"Among the most notorious American inaugurations was President Andrew Jackson's in 1829. He invited the American public to the White House, and more than 20,000 drunken partygoers showed up. The crowds became so boisterous that they ruined many of the White House furnishings, and Jackson had to escape through a window. White House aides eventually lured people from the building by placing vats of whiskey on the front lawn.

On this day in 1841 William Henry Harrison stood outside in an ice storm and delivered the longest inaugural address in American history. It was 8,445 words long, and it took Harrison two hours to deliver it. He died a month later from pneumonia."

(from Garrison Keillor's "The Writer's Almanac" on National Public Radio in the U.S.)