Drunken rants, flamethrowers, dead canaries and newfangled pants.

No, that's not a summary of deleted scenes from "The Hangover."  It's a list of some of the more interesting highlights from our nation's rich history of past presidential inaugurations.

Besides the pomp and circumstance, the inauguration -- with its associated balls and parades -- is a logistical puzzle, complete with all the potential chaos that comes with organizing a heavily attended event in wintertime, in a swamp of an East Coast city.

Recommended - Inauguration playlist: Jam to Beyonce, Kelly Clarkson and more

From mishaps to glory, here are a few pieces of inaugural trivia you can use to impress your friends and neighbors.

** As vice president, an ill Andrew Johnson became so intoxicated on the day of Lincoln's inauguration that he gave a rambling speech about himself before becoming too confused to perform his duty swearing in the new senators. "The inauguration went off very well except that the Vice President Elect was too drunk to perform his duties & disgraced himself and the Senate by making a drunken foolish speech," wrote Sen. Zachariah Chandler of Michigan at the time.

Slideshow: Inaugural history: From Lincoln to Obama

Abraham Lincoln swore the oath in front of an incomplete Capitol dome. Lyndon B. Johnson became president on Air Force One next to a dazed Jacqueline Kennedy. A collection of photographs from past presidential inaugurations.

Launch slideshow

** Good trivia: First president of the United States who was not born a British subject? Martin Van Buren, inaugurated 1837.

** Even better trivia: First president to wear long trousers instead of knee breeches? John Quincy Adams, 1825.

** At the very first inauguration in 1789, the Bible used by President George Washington was hastily opened to Genesis 49:13, which reads, "Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea; and he shall be for an haven of ships; and his border shall be unto Zidon."

** In 2009, President Barack Obama used the Lincoln Bible, used by Abraham Lincoln at his presidential inauguration. The book, published in 1853, has 1,280 pages.

** For John F. Kennedy's inauguration in 1961, a morning snow left an accumulation of about eight inches. Army flame throwers were used to clear it from Pennsylvania Avenue.

** The estimated temperature at Ronald Reagan's first inaugural was a balmy 55 degrees Fahrenheit. At his second, it was a frigid seven -- the coldest inauguration on record -- and the ceremony had to be held inside.

** At another chilly celebration, in 1873, guests at President Ulysses S. Grant's ball had to dance in their coats because the temporary structure built for the occasion was so frigid. Champagne became Slurpee-like in consistency, and the flock of canaries brought in for guests' enjoyment ended up freezing to death.

** After the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Johnson was sworn in at his residence at the Kirkwood House on Pennsylvania Avenue. The site is now a high-rise.

** After Kennedy was assassinated, Lyndon Johnson took the oath of office on Air Force One. It was the first time the presidential or vice presidential oath of office was administered by a woman, U.S. District Judge Sarah T. Hughes.

Related: Watching the presidential inauguration with NBC News

** The first televised inaugural ceremony was Harry Truman's in 1949. The first broadcast nationally by radio was Calvin Coolidge's in 1925. The first known photographs from an inauguration were in 1857 at the ceremony for James Buchanan.

** The tradition of inaugural balls is traced to the first one thrown for James and Dolley Madison. Tickets to the 1809 gala, held at Long's Hotel, were $4 apiece. 

** A grand ball for James Buchanan in 1857 included 400 gallons of oysters, 75 hams and $3,000 worth of wine. (That's more than $70,000 in today's money.) 

Sources: Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, Senate Historical Office.

All inaugural addresses are not created equal, but through the course of the nation’s history, presidents have used the occasion to sketch their visions on topics as old as the republic itself – unity, sacrifice and the proper role of government.

By the time Barack Obama delivered his first inaugural address on Jan. 20, 2009, he had already become famous as an orator with his smashing debut at the 2004 Democratic National Convention and his Iowa caucus victory speech in January 2008.

“There is not a liberal America and conservative America – there is the United States of America,” he declared in the 2004 speech.

A star was born that night and his exhilarating speech on the night he won the Iowa caucuses in 2008 proved to his fans that his rhetorical skill could carry him to the presidency.

He claimed victory in Iowa over those who "said this country was too divided, too disillusioned, to ever come together around a common purpose. But on this January night, at this defining moment in history, you have done what the cynics said we couldn't do.”

By the time Obama stood up to take his oath of office at the Capitol, the improbable had become reality. The “cynics” had long since been vanquished.

Like other presidents in their inaugural addresses, Obama in 2009 faced the familiar tasks of sounding a call for national renewal and proclaiming a faith in ordinary Americans.

