British tourists visit Washington, circa 1812.

[luvtheGWN]

7. Why do your Presidents reside in the "White" House?

I once read that the House was originally red brick, but when the British set fire to it, the brick was badly scorched. So it was whitewashed, and then painted white forevermore.

So....if the British hadn't done that, you'd be calling it the Red House, and that wouldn't have gone over so well during the Cold War!

As for the drinking song that because your national anthem......hmmmm......I always thought it stared with "Hosay can you see" (sorry, I don't have Spanish accents on my computer)!

The War of 1812 was a totally useless undertaking, by the way. The Brits (Canadians) and the great American Chief Tecumseh (who was angry at the US for not living up to the treaties with the native Americans) defended against the Madison-directed invasion. York (later named Toronto) and my town of Niagara-on-the-Lake were burned to the ground, but no land was taken. Just one heck of a lot of devastation.......