By Grace Wyler

David Maraniss’ highly anticipated — and incredibly dense — biography of Barack Obama finally hit the shelves today, offering a fresh look into the early life and family history of the 44th president.

Although Obama doesn’t make an appearance until the seventh chapter, Barack Obama: The Story does contain some pretty salacious stories about Obama’s childhood in Hawaii and Indonesia, his college years in California and New York, and his early days as a community organizer on the South Side of Chicago. (Hint: There’s more nudity and pot-smoking than you’d expect.)

Many of the stories — including details about his New York girlfriends — have been previously reported. But we’ve dug up some other interesting intel about the President that might surprise you.

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Obama once broke another kid’s arm. He also used to spy on his step-cousins while they were naked.

Those who knew Obama when he was a child in Indonesia remember him as a little troublemaker, who neighbors used to tease by calling him “black berry, Black Barry.” As the tallest and biggest boy in his class, he was known as a big eater who liked horseplay. He even accidentally broke the arm of one of his playmates while the two were riding on a bicycle.

His step-cousins in Indonesia also remember that he used to spy on them while they were naked.

“Barry loved to peek at us when bathing,” one of Obama’s step-cousins, Noeke Soetoro, told Maraniss. “There was a small window at my bathroom, and he climbed at the window, then teased me and my sister.”

Source: Barack Obama: The Story

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Obama’s stepfather had a ZOO in his backyard

Obama’s stepfather Lolo Soetoro kept a zoo of wild animals in the backyard of his home in Jakarta, where Obama lived as a young boy.

Maraniss writes:

“The backyard was a sight to behold, Lolo’s personal Indonesian zoo: chickens, cockatoos, snakes, turtles, two biawaks (reptiles that resemble miniature crocodiles) in a pond, and a small ape named Tata that he brought back from a mapping assignment with the army of Papua. As his neighbor Coenraad put it, ‘Lolo was a weird adventurer who loved weird things.’”

Source: Barack Obama: The Story

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Even at age 8, the future president had big dreams

Maraniss includes this excerpt from a paper Obama wrote as a third-grader in Indonesia, as recounted by his teacher:

My name is Barry Soetoro.

I am a third-grade student at SD Asisi.

My mom is my idol.

My teacher is Ibu Fer. I have a lot of friends.

I live near the school. I usually walk to the school with my mom, then go home by myself.

Someday I want to be president. I love to visit all the places in Indonesia.

Done. The eeeeeeend.

Source: Barack Obama: The Story

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Obama started a few “pot-smoking trends” among his high-school friends

As a student at Honolulu’s elite Punahou High School, Obama was a member of the “Choom Gang,” a group of boys who liked basketball and smoking pot (choom is a verb meaning “to smoke marijuana”).

Here are some of the “chooming” fads attributed to the future president:

TA, or “Total Absorption”: In the Choom Gang, if you exhaled while smoking pot, instead of absorbing it completely in your lungs, the group punished you by skipping you on the next turn.

“Roof Hits”: Otherwise known as “hotboxing,” this is when you close the windows of a car while smoking pot inside.

Interceptions: When a joint was being passed around, Obama was known to steal it out of turn and yell “Intercepted!”

Source: Barack Obama: The Story

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