As Bill Clinton had said in his first inaugural in 1993, “There is nothing wrong with America that cannot be cured by what is right with America.” Many inaugural speeches – from Thomas Jefferson’s in 1801 to Ronald Reagan’s in 1981 to Obama’s in 2009 -- are elaborations of the upbeat theme that Clinton sounded in 1993.

Since an inauguration – especially a first one – is a fresh start, the newly sworn-in president naturally will proclaim that voters have brought about long-overdue change. “You have changed the face of Congress, the presidency and the political process itself.” That wasn’t Obama speaking in 2009; it was Bill Clinton in his 1993 inaugural address.

Moral improvement
Obama’s first inaugural seems at certain points remarkably personal. In it he did not mention his mother, whom he had often evoked in his 2008 campaign speeches, but he did twice mention his father – whom he never saw after he was 10 years old.

His own life story and the nation’s history were uniquely intertwined, Obama implied, alluding at one point to all the people around the globe watching him taking the oath, including the people in “the small village where my father was born” in Kenya.

He said America’s ability to reform itself was “why a man whose father less than 60 years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.”

Obama offered a strikingly optimistic view of every nation’s ability to become more like America at its best: capable of moral improvement, tolerant, and committed to unifying and noble ideals, without regard to a person’s ethnicity or skin color.

“Because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself,” he said.

His defeat of John McCain in the November election and of Hillary Clinton and other rivals in the Democratic primaries was a victory of ideals: “We have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.”

Like Clinton in 1993, Obama said that voters had changed the American political system itself: “On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn-out dogmas that for far too long have strangled our politics.”

As for just one of the specific promises Obama made in that speech: “We will wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality and lower its cost.”

He did sign into law a landmark health care overhaul but whether its provisions will lower the cost of medical care has yet to be determined.

Role of government
Obama used his inaugural to join the long-running debate with small government conservatives – a debate that Clinton had joined in his second inaugural address in 1997.

Slideshow: Inaugural history: From Lincoln to Obama

Abraham Lincoln swore the oath in front of an incomplete Capitol dome. Lyndon B. Johnson became president on Air Force One next to a dazed Jacqueline Kennedy. A collection of photographs from past presidential inaugurations.

Launch slideshow

Reagan had said in 1981, “In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem.”

In his 1997 inaugural, Clinton rebutted Reagan, or at least tried to redefine the debate: “We have resolved for our time a great debate over the role of government. Today we can declare: government is not the problem, and government is not the solution. We – the American people – we are the solution.”

Obama, once again assailing unnamed “cynics” as he did in his Iowa speech, said in his inaugural address that his election allowed Americans to move beyond old arguments about the size of the federal government.

“What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them; that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply,” he declared. “The question we ask today is not whether our Government is too big or too small, but whether it works; whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end.”

So far, that last promise has not yet been kept: Obama has significantly expanded the federal role in health care but hasn’t yet ended any major federal program.

What makes an inaugural speech one for the history books is a president’s eloquence at a moment of national crisis. Very few inaugural addresses are, like Lincoln’s immortal and remarkably short (701 words) second inaugural, carved in their entirety in granite on the National Mall or anywhere else, but on some rare occasions a president’s words do seem to define an era.

Franklin Roosevelt did that in 1933, at the depth of the gravest economic crisis of modern times, attacking what he called “the unscrupulous money changers” whose practices “stand indicted in the court of public opinion, rejected by the hearts and minds of men.”

He said, “The money changers have fled from their high seats in the temple of our civilization.”

That scalding attack on Wall Street is less well remembered today than FDR’s serene confidence in a dark hour: “This great nation will endure as it has endured, will revive and will prosper. So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”

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Time is not on the side of second-term presidents
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The White House announced Tuesday that, beginning this weekend, presidential limousines will bear the District of Columbia license plate that includes the phrase "Taxation Without Representation."

The license plate, created in 2000, adorns most of D.C.'s vehicles with a pithy reminder that residents of the capital city do not have voting representatives in the House or Senate. New registrants in the city now receive the tags automatically unless they opt for another type of license plate. 

 The saying has become a rally cry for proponents of D.C. statehood.

"President Obama has lived in the District now for four years, and has seen first-hand how patently unfair it is for working families in D.C. to work hard, raise children and pay taxes, without having a vote in Congress," said White House spokesman Keith Maley. "Attaching these plates to the presidential vehicles demonstrates the President's commitment to the principle of full representation for the people of the District of Columbia and his willingness to fight for voting rights, Home Rule and budget autonomy for the District."

The license plates will be affixed to presidential vehicles in time for the weekend’s inaugural festivities and remain in place for the duration of Obama's presidency. 

