President Calvin Coolidge didn't like to attend dinners, but he was prevailed upon to attend one function at which he was to be presented with a cane.

The man making the presentation went on at great length and finished up by saying, 'the mahogany from which this cane is fashioned is as solid as the rock-bound coast of Maine, as beautiful as the sun-kissed shores of California!'

Mr. Coolidge accepted the cane, posed for a picture, then stood there for a few moments, staring at the cane. The audience sat hushed. Finally, the President spoke.

"Birch," he said, and sat down.

Bits & Pieces, January 5, 1995, (NJ: The Economics Press, Inc.), pp. 1-2