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Where Knowledge Junkies Get Their Fix
Celebrate Presidents’ Day by honoring each person to hold the office. But don’t honor any of the 42 U.S. Presidents for too long – you’ve only got 8 minutes.
Name all the Presidents in 8 Minutes
Then come back and let us know who you missed. (And let us know if there are any quirks. This is our first major foray into ‘Name x in y Minutes’ quizzes. Imagine a big bright BETA tag on there.)
Comments (137)
Comment
In The Magazine
Jason,
On today’s quiz question 3 is the tatoo on Rrobert Mitchem’s knuckles of love and hate on isn’t that “Cape Fear” not the 1955 film “night of the hunter?”
Regards,
Daniel
posted by Daniel on 2-18-2008 at 11:00 am
I will forward your question to Sandy & Kara….
posted by Jason on 2-18-2008 at 11:06 am
Missed 11:
“John Tyler, Zachary Taylor, Millard Fillmore, Franklin Pierce, James Buchanan, Rutherford B. Hayes, Chester Arthur, Benjamin Harrison, William McKinley, William Howard Taft, Warren Harding”
I thank the Simpsons for William Henry Harrison…”I died in thirty days!”
posted by Rob on 2-18-2008 at 11:10 am
I might be ham-fisted, but for whatever reason it would not accept “Harrison” as an entry. There weren’t multiples, so it should have sailed through…
posted by Chan on 2-18-2008 at 11:13 am
People don’t remember the Harrison dynasty — Benjamin Harrison and William Henry Harrison.
posted by Jason on 2-18-2008 at 11:17 am
It is most definitely in Night of the Hunter, because I remember that vividly and it is the only Robert Mitchum film I have ever seen. This is a complete for-sure answer.
posted by Sarah on 2-18-2008 at 11:20 am
Not too bad - I missed five:
James Buchanan, Rutherford B. Hayes, Chester Arthur, William McKinley, William Howard Taft
I suppose I can live with that. I mean, it would be worse if I had no professional training in history… oh, wait…
posted by Roger on 2-18-2008 at 11:27 am
I missed 3! James Madison, James Monroe, and Rutherford B. Hayes.
Apparently, my early American history is shaky. :) Or some mental block related to the name James.
But how do you forget a Rutherford, I’d like to know?
posted by kate on 2-18-2008 at 11:30 am
It will be interesting to see who is most commonly missed. My money is on Rutherford. :) Having grown up in Fillmore county, I think I’ve done old Millard a favor and kept him off there. (And Roger did too!)
posted by kate on 2-18-2008 at 11:32 am
Honestly, I missed zero. THis is my forte.
Found another interesting similar site that I did not fare as well at. Name the fifty states in ten minutes.
go to ironicsans.
Not as easy as I thought…
posted by Vince Garcia on 2-18-2008 at 11:41 am
Well, I actually got ol’ Rutherford for some reason (although I couldn’t for the life of me name a memorable accomplishment of his…) I missed six of them, so I’m in pretty good historical shape. Forgot Gerald Ford, though!! How could I miss the most comically un-graceful President in history? :P
posted by Ben on 2-18-2008 at 11:41 am
In 4:32, I got all 42!
As far as who will be the most forgotten, there is a site called Sporcle that has a president quiz, and according to their results, only 49% of people who take the quiz remember Rutherford B. Hayes and Chester A. Arthur. Only 50% of people remember Harding, Buchanan, Pierce and Fillmore (well, 51% remember Fillmore), and only 54% remember McKinley and Martin Van Buren.
If you want to do better on this quiz, try hunting down the Animaniac’s President’s song! It’s on most video sites.
posted by gmsc on 2-18-2008 at 11:46 am
I missed:
Martin Van Buren, John Tyler, Zachary Taylor, Millard Fillmore, Franklin Pierce, Herbert Hoover, Gerald Ford
Most of them are actually from around the same time period, which isn’t so good.
posted by Deidre on 2-18-2008 at 11:59 am
For some reason it wouldn’t take Harrison when I put him in, even though I typed William H Harrison…guess I needed to spell out Henry.
posted by Michaela on 2-18-2008 at 12:01 pm
Got ‘em all in 1:40. My only talent.
posted by Jeff Wilson on 2-18-2008 at 12:09 pm
I missed five. Curse you, Rutherford B. Hayes!
posted by srah on 2-18-2008 at 12:21 pm
I’m not even going to attempt this quiz because I would fail miserably. @gmsc - I need to find that Animaniacs song!
