This 1843 photo (well, daguerreotype) of John Quincy Adams is the oldest surviving photograph of a U.S. president. Way to be ahead of the curve, JQA, your father would have been proud. (Source)

When James Monroe became president, he had to redecorate the newly rebuilt White House after it was burned in 1814. Having spent lots of time in France, he and his wife were big fans of French décor and did not shy away from importing lots of French goodies for their new digs. The Blue Room, which is still a major reception area for the visiting foreign dignitaries, retained his French theme. In fact, the room still contains a marble table Monroe bought, and a set of chairs were re-upholstered to match the fabric pattern they had in a portrait of Monroe. (Source)

James Monroe dropped out of college to go fight in the Revolutionary War, and he was almost fatally wounded in the shoulder at the Battle of Trenton. He was promoted for heroism once he recovered, but there were so many officers, he couldn't get a job at the end of the war. So he became a lawyer. It just goes to show that even official heroes can struggle with unemployment. (Source)

Although the U.S. and Britain agreed to joint access to the Oregon territory in the Rush-Bagot treaty, really the people most active in that area were Russian fur traders. They even had an outpost at Fort Ross, less than eighty miles from present-day San Francisco. At the time, this was totally fine with the U.S., because California was still part of Spain. Everyone was actually pretty happy to have an outpost there, and the Fort Ross Russians happily welcomed American travelers, even when there was an official ban on non-Russian ships. (Source)