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People Share Which Non-Presidents They Would Add To Mount Rushmore

People Share Which Non-Presidents They Would Add To Mount Rushmore
Photo by Dennis Guten on Unsplash

Mount Rushmore, located in the Black Hills of South Dakota, features the carved heads of four of our most famous presidents. George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln, respectively. Completion of the project finished in 1941 and since then the term, "Mt. Rushmore," can be used in any event to describe the four best people you know. "Who's on your Mt. Rushmore of NBA players?" and the like.

While the construction and occupation of the mountain lives in controversy as the Black Hills are owned by the Lakota people, technically, to this day, a fun game to play would be what honorable non-Presidential American deserves to go on there.


One Reddit user wanted to know who is worth enough to be carved into a mountain when they asked:

"You get to add another American to Mt Rushmore but it can’t be a president. Who do you choose?"

It's the internet, after all. Let's get the "Goofy But Worth A Shot" nominees out of the way first. After all, some of these candidates we can't even see.

Wa Ba Doo, Doo, Doo, Doo, Doo

"There is already a non-president on Mt. Rushmore."

"John Cena."

zoqfotpik

"John Cena? Wtf? But I don’t see—"

"Dammit. Take my upvote."

User Deleted

Makes Total Sense, Until You Think About It

"How is Nicholas cage not here yet."

deus_vult_34

"He stole the declaration of independence"

King_DeandDe

"He's buried under the mountain in a treasure vault that collapsed in on him when he discovered it. There was a documentary about the incident that came out in 2007."

Hologram22

Why Be Stingy? Put Both Versions Up.

"Weird Al."

OntarioLakeside

"Seconding Weird Al."

"One question: with or without mustache?"

MsDucky42

"With. And the UHF era tight curl."

"It’s only right."

Eternaltuesday

Thank You For Being A Friend

"BETTY WHITE"

momogirl200

"Redo it, Mt. Golden Girls"

WhoHayes

The thing about Mt. Rushmore, and it's legacy, is we should be transforming it into something positive to help ease the troubled history it has. Make it a true testament to the American who helped shape us or shaped a generation.

It's A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood

"Mr Rogers"

PitchforkJoe

"He specifically asked that there not be any statues to honor him. So I doubt he'd appreciate this. It's why I vote Bob Ross instead."

photoguy423

We're So Much More Than War And Death

"Mark Twain. The quintessential American writer."

"We always put up statues of military and politicians across this country. It would be nice to see more of our creative side get honored. Put up Poe on the mountain. Attract goths to the site."

inksmudgedhands

"That’s a damn good point."

"I’m an American who emigrated to France a long time ago."

"Just about every city in France has a street named after De Gaulle but also one named after Victor Hugo, the writer. Before the Euro, French franc notes had authors, scientists, painters, composers, etc in addition of course to war heroes and presidents."

"It would be great if we honored them in the US, too."

amerkanische_Frosch

What Do People Outside Of The Country Think?

"Im European and I would put Conan O'Brien on it. He has made me laugh for 20 years. I dont glorify celebrities usually but damm does he deserve it."

Prixm

And then there's these, people who have done beyond anything we could conceive to help advance the moral fabric of America that maybe we should consider carving another entire "Rushmore."

Somewhere else, obviously.

Yay, Vaccines

"Dr. Jonas Salk. Saved us all from polio"

Barefoot_Alvin

"He would represent American science and innovation. I like it."

WellWellWellthennow

"I do love me some Jonas Salk but then you have to get into the whole Sabin vs. Salk thing so I'd favorite Maurice Hilleman instead. 40 vaccines, this guy developed. 40."

"Late edit to add: Sabin and Salk were rivals who both developed excellent polio vaccines I mean. Salk finished first and ran massive trails in the US but Sabin developed the oral vaccine and run massive trials in the Soviet Union. They both were characters who did good science."

gonegonegoneaway211

The Obvious Choice

"MLK"

carlsquidy

"Not sure if you're aware but there's a pretty cool MLK monument in Washington, DC. If you're ever in the area, it's worth checking out."

GenghisTron17

"I came here to write a smart argument, but you came out of the gate with an ACTUAL amazing choice. I’m gonna go crawl back in my troll hole with my tail between my legs."

Tre_Altrix

Never Doubt Her Contributions

"Sacagawea"

bivalve_connoisseur

"This is the most on-theme suggestion so far. The presidents currently in the monument were selected because of their role in preserving the Republic and expanding its territory. Given Sacagawea's role in exploring the Louisiana purchase, I think she belongs."

CrabbyBlueberry

Build Stronger Children And Let Them See This

"I recently heard someone refer to Frederick Douglass as "the Black Founding Father", so I feel like he'd be an appropriate choice."

"(And, yes, we all know he wasn't a contemporary of the Founding Fathers; the point was he's as important to our history and how the country sees itself, and I'd argue that the America that emerged from the Civil War was as different to the one that came before as the America before and after the Revolutionary War.)"

mikevago

It's important to honor people who have done a great service to their people and their community. Just make sure it's on land that you own and are ethically able to use.

