George Washington: America's First Action Hero

Posted on May 29, 2006

If you're looking for some family-safe entertainment tonight, you can't do better than The History Channel's new program about George Washington, America's First Action Hero. You know how you always see that picture of the old Washington on the dollar bill? Well, tonight we get to see to a young, athletic, vibrant and passionate Washington who really was an amazing guy. Here are some fun facts about Washington from The History Channel:

Clothing was always important to George Washington. As the commander of Virginia's militia in the 1750s, Washington designed his soldiers' uniforms himself. The unit became known as "The Virginia Blues," a nickname arising from their color-coordinated outfits. Washington's earliest known fashion statement was a note he wrote during his late teens - a set of instructions to his tailor for altering a coat. The message ran more than 150 words in length.

From the time he was a young man, George Washington was renowned for his towering stature - he was well over six feet tall - and his remarkable strength. He was able to hunt on horseback for as many as seven hours straight, and on one occasion, threw a rock to the top of a famous Virginia landmark, a 215-foot-high rock formation known as the Natural Bridge. The shot was roughly the equivalent of a quarterback tossing a touchdown pass from his own 30 yard-line into his opponent's end zone ... a 70-yard throw.

The familiar portraits of Washington that stare at us from dollar bills and postage stamps suggest a man who lacked any emotion. The contrary, however, seems to have been true. Washington's biographers, and those contemporaries who actually knew him, describe Washington as an intense and passionate man who worked hard at keeping his feelings in check.

Washington: The Warrior airs Memorial Day (tonight) at 9pm Eastern/8pm Central on The History Channel. And we feel fairly sure that it will be safe to watch with grandparents and the kids. We just hate putting in a DVD on family holidays only to have to "accidentally" trip over the electric cord and turn off the TV because our nieces and nephews are about to get an eyeful of a scene that would make even Paris Hilton blush. You can read more about Washington: The Warrior here.