WASHINGTON -- Appearing at an annual gathering of conservative Christian voters, former presidential candidate Rick Santorum accused President Barack Obama of "coddling and appeasing" America's enemies and said the Obama administration is at least partially responsible for ongoing violence in post-Arab Spring nations.

"This president has to take a share of the responsibility for what the Middle East looks like today because he helped structure it," Santorum told attendees at the Values Voter Summit in Washington, D.C., adding that Obama has "turned his back" on allies like Israel and the government of Egypt.

"He has sent a very clear message to that area of the world," he said of Obama. "If you're a friend of the United States, you're on your own. If you are an enemy of the United States, let's talk."

Anti-U.S. protests rocked over 20 nations across the Middle East, Africa, and Asia this week, and four Americans were killed during an attack in Benghazi, Libya.

Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney has slammed the Obama administration for "apologizing" for American values in its dealings with Islamic militants, a sentiment that his former rival Santorum echoed today.

"Gov. Romney boldly went out and called this administration on their policies, their weak, lead-from-behind appeasing policies against those who threaten us and our security," Santorum said. "He stood up and called them what they were."

While he fought bitterly against the now-GOP nominee in the Republican primary, the former Pennsylvania senator repeatedly praised Romney before the audience of Christian social conservatives, a group that represents the backbone of Santorum's political base.

"I'm so encouraged that Gov. Romney has embraced some of the things I campaigned upon and that you across America have encouraged me to give voice to," he said. "He's giving voice to those things because he understands who we are. Mitt Romney understands America. He understands those values. And he shares those values."

Updated 11:19 p.m. - With the general election matchup against President Obama beginning to take shape, Mitt Romney swept a trio of Republican primaries in Wisconsin, Maryland and Washington, D.C. on Tuesday.

Romney strengthened his grip on the GOP nomination by virtue of winning the three states, the most competitive of which was in Wisconsin, a state seen as necessary for Rick Santorum, the chief conservative rival to Romney, to retaining viable hopes of winning the nomination.

M. Spencer Green / AP

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney declares victory April 3 in the Wisconsin presidential primary.

But Santorum vowed to press forward with his campaign, characterizing the primary as only having reached "halftime," while Romney kept his focus squarely on Obama in his victory party remarks Tuesday night.

Watch Santorum's speech on msnbc.com

"The president has pledged to 'transform America,' and he has spent the last four years laying the foundation for a new government-centered society," Romney said in Wisconsin. "I will spend the next four years rebuilding the foundation of our Opportunity Society, led by free people and free enterprises."

The former Massachusetts governor had looked to move closer to putting the drawn-out Republican primary behind him, and beginning a new chapter – the general election campaign versus Obama.

Watch Romney's speech on msnbc.com

Nonetheless, Romney had battled fiercely in Wisconsin against Santorum, who needed a win there to sustain his campaign heading into the next group of contests on April 24, which includes his native Pennsylvania.

Romney's victories came at a point when the Republican Party has shown signs of rallying behind Romney, and a general election that has shown increasing signs of shifting into gear.

Related: Romney cruises to big win in Maryland

That sentiment was reflected in Romney's celebratory remarks, where he made no mention at all of his Republican rivals, and rolled out a new refrain decrying "Barack Obama's government-centered society."

That came after an especially political speech this afternoon by the president, which featured pointed criticism of both Romney and the House Republican budget in anticipation of the general election.

"One of my potential opponents, Governor Romney, has said that he hoped a similar version of this plan from last year would be introduced as a bill on day one of his presidency," he said of the GOP budget blueprint recently approved by the House. "He said that he’s 'very supportive' of this new budget, and he even called it 'marvelous' -- which is a word you don’t often hear when it comes to describing a budget."

Related: Romney wins Wisconsin, moves one step closer to nomination

"It’s a word you don’t often hear generally," Obama added, to laughter, in a thinly-veiled swipe at Romney's personality.

Obama's campaign has also ramped up its attacks against Romney, portraying him as an ally of oil companies in a new television ad airing in key swing states.

Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan, the House Budget Committee chairman who emerged as one of Romney's most effective surrogate for Romney in the past few days, and a favorite among conservatives to round out Romney's ticket, fired back at Obama at Romney's victory event.

"We found out today that he's going to divide us in order to distract us," he said.

But there's still the unresolved matter of concluding the Republican primary. Both Santorum and Gingrich have defiantly vowed to continue forward with their campaigns, though their strategies of winning the nomination hinge on wresting the GOP nod away from Romney at the August convention. Both candidates have events on their schedules in the next few days, and Texas Rep. Ron Paul added new events on Tuesday in Texas and California.