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Things People Secretly Love But Would Never Admit To In Public

Reddit user sweet_chick283 asked: 'What do you secretly love that you would never admit to in public?;

Collection of VHS tapes
Bruno Guerrero/Unsplash

What makes us all unique is our passions and the things we love, whether it's singing in the shower, reading books, or listening to specific music artists.

Unfortunately, we live in a world where we are judged for our various tastes and interests thanks to social media, and it makes us consciously selective about sharing the things we love on the internet.

Curious to hear about people's personal desires under anonymity, Redditor sweet_chick283 asked:

"What do you secretly love that you would never admit to in public?"

These aren't really chores for the following Redditors.

Good Clean Fun

"Mopping, im a janitor and generally hate my work... but damn mopping is so good."

– MrDDog06

"When you have a great rhythm going it is something special. I get the same feeling while I vacuum, but won’t let my wife know I enjoy it."

– Bogus_34

Act Of Unwrinkling

"Ironing clothes. A dozen of them. Can’t explain how it relaxes me. I told one person and they looked at me like I’m crazy."

– eerie_white_glow

"My mum misses the days when dad would be out on a Friday night, my brother out with friends and me upstairs quietly playing PS1. She would pour herself a Bacardi & Coke and do the ironing while watching her TV shows."

"I'm sure she doesn't really miss it now that we've moved out and they've retired but it was her wind-down after a busy working week so I can see how people can find it relaxing."

– xdq

Our solo actions can spark joy.

Big Brother Is Watching

"pretending to be on the Truman show and whenever im in my house i act all inconspicuous so they dont know that i know that they’re watching me."

– Bec_121

"C’mon man, you’re not supposed to let him know. You signed a contract when signing up for live views. I’m reporting you."

– doeswaspsmakehoney

The Multi-Tasker

"Playing video games naked at home while eating cheese."

– thickening_agent

Releasing The Kraken

"I love the feeling when you've eaten good fibre and let out a solid long train log in the toilet. That feeling is heavenly."

– therapoootic

"Even better when it’s a clean wipe and not a poo crayon."

– TheWarmestHugz

Ultimate Comfort

"My (male 41) weekend routine is coming home from work, make hot chocolate, start a fire, dress in a ugly pink nightgown made for old ladies and watch forensic files."

– crazyloomis

Some people are obsessed with collecting things.

So Kawai

"Sanrio stationery stores. All those different multicolor pens, a thousand kinds of erasers, spiral bound notebooks galore... my kids sadly have absolutely no appreciation for this wonderland..."

– HavingNotAttained

It's A Staple

"Office supplies have a weird, special place in my heart ever since I was a kid. They don't even have to be 'cute' necessarily."

"Japan's legendary stationery stores is unironically a reason I want to go."

– _CozyLavender_

Not Caring Anymore

"The older I get the shorter that list gets. Not because I love less things, but because I don't care about hiding it."

– Bi-Beast

"YES!! I'm 53 now. I'm working my first job in public since 2006. Today is Halloween and we're allowed to dress up so I am sitting here waiting to go to work dressed as a VERY bad Wednesday Addams. My bf said I'd 'look stupid' because no one else will probably dress up and I'm like, 'WHO CARES!' My makeup looks horrible and not like I practiced, but I DO NOT CARE! I'm having fun with it anyhow and I don't care if my coworkers dress up or not. I'm bein' ME! :)"

– deanie1970

Honorable mentions start here.

The Savior

"Picking up worms from the street and sidewalks when it rains and moving them into the dirt so they don’t burn in the sun, every time it rains I do this."

– sky_kitten89

Hero Of The Moment

"Yoooo I scoot SO many snails and worms. I work as a tech/mechanic at an automotive shop, I had a peoject car towed to my house the other day and it was covered in snails. I saw them when the tow guy/coworker was unloading and I was like, 'oh! It comes with free snails!' and began moving them. He laughed then realized and said, '... Oh, you're serious. Uh... Okay.'"

"I don't care who knows it. These little things barely can look out for themselves, why shouldn't we if we can take a moment to help? I don't care what happens next, it probably doesn't matter overall but I can help this moment."

– chris14020

Why should some of the hidden desires mentioned above have to be secret?

Redditors opening up about some of these would make them a hit at parties–no shaming.

As a matter of fact, I'll totally be down for a Forensic Files viewing party where we all make hot chocolate, light the fireplace, and cozy up together in our respective pink ugly nightgowns for old ladies.

person holding photo of three girls near chainlink fence
Anita Jankovic on Unsplash

Life is all about learning new things, including learning new things about the people in your life. Sometimes, the things you learn are shocking, disgusting, or even scary.

I was the new kid in town when I was in fifth grade and my first friend was this quiet (and cute) boy in my class. He and I remained friends through middle school, and even though we drifted apart in high school, our interactions when we ran into each other in the halls or the cafeteria were really nice.

All throughout school and even beyond, he remained quiet, polite, and reserved. Just a few years ago, I read a news article written about him. He had apparently fatally wounded his father after an argument.

I had to reread the article several times to make sure it was really about my old friend. I think about it a lot, and still can't believe it!

I'm not the only one that has a shocking story like that. A lot of Redditors learned shocking or scary things about people from their childhood, and are ready to share.

