolidge as a gift from businessman Harvey Firestone (as in Firestone tires). Perhaps because of his size (even a pygmy hippo can weigh up to 600 pounds), or because he was one of only a few pygmy hippos in the U.S., Billy was donated to the Smithsonian National Zoological Park, where he became the proud father of many hippo calves. In fact, most of the pygmy hippos in the U.S. today can be traced back to his lineage.

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What is the most common surname in the U.S.?

Which Vice President wrote a hit song? 🎵