Senator Estes Kefauver rigged a bag so he wouldn't have to go to the toilet during a Senate filibuster.
In the past, United States senators who wanted to filibuster had to actually stand and speak in the Senate chamber.
Senator Strom Thurmond of South Carolina gave what remains the longest speech in Senate history — 24 hours and 18 minutes — against the Civil Rights Act of 1957. Mr. Thurmond prepared beforehand like an athlete, dehydrating himself so he wouldn't have to use the bathroom.
To avoid the same problem, Senator Estes Kefauver, who served on the Senate from 1949 to 1963, once rigged up a special bag so he wouldn't have to leave the Senate floor.
In recent years the majority has preferred to avoid filibusters by moving to other business when a filibuster is threatened.
On March 6, 2013, Rand Paul maintained a filibuster against presidential power to kill American citizens using drones for 12 hours and 52 minutes.
Read factlets by:
RSS feed
Email feed