Now, if it were all 50 states, I might very well get them all in record time. :)
posted by caitlen315 on 2-18-2008 at 12:30 pm
missed two, arthur and coolidge
posted by kate on 2-18-2008 at 12:30 pm
I missed 8
Andrew Jackson, John Tyler, James Buchanan, Andrew Johnson, James Garfield, Chester Arthur, Benjamin Harrison, William McKinley
I was actually typing in Jackson as time expired.
posted by RobVan on 2-18-2008 at 12:30 pm
For some reason the computer would not register any I put in. However, I can all the Presidents AND their VP’s in less than 4 minutes. No brag- just fact.
posted by harold on 2-18-2008 at 12:30 pm
Yes, the 50 states would be easy–did anyone else ever sing “Fifty Nifty United States” in grade school? It’s proved invaluable to me over the years in the weirdest situations–plus, it’s a neat trick to be able to recite all 50 states in alphabetical order. :)
“Fifty, nifty, united states, from thirteen original colonies…Shout ‘em, scout ‘em, tell all about ‘em, one by one till we’ve had our say…for every state…in the U S A…” :)
posted by kate on 2-18-2008 at 12:41 pm
I got them all, also thanks to learning that Animaniacs song so very long ago.
posted by edmh on 2-18-2008 at 12:44 pm
For some reason, it took several attempts to get some presidents “accepted,” and others, no matter how many times I typed them, didn’t come up. And I KNOW there was a Gerald Ford!!!! Would love to try this again when it’s debugged.
posted by Rich on 2-18-2008 at 12:51 pm
I got all of them, eventually. I almost ran out of time trying to remember the last one (Harding). And I had to look up how to spell ‘Buchanan’ because it would not accept my creative variations.
posted by Ben on 2-18-2008 at 12:57 pm
@ daniel: it was “night of the hunter” that robert mitchum had those tattoos. his character in “cape fear” didn’t have any.
re: this quiz - i would have done better if someone didn’t come to interrupt me. i guess that’s what i get for doing it at work.
posted by lauren on 2-18-2008 at 12:57 pm
@ Vince Garcia - I missed Colorado and Minnesota… thanks for the link!
posted by Roger on 2-18-2008 at 12:58 pm
Got them all but for some reason I had to type in “Andrew Jackson” not just “Jackson” in order for it to be accepted.
posted by marc on 2-18-2008 at 1:00 pm
Martin Van Buren, James K. Polk, Rutherford B. Hayes, James Garfield, Chester Arthur, Gerald Ford
For some reason I thought I had already listed Ford. Fillmore I only remembered because its the street my grandmother lived on. Otherwise he would’ve joined RBH.
posted by opie on 2-18-2008 at 1:28 pm
Finished all but one with 5 minutes to spare.
Problem was I did it out of order and forgot Woodrow Wilson, the one from my home state.
posted by Zach on 2-18-2008 at 1:36 pm
missed quite a few- but the thing wasn’t working for me- it only registered the 1st 2 I entered: Lincoln and Washington….
missed 17 all told…not one of my better days!
posted by ann on 2-18-2008 at 1:36 pm
Damn you, Franklin Pierce!
posted by Johnny Cat on 2-18-2008 at 2:01 pm
Missed 8
James Monroe, Zachary Taylor, Rutherford B. Hayes, James Garfield, Chester Arthur, Benjamin Harrison, William McKinley, Warren Harding
posted by Fred on 2-18-2008 at 2:05 pm
Chester Arthur, Benjamin Harrison, Warren Harding, Herbert Hoover
I didn’t forget Harrison, but I couldn’t remember his first name (I knew there two and I almost missed the other one as well, but at least I remembered one was named William). It looks like other people who missed presidents from this time period also missed Taft. I couldn’t forget him because I actually know his great-great-grandson (who goes by the same name.)
posted by katherine on 2-18-2008 at 2:05 pm
I think you can tell by who I missed that I’m a bit younger than the possible average mental flosser:
Grover Cleveland, Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, Lyndon Johnson
I was born in the reign of Reagan…
Have to thank They Might Be Giants for all of my trivial James K. Polk knowledge!
posted by Amauriel on 2-18-2008 at 2:22 pm
@31 - Johnny Cat:
“Damn you, Franklin Pierce!”
I would be curious to find out if that statement has ever before, in the nearly 250 years of US history, appeared in print. ;-)
posted by Roger on 2-18-2008 at 2:26 pm
Missed 10 - apparently blocked out all the Presidents whose name was James.
