You know it’s a bad Father’s Day gift when the first thing out of dear old Dad’s mouth is “I’ll never use it”.

In this case, it was “I’ll never ride it”, which is exactly what Richard Nixon said after his daughters Tricia and Julie presented him with a model of a surfboard they were having built for him, way back on June 13, 1969. He was inaugurated a few months prior, on January 20.

This is what was published regarding the gift and its bewildering presentation by The New York Times on June 16, 1969:

When Mr. Nixon unwrapped the gift that Tricia had promised would be “something he never had before,” he found a shocking pink model of the surfboard he will receive in about a week for riding the waves near the family’s oceanside villa at San Clemente, California.

“This is just a copy, Daddy,” Tricia told him. “Yours is being made. It’s blue and has your name on it.”

But the President, who is 56-years old, displayed some reservations about indulging in the sport.

Richard Milhous Nixon left the United States Navy as a commissioned officer after being promoted to lieutenant commander in October, 1945.