in the years 1860,1880,1940,1960,1980,2000??? something has happened to sitting presidents that effected their health and ability (in one way or another) to hold the office of the president of the united states of america. it is refered to as the zero year curse!!!

comments anyone

(NOT ME)

-- (NOT ME) (notme@never.net), December 17, 1999

Answers

Your progression would indicate the next problem won't be until 2040. I'll make sure not to run that year!

-- Mad Monk (madmonk@hawaiian.net), December 17, 1999.

Yeah, the 20 year curse, and Ronald Reagan broke it.

In 1840, W.H. Harrison died in office of pneumonia, a month after being inaugurated. After that, every president that was elected in a year ending with a zero died, until Reagan.

1860 - Linclon was shot.

1880 - Garfield was shot.

1900 - McKinley was shot.

1920 - Harding died of "unknown" causes.

1940 - Roosevelt was always unhealthy. 12 years in the White House, a depression and a world war would kill anybody.

1960 - Kennedy was shot.

1980 - Ronald Reagan was shot, but forgot to die.

Some people think the curse has been broken. Naturally, you can be sure that all the candidates this year have thought about this. I read somewhere that JFK told one of his brothers that he expected to die in office because of this.

(NOT ME), I'm sure that you don't have to worry about being elected next year...

-- (not@you.ever), December 17, 1999.

Well, let's just see how this plays out, and if Obergruppensturmbahnfuhrer Klinton feels lucky!

-- profit of doom (doom@helltopay.ca), December 17, 1999.

"1980 - Ronald Reagan was shot, but forgot to die."

LOL! So THAT explains it!

-- (so@that's.why!), December 17, 1999.

I believe Kennedy was shot in 1963. But I could be wrong, seeing as I was in Pampers at the time :)

-- Gia (laureltree7@hotmail.com), December 18, 1999.

Gia:

The curse reflects the year during which the Nov 20th election occured, not the year of death.

Interestingly though ... If I remember my history correctly (although at this hour of the night/morning, I am not counting on it :-) most of the deaths occured in the 3rd year of that term.

-- hiding in plain (sight@edge. of no-where), December 18, 1999.

Technically, while Reagan was under the anesthetic after the shooting, he was "dead" as far as the original Indian chief's curse would have required in the early 1830's and 40's...... I believe th ewords were something to effect of "he will not lieve out your term in office."

After all, in the 1830's, you could not recover from abdominal surgery, nor could you recover from being made unconscious. While in surgery, the VP was in complete charge of the office, and thus, Reagan too "did not finish his term" - because it was interrupted.

---...---...

The original curse was made I believe after the Tippicanue battle, but I don't recall the actual words used. Those words would be important in determing the

-- Robert A. Cook, PE (Marietta, GA) (cook.r@csaatl.com), December 20, 1999.