Lawyer, former senator, former first lady, and now the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party. Hillary Clinton has been one of the key political players in the United States since the beginning of 20th century. Mired in controversies as well as praise, she is competing for the presidency against the Republican Party nominee Donald Trump. Before the elections unfold and the fates are decided, we’ve collected some interesting facts about Hillary Clinton for you.

1 During her freshman year at Wellesley College in 1965, Clinton served as the president of Young Republicans and even helped Republicans campaign for the Republican nominee.

Coming from a politically conservative family, with a traditionalist father, Hillary helped to solicit the votes of Chicago’s South Side at the age of thirteen in 1960. Then, she volunteered to campaign for the Republican candidate Barry Goldwater in 1964. Continuing her active participation in politics, Hillary majored in political science at Wellesley College, served as the president of Young Republicans there, and supported John Lindsay to Mayor of New York and Edward Brooke to the United States Senate. However, she later left her position as she started experiencing a change of views, describing herself as “a mind conservative and a heart liberal”.(source)

2 One of Hillary’s first cases was about a can of pork and beans with a rat in it.

In the case, Hillary was defending the canning company in question against a man who found a rat’s part in a can of pork and beans he opened. The plaintiff said that the sight was so nauseating that he couldn’t kiss his fiancee. Hillary’s argument against the case consisted of saying that there are parts of the world who would consider rats as edible and that the rodent would have been sterilized during the canning process. The case was often joked about by Bill and Hillary and nicknamed “The Rat’s Ass Case”.(source)

3 In 1974, Hillary Clinton was a member of the inquiry staff that impeached Richard Nixon.

In 1974, Hillary was a member of the impeachment inquiry staff in Washington, D.C., that was advising the House Committee on the Judiciary on impeachment inquiries. She also helped to research the procedures, historical grounds, and standards of impeachment under the guidance of Chief Counsel John Doar and senior member Bernard W. Nussbaum. The same committee’s work also led to the resignation of President Richard Nixon in August that year.(source)

4 Hillary refused Bill Clinton’s marriage proposals for almost two years before finally agreeing to marry him in 1975.

Hillary and Bill started dating in 1971. Bill, at that time, was a law student at Yale as well. While Hillary was interning at a law firm that summer, Bill canceled his original plans for summer in order to live with her. After summer, they continued living together while attending law school. After Hillary graduated in 1973, Bill proposed to her, but she declined as she was not sure if she wanted to tie her future with him. She continued to have doubts about marriage since she didn’t want her identity to be lost and her accomplishments to be viewed in someone else’s light. But she finally agreed to marry him in 1975.(source)

5 Hillary and Bill Clinton go to different churches. She is a Methodist and he is a Baptist.

Both the Clintons come from different types of family, not just religiously, but also in terms of some other things. Hillary was raised in a politically conservative and United Methodist family. While Bill, had a troubled childhood with an abusive alcoholic stepfather. His biological father was already married before he married Bill’s mother and died in a car accident three months before his birth. He was raised as a Southern Baptist and was a member of Southern Baptist Convention which he left due to its conservative positions.(1, 2)

6 Hillary Clinton’s Secret Service code name is “Evergreen”.

During the days when electronic communication was not always encrypted, the United States Secret Service started using code names for the U.S. presidents, first ladies, other prominent people, and significant locations. There is no real necessity for assigning such names in the present days and now they only serve for purposes of tradition and clarity. According to the protocol, the words used for the name should be easily pronounced and easily understood by anyone listening regardless whichever their native language may be. Bill Clinton’s code name is Eagle, Hillary’s Evergreen and their daughter Chelsea’s is Energy.(source)