Recently, I cracked open The River of Doubt by Candice Millard, which I highly recommend. The book centers on Teddy Roosevelt’s, let’s call them “adventures”, through the Amazon. As I read, I kept thinking there’s no way this man was once a two-term president and also traversed uncharted parts of one of the deadliest forests in the world.

That thought sent me down a rabbit hole exploring President Theodore Roosevelt’s life, escapades, and overall badassery. Here are a few instances that stood out.

He Finished a Speech After Being Shot

In 1912, former president Theodore Roosevelt was back on the campaign trail in Milwaukee, this time as the candidate for the Progressive Party. After breaking with the Republican Party earlier that year, Roosevelt launched an aggressive third-party run for the presidency, which his supporters nicknamed the “Bull Moose Party” after Roosevelt declared he felt “as strong as a bull moose.” Just before he was scheduled to take the stage, a man stepped out of the crowd and shot him in the chest at close range.

Thankfully, Roosevelt had two very unlikely pieces of protection in his pocket: a thick steel eyeglass case and a folded fifty-page copy of the speech he was about to deliver. Together, they slowed the bullet enough to prevent it from reaching his lung.

Most people would have headed straight for the hospital. Roosevelt walked onto the stage instead. He opened by telling the stunned crowd, “Friends, I shall ask you to be as quiet as possible. I do not know whether you fully understand that I have just been shot.” With the same attitude that inspired his famous line later in the speech that it would “take more than that to kill a Bull Moose”, he delivered the entire speech anyway, speaking for roughly ninety minutes while blood slowly spread through his shirt. Doctors later determined that removing the bullet would be more dangerous than leaving it in place, so Roosevelt simply carried it in his chest for the rest of his life. It remains one of the toughest moments ever pulled off by someone, let alone an American president.

He Led a Cavalry Charge Up San Juan Hill

In 1898, before he was president, Theodore Roosevelt volunteered for the Rough Riders to fight in the Spanish-American War. The Rough Riders were a volunteer cavalry regiment that consisted of a mix of cowboys, miners, Native Americans, Ivy League athletes, and adventurous men from all walks of life. Roosevelt was already famous as a larger-than-life adventurer and writer, but nothing could have prepared the world for what he did next. At the Battle of San Juan Hill in Cuba, he led a full cavalry charge uphill through enemy fire, inspiring his men with sheer audacity and fearless attitude. Despite bullets whizzing past, Roosevelt surged forward on horseback, waving his hat and rallying his troops, turning what could have been a disaster into a legendary moment in American military history.

The charge wasn’t just for glory, it was brutally real. Roosevelt and his Rough Riders faced scorching heat, steep terrain, and a barrage of Spanish gunfire, yet they captured the hill and secured a crucial position for U.S. forces. This act of sheer courage catapulted Roosevelt into the national spotlight and helped pave his way to the White House. The ultimate story of a man literally putting himself in the line of fire to lead by example.

He Was an Avid Boxer, Even During His Presidency

The stories of Theodore Roosevelt fighting in the White House are legendary tales that perfectly capture how intense of a man he was. Roosevelt was obsessed with staying in peak physical condition, and he treated the White House almost like his personal gym. He boxed regularly with military aides, visiting officers, and sometimes even professional boxers, all while running the country.

Roosevelt treated the sessions as a serious contest of skill and will, not just entertainment. He reportedly sustained cuts, bruises, and even bloodied his own nose, but he refused to quit or back down. The fact that the most powerful man in the world was throwing full-contact punches at a professional athlete in the White House gym is basically unthinkable today.

In 1905, during one bout, a young army officer landed a punch that detached Roosevelt’s retina, partially blinding him in his left eye. Roosevelt didn’t make a scene, he kept the injury secret for years, but it forced him to give up boxing. True to form, he switched to judo and wrestling, continuing to train hard and maintain his reputation as one of the toughest, most physically fearless presidents in U.S. history.

In the near future, your Uber might not pull up to the curb. It might land on the roof.

Companies are building electric air taxis, small aircraft that take off vertically like helicopters and fly short trips across cities. These things, called eVTOLs, look like they rolled straight out of the Batcave. Multiple electric rotors lift the craft off the ground, then tilt forward to cruise like a tiny airplane. Joby Aviation and Archer Aviation are already testing prototypes that carry four or five passengers at around 150 mph, turning hour-long traffic nightmares into ten-minute flights.

The machines basically work. The hard part is getting regulators to say yes, building vertiports on rooftops, and convincing cities it’s a good idea to have dozens of flying vehicles buzzing overhead. If it all comes together, early air taxis could be zipping over major cities in just a few years, meaning rush hour might include people flying over you while you’re still honking at a Prius. It’s exactly the kind of future that feels like a Star Wars city, minus the lightsabers.