Strange things you certainly ignore about the white house !!

With 55,000-square feet sprawled across 18 acres, 132 rooms, 35 bathrooms, 6 levels, 412 doors, 28 fireplaces, 7 staircases, 3 elevators, 5 full-time chefs, several gardens, tennis and basketball courts, a movie theater, jogging track, and more, there’s a plethora of places for secrets to hide. Just in time for the election year, we uncovered 15 of those little-known facts.

1. George Washington never lived in the White House.

Although the first president selected a site for the White House with city planner Pierre L’Enfant, chose architect Hoban’s design in a contest, and oversaw the overall construction, he never occupied the house himself. Starting in 1791, the building took eight years to complete and cost $232,372 (that’s roughly $4 million today, courtesy of inflation). The final design was smaller than imagined, but still remained the largest house in the country until the Civil War. And in 1800, John Adams, America’s second president, became the first president to break in the digs.

2. It has a doppelganger.

Rumor has it Irish architect James Hoban based the blueprints for the White House on the Georgian-style Leinster House in Dublin, which originally housed the Duke of Leinster, and today, the seat of Irish Parliament. According to historic payroll documents, the White House was constructed by melting pot of European artists and immigrant laborers, including Scottish masons and Irish and Italian brick-and-plaster workers, alongside African American slaves.

3. The first movie screened in the White House was Birth of a Nation.

In 1915, years before the family theater existed, President Woodrow Wilson hosted a screening of the D.W. Griffith film. Joined by Griffith himself and Thomas Dixon (whose novel The Clansman was adapted into the movie), Wilson praised the film saying it’s, “like writing history with lightning.” And that was just the beginning of movie nights at the White House. Jimmy Carter watched a record 480 flicks in four years at the White House—more than Reagan watched in two terms—including the first X-rated film, Midnight Cowboy, to be viewed inside the family theater. One can only imagine what his Netflix habits would look like today.

4. It wasn’t always called the White House.

What’s in a name? It was Theodore Roosevelt who officially gave      The White House its moniker in 1901. Previously, it had been dubbed everything from the Executive Mansion and President’s House to the President’s Castle, a title given by James Madison’s wife, Dolley.

5. 1933 was a game-changing year for the house.

The White House wasn’t always wheel-chair friendly. It was only in 1933, when FDR took office, that the layout was refashioned to accommodate ramps and elevators. The then-President even added a heated indoor pool to help with his polio therapy, which was later enjoyed by the likes of John F. Kennedy and Truman. And while Nixon put an end to the fun, paving over the pool to create a pressroom in its place, the tiled walls—signed by Bono, Sugar Ray Leonard, and Anderson Cooper, to name a few—still live on. In 1997, Clinton blew it out of the water, when he had a seven-seat above ground hot tub installed near the South Lawn.  So, there’s that.

6. Living in the White House has its price.

Sure, America’s commanders in chief don’t have to pay for rent, and have access to private jets, Air Force One, and a personal chef, but this lavish lifestyle doesn’t come without a price tag. Deducted from an annual $400,000 salary, the Obamas have to shell out for personal expenses, including groceries, dry cleaning, and toiletries, every month, so American taxpayers aren’t left picking up the tab.

7. Some say it’s haunted.

Abraham Lincoln’s spirit still lingers at the White House, or so the spooky legend goes. Over the years, many White House guests and residents have claimed to bare witness to the late President’s ghost. Most famous is the tale of Winston Churchill, who encountered Lincoln’s spirit beside the fireplace while emerging from a bath in the buff. Churchill (understandably) refused to stay in Lincoln’s bedroom ever again. Talk about a real-life American horror story.

8. The oldest remaining object in the White House is a painting of Washington.

Chances are, you’ve seen Gilbert Stuart’s iconic Washington portrait. The masterpiece, which showcases the first President holding a sword in one hand and stretching over a table with the other, hangs in the East Room, where the president hosts VIPs from around the world. And that’s all thanks to Dolley Madison. Two hundred years ago, the former First Lady rescued the painting before the British troops torched the White House during the War of 1812. Funnily enough, the masterpiece was a copy of Stuart’s original 1797 Lansdowne Portrait, which even misspelled “United States” as “United Sates.” A for effort.

9. The White House basement is a city within the city.

While you might already be familiar with the bowling alley, an amenity added by avid bowler Nixon in 1969, the White House basement hall is full of other treasures, including a carpenter’s shop, a florist, chocolate shop, paint shop, and even a dentist’s office.

10. Tom Hanks gifted the White House not one, but two coffee makers.

In 2004, the Academy Award-winning actor swung by the White House and noticed the lack of an espresso maker in the sleep-deprived pressroom. Shocked, he took it upon himself to buy them one. In 2010, he dropped by again (this time with Steven Spielberg), and upgraded the rundown version to a new deluxe model.