James Madison, James Monroe, Martin Van Buren, John Tyler, Zachary Taylor, James Buchanan, Warren Harding, Calvin Coolidge, Herbert Hoover, Jimmy Carter
Kept singing the “Presidents” song done by the Animaniacs way back in the day to help me remember.
posted by Laurie on 2-18-2008 at 3:19 pm
I would like to propose a software change… Have each person fill out their name & email first, then give them the test and automatically post their score. Otherwise we’re on the honor system and since there is no repercussions for fudging, everyone does really well.
posted by Scott on 2-18-2008 at 3:20 pm
*are not is… before the grammar police catch me.
posted by Scott on 2-18-2008 at 3:21 pm
Got ‘em all with 1:21 to spare. The last one I remembered was Chester A. Arthur.
posted by Ed on 2-18-2008 at 3:45 pm
I missed 7: Martin Van Buren, Millard Fillmore, Franklin Pierce, James Garfield, Chester Arthur, William McKinley, and Warren Harding — but I got all the others in the first 3 minutes! Then I drew a blank.
posted by Karen on 2-18-2008 at 4:14 pm
got 40 in about 2 minutes, then spent 5 more minutes in futile, abject torture trying to think of the others before giving up. the omissions were garfield and harding. i can’t believe i forgot one that was assassinated….
posted by atoms on 2-18-2008 at 5:46 pm
I missed Coolidge. Silent Cal is so easily overlooked.
posted by Matt on 2-18-2008 at 6:04 pm
I’m still laughing that someone only remembered one Harrison and was upset about it!
I got them all really fast because of a song in elementary song, although I couldn’t remember Franklin Roosevelt’s first name! I’m so ashamed.
posted by Sarakenobi on 2-18-2008 at 6:14 pm
I missed taylor. I know all the presidents in order from the book “Yo, Millard Fillmore” but he just eluded me.
posted by April on 2-18-2008 at 7:01 pm
Missed: Andrew Jackson, Warren Harding, Calvin Coolidge, Herbert Hoover, Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter
I learned a song in elementary school to remember them all, but forgot it about halfway through.
posted by Julia on 2-18-2008 at 8:50 pm
Got ‘em all with 13 seconds to spare!!!
Thank goodness for AP US History :-p
posted by Jessica on 2-18-2008 at 8:55 pm
I got them all, with 5:15 to spare. Maybe I should apply for US citizenship…
posted by Greg on 2-18-2008 at 8:56 pm
Got ‘em all, but I had to pause, since it only let me enter Cleveland once (grr…). Plus, just to be hyper nitpicky, didn’t Quayle act as president while the elder Bush was incapacitated? Just wonderin…
posted by Andrew on 2-18-2008 at 9:14 pm
God DAMN it Rutherford B. Hayes. I knew the year you were elected and the name of your god damn opponent. I just couldn’t remember your damn name.
posted by doug on 2-19-2008 at 12:53 am
Every one of them. Spelling threw me off on Coolidge, but I eventually nailed him down.
I thought I might have missed somewhere between WH Harrison and Fillmore, but I got ‘em.
I win.
posted by Matt L on 2-19-2008 at 1:43 am
I can’t take this quiz for the same reason I blew the on-line Jeopardy test, I can’t type!
posted by gus on 2-19-2008 at 4:43 am
Got all of them with 4:21 to spare. I also remembered Chester Arthur as my last one entered.
posted by MikeTrig on 2-19-2008 at 5:35 am
I missed Woodrow Wilson and Andrew Johnson.
posted by Lisa on 2-19-2008 at 6:18 am
so close…
Chester A. Arthur (and I was racking my brain for Simpsons references, figuring they’ve mentioned most of them - “Just when I was getting over my Chester A. Arrthuritis”)
and Woodrow Wilson
posted by Deuce on 2-19-2008 at 7:25 am
Only missed 2 - Wilson and Hoover. The brain keeps useless information of long ago but can’t remember the near past.
posted by pjz on 2-19-2008 at 8:52 am
I missed Andrew Jackson, Martin Van Buren, Andrew Johnson, Benjamin Harrison, William McKinley, William Howard Taft, Woodrow Wilson.
