It's the unofficial start of summer, which means it's as good a time as any to revisit one of the greatest vacation moments in American history: when President Jimmy Carter was attacked by a rabbit.

The incident took place in April 1979, but didn't grip the nation's attention until several months later. Here's the gist: Carter was on a fishing trip in Georgia when — well, take it from the former commander in chief:



— Jimmy Carter, 2010 "A rabbit was being chased by hounds and he jumped in the water and swam toward my boat. When he got almost there, I splashed some water with a paddle and the rabbit turned and went on and crawled out on the other side."



Simple enough, right? The whole incident would have been a nonstory — no reporters were around to witness it — had it not been for Carter press secretary Jody Powell, who recounted the story to the news media himself. Thus, the "killer rabbit" tale was born.

"Bunny Goes Bugs: Rabbit Attacks President" blared one headline that appeared in the Washington Post.

"Carter Fights 'Killer Rabbit' With Paddle on Fishing Trip," declared the Associated Press, which reported the bunny was "hissing menacingly, its teeth flashing and nostrils flared, and making straight for the president."

The optics weren't great for Carter. There actually was a White House photographer who captured the encounter, but Carter's staff refused to release the photo. It wasn't made public until after Carter left office, and didn't exactly rehabilitate his image:



President Jimmy Carter in a boat in Plains, Ga., after warding off a rabbit. (Photo courtesy Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum)



Carter later acknowledged how the story took on such mythic proportions.

"I don't know what Jody told in the middle of the night in a bar after a lot of drinking had been going on," Carter told CNN somewhat ruefully in 2010. "When Jody told it to his fellow drinkers, it became a very humorous and still-lasting story."

Indeed:



A cartoon of President Jimmy Carter warding off the "killer rabbit" attack with a canoe paddle. AP



Happy summer vacation!

