Weighty Times
John Wilkes Booth squinted down his rifle barrel at Abraham Lincoln. He thought, Boy, Lincoln has really put on weight! But then he realized, to his dismay, that he too had acquired a paunch.
Instead of firing, Booth put down his gun and dedicated himself to a healthy diet of fruits and vegetables, and lots of exercise. When playing Hamlet onstage, he incorporated pull-ups into every scene.
Meanwhile, Lincoln had also turned to diet and exercise. His personal trainer yelled things at Lincoln that no one had ever yelled at a President.
Nearly a year later, when Booth shot Lincoln at Ford’s Theatre, both men were in the best shape of their lives.
Read more fascinating tales in the book Untrue Stories of Fiction.
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