The Weird Artifacts Found At Mount Vernon
Mount Vernon was the plantation home of George Washington. There, as History.com notes, the Revolutionary War hero and first president of the Land of the Free owned more than 300 enslaved people who suffered deplorable conditions and harsh punishments. Still, he was the first prez, so Washington's estate has been preserved due to its listing on the National Register of Historic Places, and much from his time is still there today.
For example, according to the Mount Vernon website, several disembodied spirits — including that of President Washington himself — have been said to haunt its hallways. Visitors to the site have also claimed to have seen the ghosts of deceased former estate directors, heard keys clanging upstairs when no one else was in the house, and felt themselves being pushed by ghastly hands only to turn around to see no one there. Clearly Mount Vernon is a spooky place, but it's also a rather kooky one. Lots of weird artifacts have been found there, and not just from George Washington's time, either.
Washington's dentures are at Mount Vernon — and no, they're not made of wood
According to Smithsonian Magazine, lots of the artifacts at Mount Vernon are obviously quotidian items George and Martha used while living there, such as furniture, clothing, table utensils, and swords (sweet). However, there are also less glamorous items, such as George Washington's bedpan.
Also, we've all heard the legend that Washington had wooden dentures. Well, Live Science confirms that the Founding Father's dental hygiene was indeed atrocious, requiring him to use dentures, but they weren't made of wood. However, you might cringe when you hear the truth about George Washington's teeth. They were a combination of ivory and real — yes, real — human teeth. Like, from another person's mouth. He most likely got them cheap from a slave or a poor person in dire straits.
The Mount Vernon Midden Project has also unearthed everything from Native American spear points to pottery, even things closer to modern times. They've found a Brownie Scout ring that dates to 1926 and even a doll from the popular 20th-century children's show "Gumby."