And this was AFTER I had read these posts. You’d think I could do a tad better when cheating! (;
posted by Cyndi on 2-19-2008 at 9:06 am
All of them, in order, in less than 4 minutes. I love presidential quizzes.
posted by Johnny Carp on 2-19-2008 at 9:32 am
The official holiday is Washington’s Birthday. It has been broadened, dare I say corrupted, into the commercial success known as Presidents’ Day. Presidents’ Day exists solely in the marketplace.
posted by Alice on 2-19-2008 at 9:34 am
http colon //www dot youtube dot com/watch?v=8Rou_d-mm9M&feature=related
I don’t know if the above link will appear in my post or be readable, but it is the first part of “Night of the Hunter.” In one of the opening scenes, you can clearly see the Love/Hate tattoos on Robert Mitchum’s hands.
posted by Kara on 2-19-2008 at 10:22 am
Missed seven:
James Madison, Martin Van Buren, James K. Polk, James Buchanan, Grover Cleveland, Warren Harding, Gerald Ford
I’m surprised how many people missed Ford. And I too fell under the curse of the Jameses (though I remembered Monroe).
posted by Caleb on 2-19-2008 at 11:15 am
I missed taylor, tyler, buchanan (because I couldn’t spell it), fillmore, and mckinley
posted by ian on 2-19-2008 at 12:15 pm
I missed Rutherford Hayes. I spent at least 1:30 trying to come up with the correct spelling of Buchanan, which got me a little flustered.
posted by nick on 2-19-2008 at 1:19 pm
Got all but two with five minutes left, all but one with three minutes left…took another minute for Hayes to come back in. The frustrating thing was that I knew the era, and remembered Greeley, who actually won the most votes, but Hayes was temporarily elusive.
posted by Southwest Florida Husky on 2-19-2008 at 7:09 pm
I’ve taking this quiz three times now and I STILL can’t get McKinley. Bugger.
posted by Pointy-Hatted Geek on 2-19-2008 at 8:10 pm
James Madison, Rutherford B. Hayes, William McKinley, William Howard Taft, Warren Harding, Calvin Coolidge
Can’t believe I forgot Madison!
posted by Adrienne on 2-19-2008 at 8:33 pm
I mean Tilden, who actually got more votes than Hayes.
posted by Southwest Florida Husky on 2-20-2008 at 6:25 am
I missed 11: Van Buren, Tyler, Polk, Taylor, Fillmore, Pierce, Buchanan, Garfield, B Harrison, McKinley, Hoover. (really only embarrassed about Hoover)
posted by Jennifer on 2-20-2008 at 7:36 pm
i missed six:
James K. Polk, James Buchanan, James Garfield, Chester Arthur, Benjamin Harrison, Dwight Eisenhower
i don’t know how i forgot ike!
posted by darin on 2-21-2008 at 9:46 am
Managed to get them all in 2:50! Would have been faster but I had to think harder to remember the first names for the multiples.
I learned this back in 4th grade and I doubt I’ll ever forget it.
posted by Shawn on 2-21-2008 at 10:01 am
‘Rutherford B. Hayes, James Garfield, Chester Arthur, Grover Cleveland, Benjamin Harrison, Woodrow Wilson, Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter’
Wilson, Nixon, and Carter? Why?
posted by Sara on 2-21-2008 at 11:35 am
I didn’t even try the presidents…I know I wouldn’t get it.
However, I did do the states. Managed to get them all in 2:45, and that includes several typos. Yeah…I went to the State Geography Bee in eighth grade…
posted by Kate on 2-21-2008 at 4:44 pm
missed 3
fillmore, buchanan, tyler (none of which i even knew was president) - maybe i’d heard of james buchanan…but the others???
posted by krista on 2-21-2008 at 10:05 pm
Missed 5 but really it was 4 because I just couldn’t spell Buchanon with an O and have it count… And how did I remember Arthur but not Garfield or Pierce — thanks to that cat and Hawkeye!! Yikes!
Martin Van Buren, Millard Fillmore, Franklin Pierce, James Buchanan, James Garfield
posted by econruth on 2-21-2008 at 11:40 pm
got them all in 1:20! I’ve been able to name them all in order since I was about 6 or 7. This game was made for me…not to brag or anything :)
posted by Panda on 2-22-2008 at 12:06 pm
I can name them all in under 30 seconds, but that’s only because I learned them as a song in 3rd grade
posted by Nate on 2-23-2008 at 12:16 am
Got them all with a lot of time to spare. Started up from Washington thru Van Buren; then went backwards from W; then forward again from Lincoln; finally filled in the missing ones (the non-entities Buchanan, Fillmore, Pierce, etc.); and ended with the most underrated one, Polk.
posted by abiebaby on 2-24-2008 at 12:27 am
I got them all in 2 minutes and 30 seconds… thanks to the song we had to learn in sixth grade that had all of the presidents’ names in it :)
posted by katie on 2-24-2008 at 12:08 pm
William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, Zachary Taylor, James Buchanan, Rutherford B. Hayes, James Garfield, Chester Arthur, Benjamin Harrison, William McKinley, Woodrow Wilson, Warren Harding, Harry Truman, Jimmy Carter
posted by Mary Kate on 2-24-2008 at 1:04 pm
Can’t believe I got Arthur pretty early in the game, Benjamin Harrison too, but missed Pierce and Van Buren.