Santorum emerged at his election night event to declare the GOP primary at its halfway point.

"This is why we came back to southwestern Pennsylvania: to kick off the second half," he said in a speech leveling sharp criticism of Romney. "Ladies and gentlemen, Pennsylvania and half the other people in this country have yet to be heard."

A total of 92 delegates are at stake in Tuesday's three contests, with 1,144 needed to secure the Republican nomination. Romney entered Tuesday having accrued 490 total delegates through March 24, and his margin over other candidates will grow as a result of tonight's wins.

But more powerful than the widening delegate margin has been the growing cavalry of Republican figures who had previously remained neutral in the primary -- among them, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan, among others -- have gotten off the fence and endorse Romney in hopes of hastening the end of the primary campaign.

That group could swell in the three-week period before primary voting resumes in five Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states -- contests where Romney is favored, aside for a more competitive showdown versus Santorum in Pennsylvania.

Mitt Romney looked to strengthen his grip on the Republican presidential nomination and broaden his lead in the delegate count with a win in all three of the primary contests being held Tuesday.

The former Massachusetts governor entered today's slate of primaries in Washington, D.C., Maryland and Wisconsin with hopes of winning all three — not just for the sake of delegates, but to score a critical blow to rival Rick Santorum's hopes of staying relevant in the GOP primary as well.

Steven Senne / AP

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney greets people during a campaign stop April 3 at a Cousins Subs fast food restaurant, in Waukesha, Wis.

A primary that has stretched on longer than many political observers had expected appears to be nearing its end. National Republican figures like former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, and Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan ended their silence in the primary campaign and endorsed Romney in recent weeks, in part to hasten the end of the primary and allow Romney to pivot toward the general election.

With Romney widely expected to win in Maryland and the District; Wisconsin emerged as the true battleground among Tuesday's contests. Santorum had spent the better part of the last week courting the state's voters (though he'll spend election night in Pennsylvania), and unleashed some of his harshest criticism of Romney to date.

"A moderate Massachusetts governor is not going to make that strong contrast. He'll pull out the etch-a-sketch," Santorum said Monday in Menasha, where he expressed hopes of scoring an "upset" tonight versus Romney.

It would take an upset of sorts for Santorum to beat Romney in the Badger State. The Romney campaign and a supportive super PAC outspent Santorum and the former senator's allies 4-to-1 in Wisconsin. And polling has suggested that Romney has an advantage in the state. The former Massachusetts governor led at 40 percent to Santorum's 33 percent in last week's NBC News/Marist poll.

Exuding confidence, Romney, whose campaign has shown a consistent eagerness in shifting the fight to the general election and President Obama, has refocused his stump speech away from Republican rivals and toward the incumbent president.

"You know I think all of us in the contest are focusing more and more on President Obama as we should," he said Saturday in Fitchburg, Wis. "I've got a ways to go before I get 1,144 delegates, so I'm not counting the delegates before they hatch. But I'm going to keep working very hard and hope I get a good strong send off from Wisconsin. I got a good boost from the folks in Illinois, and if I can get that boost also from Wisconsin, I think we'll be on a path that will get me the nomination well before the convention."

At stake on Tuesday was an opportunity for Romney to move closer to shedding the "presumptive" qualifier and becoming the Republican Party's presidential nominee, though that formal distinction won't be made until he wins the necessary delegates.

The Obama campaign at least appears to have identified Romney as is likely foe. They assailed Romney as a stooge for Big Oil in their second TV ad of the cycle, which will air in key swing states.

First Thoughts: Obama hits hard at GOP budget, Romney

Both Obama and Romney also delivered dueling policy addresses on Friday that were strongly tinged with general election politics, another suggestion that the general election has begun in earnest.

But as Romney's comment on Saturday suggested, there's still a ways to go until he secures the necessary delegates to win the nomination. Romney has accrued 490 total delegates through March 24, according to NBC News' count. Santorum had won 203, while former House Speaker Newt Gingrich was at 137 and Texas Rep. Ron Paul had won 34. A total of 92 delegates are at stake in Tuesday's three contests.

The next major set of primaries will arrive in three weeks, when five states in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic hold their primaries. Those states are seen as favorable to Romney, but none are more important than the contest in Pennsylvania, Santorum's home state. If the former Pennsylvania senator were to lose there to Romney, it would almost assuredly end Santorum's longshot hopes of becoming the GOP nominee. A Quinnipiac University poll released Tuesday found Santorum leading by 6 percent among likely Republican primary voters, 41 to 35 percent.