Upton Sinclair, author of The Jungle, actually wasn't specifically targeting the meat-packing industry. As a lifelong socialist, he wanted to draw attention to the kinds of conditions that modern capitalism helped create, but instead he got Teddy Roosevelt to form the FDA. Like he said, he aimed for the public's heart, but hit them in the stomach instead. (Source)

Teddy Roosevelt drank a gallon of coffee a day. He was born, sadly, far too early for ordering Starbucks Trentas. (Source)

In 1912, Teddy Roosevelt was shot in the middle of giving a speech. It would have hit his heart, but he was saved by his steel-lined glasses case and the thick speech in his coat pocket. The bullet stayed in his chest for the rest of his life, and he didn't let one measly bullet stop him from finishing his speech. (Source)

President William McKinley was killed on the operating table after also being shot. There were some professional blunders, and there weren't suitable medical facilities at the Pan-American Exposition fairgrounds. At one point someone had to hold a mirror and reflect sunlight toward the wound because there wasn't enough light in the room. (Yikes.) (Source)

Teddy Roosevelt was made vice president thanks to the corrupt New York political machine. They were tired of him as governor always threatening reform, so they conspired to have him put in the most ineffectual position they could think of: the Vice Presidency. The joke was on them when McKinley died in office, catapulting their enemy straight into the highest office. (Source)