"Nerd" is a strange word. It conjures up different images to different people. Sometimes it means "Trekkie" and sometimes it means "academic."
Some claim to be a nerd, some pretend not to like being nerdy and others would never be caught dead with that word attached to them.
I am most definitely a nerd. I was always focused on making the best grades in school and I don't mind a cleverly-placed "Star Wars" joke.
My most recent form of nerdiness has manifested itself in a very niche area. I got excited the other day when the channel was changed to C-SPAN and for my birthday recently I wanted to get a specific biography to add to my "to read" list.
My nerd niche is with the Supreme Court of the United States.
When I was in college I was able to do an internship in Washington, D.C., and one day my supervisor took me to the SCOTUS to listen to the oral arguments for the case Salazar v. Buono. I didn't have to report on it - it's not easy to keep up with the justices while they're going back and forth - but the experience sparked my niche nerdiness.
I find the Supreme Court fascinating, and I enjoy learning more about each of the justices.
My senior year of college I spent a portion of the (little) free time I had listening online to oral arguments presented at the court. I couldn't understand why some of my peers didn't pay attention when Elena Kagan was nominated to the court. Recently, I found out one of my friends probably met Sandra Day O'Connor at work and I'm still trying to control my jealousy.
Some of my friends think I'm weird. Others have joked about getting bobble heads of the justices for me. Meanwhile, I'm as happy as a Star Wars fan on May the 4th to follow the SCOTUS while reading up on its history and justices in my free time.
Comments (1)
Add commentA nerdy SCOTUS trivia
A nerdy SCOTUS trivia question: Who is the man to serve both as U.S. President and Chief Justice of the United States?
Answer: William Howard Taft, hand-groomed by Theodore Roosevelt to be his successor as President, then picked by Warren Harding in the 1920s for the Supreme Court.
Taft was an interesting fellow in his trust-busting days as well as setting the tradition of the President throwing the ceremonial first pitch on the first day of baseball season. You'll probably enjoy reading about him.
He also served as Secretary of War and was known for his girth. When he left the White House, he weighed 340 pounds at 5-11.
A sampling of stories about his weight:
* After Taft lost the election of 1912, Yale University sent a man to the White House to suggest that Taft accept a Chair of Law at the University. Taft replied that a Chair would not be adequate, but that if the University would provide a Sofa of Law, "it might be all right"
* Theodore Roosevelt remarked that Taft should give up riding because it was doing him no good and because it was "cruelty to the horse"
* In one remote Japanese village, Taft had to take a ricksha from the railroad station to his hotel, no other transportation being available. When Taft got in, "the unfortunate coolie to whom it belonged began to utter strange sounds. He rolled his eyes and gesticulated frantically until he prevailed upon a second man to help him in propelling his unaccustomed burden. But even then his excitement did not abate. As they approached the first rise in the road some of the villagers along the way, attracted, no doubt, by the coolie's weird cries, came out to stare and, as usual, remained to laugh. The little 'ricksha man began chattering and grimacing at all of them and kept it up until he had enlisted the services of at least half the population of the village to help him in attaining the crest of the hill."