Friday Snippets and Soundbites

• President Barack Obama became the 44th president of the United States and the first African American elected to the post on Tuesday. The inauguration of the U.S. president has been on January 20 since 1937. In other inauguration trivia, Thomas Jefferson was the first president to take the oath in Washington, D.C., and the only president sworn in by someone other than a judge was Calvin Coolidge, who was sworn in by his father, a notary, the then-Vice President was visiting when he learned of President Warren G. Harding's death. George Washington's second inaugural address was the shortest, while William Henry Harrison delivered the longest. Since 1953, it's customary for the newly inaugurated president and vice president to attend a luncheon held by the United States Congress. It is one of the few times the president, VP, and both houses of Congress are all in the same place.

• In other presidential news, President Obama will be the first sitting president to use e-mail. President Obama is an avid user of his Blackberry, which was a constant companion on the campaign trail. Former presidents had chosen not to communicate via e-mail for a mixture of legal and security reasons. E-mail can be supoened by Congress and courts and are subject to public record laws. Obama's e-mails will be perserved as part of his presidential records. Obama will limit his use of the Blackberry and extra security measures have been taken. Read more about it here.

• A contractor helping to clean up from Hurricane Ike in Galveston, Texas, may be using e-mail to find the owner of the "buried treasure" he recovered from the sandy beach. Michael Pate found a green steel army ammunition cannister full of keepsakes, including a 1863 Confederate $50 bill, war medals, and diamond earrings, among other things. Because a drivers' license and Social Security card were included in the watertight treasure trove, Pate is hopeful he can and will find the rightful owner. Read more here.

• A streaker was arrested during the Australian Open tennis tournament this week when he interrupted a doubles match involving the Williams sisters. Security staff quickly caught up with the man, who had run onto an outside court during the doubles match between Serena and Venus Williams and Ayumi Morita and Martina Mueller. Streaking is just not a good idea. Ever.