State of the Union

I am not really big into the political scene here in DC. This is for a few reasons, mainly I just don't think that my voice makes a difference overall with the way elections are run. Maybe on a smaller scale I could make a difference, but overall, I think other people have a much wider knowledge base than I do on what the Government is doing and the best ways to reach a positive end goal. So because tonight is that special night, I think it would only be appropriate to post trivia about the State of the Union Address.

• Actually, the speech was not always called the "State of the Union" and, for that matter, was not always a speech. Article II, Section 3 of the Constitution says that the president "shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient. 
• Several presidents have given handwritten statements instead of addressing congress verbally.
• Franklin Roosevelt started the modern tradition by delivering his first report to Congress, in 1934, as a speech. It was the first such address titled the "State of the Union." It wasn't until 1947, however, that the name came into general usage.
• Coolidge's 1923 address was the first broadcast over the radio
• Harry Truman's 1947 State of the Union was the first broadcast on television
• George W. Bush's 2002 speech was the first webcast from the House's website
• The longest length State of the Union speech was Jimmy Carter's 1981 address—which was also the last such written message—33,667 words
• Bill Clinton has the longest spoken State of the Union, 1 hr 28 min
• In all, 76 out of 220 such messages have been delivered by the president, in person.
• Two presidents--William Henry Harrison and James Garfield--never delivered such a message to Congress. Both died in office before they were able to.