The President And His "Beast"

One of the perks of becoming the Commander in Chief is that the gig comes with what must be the most "tricked out" ride on the planet. The Presidential limo has a couple of names already. The best known ones are probably "The Beast" and "Cadillac One." Here are some of the features included in the President's new tank/car:

Gas Tank - A special foam is added to the gas and mixed into the tank. What the foam does is that it prevents the gasoline from exploding even if the tank suffers a direct hit in an attack.

Doors - They are armour plated and eight inches thick. They are also the same weight as the cabin door on a Boeing 757 jetliner.

Driver Side Window - Can resist armour piercing bullets. The driver's window is the only window in the car that can be opened. It will only roll down about three inches though so that the driver can communicate with Secret Service Agents running along side the vehicle and or to do things like pay tolls.

Body Work - The skin of the car is made out of double thick steel and Titanium.

Tires - The wheels are made out of Kevlar. They are shred and puncture resistant.

Boot (the rear of the car) - It holds an oxygen supply and also a fire fighting system.

Accessories On Board - Night vision cameras, pump action rifles, and tear gas cannons. There is also a generous supply of the President's blood on board maintained in bottles in case the President suffers injury in an attack and requires blood.

Sometimes Even Presidents Don't Get Good Health Care

You would think that a sitting President of the United States would get the finest health care all the time. While that is what they strive for it is not always the case. Consider the situation of the 20th President of the United States, James Garfield. On July 2nd, 1881 Garfield was shot twice by a disgruntled assassin. One of the bullets grazed his arm pit. The other shot was more of a direct hit. It was a shot to his mid section that ended up lodged between his spine and one of his lungs. Garfield managed to live for two and a half months after the shooting when on September 19, 1881 his heart stopped due to an infection that he had received related to the shooting. What was the reason some historians now speculate that he got an infection? Many now believe that it was due to his doctors constantly sticking their fingers deep inside the bullet hole he had in his stomach because they were fishing around in there trying to find the bullet. It is believed that this led to his infection. The bullet turns out to have been harmlessly lodged in a section of his body whereby if he had not suffered the complication of infection, which weakened his heart, he could have recovered.