It all started when Redditor ValuableHovercraft90 asked:

"What's the scariest thing you have found out about someone from your childhood (old friends, teachers, etc)?"

So Creepy

"That the boy who lived across the street and moved when I was 6 is still obsessed with me and my sister 30+ years later and posts ramblings on Facebook with our names and that he's going to be with us. Pretty terrifying honestly."

– mrscrawfish

The Worst List

"A neighbour died when he was 30. Police searched a trailer he owned and found weapons, bombs and a list of people he wanted to kill. My uncle was on that list."

– Flashy_Somewhere_648

"I'm glad this ended the way it did."

– CreepyCandidate4449

Terrifying

"One of my best friends (and locker partner) from high school was kidnapped by terrorists in Iraq. After a nightmare of 6+ months, all went silent. We buried an empty casket in his memory 10 years later."

– francois_du_nord

"This is horrifying. How incredibly sad for family to never get any closure. Very sad to read this. :("

– fizzycherryseltzer

"About 15 years ago my dad received a very good offer for work in Iraq, as a construction specialist. He was considering going, since at the same time the financial crisis started in Europe, but then one of his friends, a civil engineer, was kidnapped. Never returned back either."

– 19lgkrn70

"Same thing for my dad old coworker told him how great the money was. Dude got sniped working on a radio tower or something. My dad luckily was like, "I got a wife and family that would kill me for doing something so dangerous.""

– tristanjones

End Of The Friendship

"One of my dad's good friends, and my "uncle", just stopped coming around one day. I was told he was always busy with work, away, etc."

"Turns out, he killed 3 people in a drug deal gone bad and got life in prison."

"What's scary, is that we were over at his house for a weekend BBQ with a bunch of people earlier in the day of the night he did it, and it happened at his house."

– pnwking509

School Friends

"Don't know if it was scary, but I grew up with a kid whose birthday was the day before mine so we almost always shared birthdays in elementary school. We were friends, even spent the night at his house growing up. Later on in our teens, he started getting into some really dark stuff. I recognize that now as his being a sociopath, but like most everybody else at the time, figured it was just him going through some kind of emo phase. Over the years, we lost touch but I would occasionally run into him around town and our meetings were cordial, if not friendly."

"Last year, he was sentenced to 35 years in prison for killing a man back in 1993, roughly 3 years after we got out of High School. Apparently he, his sister and another man lured this guy out to the boonies and killed him to steal money he had gotten in an insurance settlement."

"The only reason they were caught is the other guy got religion, felt remorse and went on the local TV station and aired a confession before turning himself in (He got 25 to life)."

– 530_Oldschoolgeek

"A girl I went to school with did the same thing. She was the nicest girl, got good grades & was kind of a dork. Mixed with the wrong people after graduation. She and two others lured an old man into an abandoned building, stabbed him and robbed him. He later died from his wounds."

– HereF0rTheSnacks

The Worst Afternoon

"I had a friend in grade school who was being raised by her single dad. She had a unique name and pretty face. She never talked about her mom, and she was super outgoing, so all us kids just made friends with her quickly. It was weird her dad never brought her to our birthday parties, even though she was always invited, but we didn’t think much of it. A couple times, she was allowed to ride the bus home with me after school, and we played and had fun until her dad came to pick her up. Later in the school year, she invited me to ride the bus to her house, and my mom agreed. I was 10. It was the scariest afternoon of my young life. I cannot articulate the extreme tension in her home. We weren’t allowed to make any noise, and we mostly stayed outside, me desperate for my mom to arrive."

"Her dad screamed at us for opening the door, and I was too nervous to go into the house to use the restroom. I knew she was embarrassed that there were no snacks or comforting interactions, like at my house. I didn’t really tell anyone how uncomfortable the experience was. After that day, I didn’t hang out with her a lot. We were in different classes, drifted apart, and decades later, when my own daughter asked to go to a friend’s house, I thought about that girl."

"As an adult, I figured out her dad probably worked a night shift and tried to sleep during the day…or he was an alcoholic who was really angry. Maybe both? I looked her up on social media, and thanks to her unique name and face, I recognized her immediately. She’s a perfectly well-adjusted woman with a beautiful family. She even had pictures of her kids with her dad and tributes to him as the greatest father and grandpa. Her whole page made me wonder what the hell I experienced that afternoon in the 4th grade?"

– OlderAndTired

School Is Supposed To Be Safe!

"In our school, we had something called "de halte." In English, it means "the halt" literally translated. Basically time out. BIf you had a meltdown in class or you were just a little sh*thead, you were sent there for 15 minutes or so to cool off.

The de hatle teacher got fired and jailed for breaking 4 different wrists of 4 different students by bending them the wrong way..."

– Ok_Win7358

*Skin Crawling*

​"There was this classmate a grade below me but all grades shared the same drama class. She was weird and kind of "off." I tried to befriend her at one point and was rebuffed. It later came out that she was actually an almost 30-year-old woman who would show up in a new area claiming to be a 15-year-old runaway. Kind of freaked me out."

jackfaire

It turns out it was a good thing that the friendship didn't work out!