By Patrick Lynn

Groupon is honoring President’s Day by giving its customers $10 off certain purchases today, homage to the man whose resemblance is bore on the ten dollar bill, President Alexander Hamilton.

There’s just one problem- Hamilton was never president.

The promotion began this weekend as a way to “honor our money-minded Commander-In-Chief”. Here’s a quote directly from Groupon’s website:

“The $10 bill, as everyone knows, features President Alexander Hamilton — undeniably one of our greatest presidents and most widely recognized for establishing the country’s financial system.”

One of these things is not like the other.

Hamilton was involved in politics as President George Washington’s Chief of Staff and later went on to be the first Secretary of the Treasury. He was instrumental in creating the nation’s banking system- what today we call the Federal Reserve. And like a slew of politicians before (and after) him, he resigned his post after the embarrassment of an extramarital affair. Later, he challenged Vice President Aaron Burr to a duel and was killed.

But he was never the president. He never even ran for the presidency, but this mistake by Groupon could make some believe he indeed was a United States President.

A similar faux pas went public in the 1970’s when Avon presented it’s “Collect the Presidents” aftershave collection, which featured the odorous “Wild Country” scent inside of bottle shaped like a bust of Benjamin Franklin- another man who was never president.

President’s Day isn’t as big an affair as other patriotic holidays. Kids have the day off of school and banks and federal government buildings are closed, but do we recognize the sacrifice these men made for their country? It would seem we celebrate some men who never stepped foot in the oval office more than some of the presidents who served.

So I pose the question to you: Is it an important distinction, knowing which men- men who have been dead for over 200 years- were elected to the presidency and which ones were not?