When a recent New York Times article offered up the little gem that Barack Obama eats 'seven lightly salted almonds' as a late night snack in the oval office, the world pounced on this small but pleasing detail.
It painted a picture of a disciplined, health-conscious creature of habit and validated our own commitment to binning the Dairy Milk in favour of a healthier snack when we too are working late and low on energy.
But guess what? It's not true.
This week Obama told NBC, 'This is an example of the weird way that the press works.'
'So, Michelle [Obama] and Sam Kass, who was our chef here, one night they were talking about me and teasing me about how disciplined I was, that I didn't have potato chips or I didn't have a piece of cake.'
'And this is when Michelle said: 'Yes, and he just has seven almonds. That's it.' To really drive home the point that I needed to loosen up a little bit. And Sam relayed this joke to the New York Times in the article and somehow it was relayed as if I was counting out the seven almonds.'
However, keen not to undermine the importance of healthy snacking, Obama added, 'almonds are a good snack – I strongly recommend them.'
'I am so glad I had this opportunity. This has been really weighing on me.'
With great power comes great responsibility – even with snacks.
