In the wake of Barack Obama’s rousing speech last night, you may have noticed a strange tweet. Vox editor Matthew Yglesias made an oddly specific reference to the number of almonds that President Obama would be consuming in celebration. Here’s his tweet.
Tonight, Obama’s going to eat seven chocolate covered almonds.
— Matthew Yglesias (@mattyglesias) July 28, 2016
Seven almonds. Why seven? That number comes from this New York Times piece about Obama’s nightly habits.
“Michelle and I would always joke: Not six. Not eight,” White House chef Sam Kass tells the Times. “Always seven almonds.”
But is it true? Well, no. Obama set the record straight in an interview with NBC’s Savannah Guthrie.
“All my friends were calling up and they’re saying, ‘You know, this seems a little anal. This is kind of weird,’” Obama said. “And I had to explain to them, no, this was a joke.”
He did allow that almonds were a great snack, and that he would allow himself to reach double digits when he left the White House.