Learn Amazing Facts About the U.S. Constitution With A.J. Jacobs

In his book The Year of Living Constitutionally: One Man’s Humble Quest to Follow the Constitution’s Original Meaning, author and Mental Floss contributor A.J. Jacobs chronicles his journey to truly understand the U.S. Constitution by adopting the mindset and technology of 1789 (the year it was enacted). 

So on this inaugural episode of our new YouTube series, Amazing Facts With Mental Floss, we asked him to share some fascinating details about the document itself, the circumstances surrounding its creation, and the people who brought it to life (including the guy who literally wrote the words down—an assistant clerk who got paid $30 for the gig).

A.J. may not have been in the room where it happened, but he knows quite a bit about what it felt like: stuffy, sweaty, and smoky. Philadelphia summers are not for the faint of heart, and neither is colonial garb—take it from A.J., who’s spent enough time in a woolen suit and tricorn hat to know. “[Colonial clothing] is hard to put on. It is time consuming,” he told us. “I became grateful for many things during this year of living constitutionally. Big things like democracy, but also, small things like elastic socks. I had to put on these socks every morning—no elastic. They were wool stockings. They fell down to my ankles. I had to put on tiny belts. I will never get those combined hours back in my life.”

Hear the lewd joke one Founding Father said about another, learn what happened when A.J. tried to get government permission to become a pirate, and discover more about the Constitution—and A.J.’s year of embracing it—below.

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