posted by Jeff on 2-24-2008 at 1:45 pm
Missed Polk & Harding, with all kinds of time to think. Had a mental picture of Harding, but the name wouldn’t attach! Great quiz.
posted by laurie on 2-24-2008 at 2:34 pm
Missed 4 - Hoover, Grover Cleveland (how did I miss forget 2 non-consecutive terms??), Arthur, and Van Buren. Meh.
posted by Tim on 2-24-2008 at 4:54 pm
Fecking a!
“James Monroe, Martin Van Buren, William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, James Buchanan, Benjamin Harrison, Woodrow Wilson.”
I’ll be kicking myself for Monroe and Wilson for a week. Jebus!
posted by Oliver Melton on 2-25-2008 at 1:59 pm
Rutherford B. Hayes, Theodore Roosevelt….my AP US History teacher would kill me if she knew i forgot those two
posted by Ben on 2-28-2008 at 5:09 pm
Franklin Pierce, Rutherford B. Hayes, Chester Arthur. I got the other obscure guys, but I just could not get these. Another great challenge.
posted by caithiseach on 2-28-2008 at 10:52 pm
Just missed Cleveland, dagnabit!
posted by Gwen on 2-29-2008 at 3:57 pm
Remembered all but Garfield.
posted by Michael on 2-29-2008 at 4:33 pm
Kept forgetting Millard Fillmore, or else Rutherford B Hayes.
Finally got em all.
Not bad for a Canadian.
Can you name the alcoholic Canadian Prime Minister of Canada who oversaw the creation of the national railroad?
Or the one who talked to his mother’s ghost, and held office longer than FDR?
posted by Randy on 2-29-2008 at 4:34 pm
The toughest one was James Buchanan, because I couldn’t remember how to spell it.
posted by Linda on 3-1-2008 at 2:02 pm
Missed four–Van Buren and Pierce evaded me, which is less shameful than missing Coolidge and Wilson.
posted by Michael on 3-1-2008 at 5:56 pm
Missed four–Van Buren and Pierce evaded me, which wasn’t as shameful for me as missing Colidge and Wilson.
posted by Michael on 3-1-2008 at 5:58 pm
Missed four–not getting Van Buren and Pierce was acceptable, but missing Coolidge and Wilson were not. *hanging head in shame*
posted by Michael on 3-1-2008 at 5:59 pm
James Buchanan, William McKinley, Calvin Coolidge
My fourth-grade classroom had pictures of all the presidents on one wall. That’s probably the only reason why I got as many as I did (Van Buren immediately comes to mind).
posted by Tiffany on 3-3-2008 at 4:42 am
Rutherford B. Hayes, James Buchanan and Franklin Pierce . . . wankers all.
posted by John on 3-5-2008 at 8:08 am
i dont know all the presidents i need to steady them!!!!!!!!!!
posted by ana on 3-5-2008 at 10:47 am
I missed Martin Van Buren, John Tyler, Zachary Taylor, Rutherford B. Hayes, Chester Arthur, Benjamin Harrison, Calvin Coolidge.
I knew there were two Harrisons but couldn’t remember Benjamin
posted by Steve Callahan on 3-7-2008 at 2:41 pm
I missed Buchanan, Grant, and Garfield. Buchanan and Garfield are pretty obscure, but US Grant is somewhat historically important and I feel a little silly for missing him.
I like the subtle clue about how to enter George W Bush. They should have just given that one as a freebie.
It’d be interesting to see which Presidents are the most forgettable. I wonder if Fillmore’s rankings improved because of those recent Hyundai (Ford? Toyota?) President’s Day car sale ads.
posted by Marc on 3-7-2008 at 5:26 pm
2 missed…curse you Buchanan!
Curse me for forgetting Jackson!
posted by Mike Golczynski on 3-9-2008 at 2:43 pm
Buchanan
posted by lola on 3-10-2008 at 5:18 pm
I missed 8: Pierce, Fillmore (even with that commercial with the soap!), Polk, Wilson, Van Buren, Buchanan, Hayes, and Taft.
posted by Jamie on 3-10-2008 at 7:51 pm
I missed Andrew Johnson, James Garfield, Chester Arthur, Benjamin Harrison, and Richard Nixon. I can’t believe I forgot Nixon! At least I got the ones that we have high schools named after and the ones on most paper currency.
posted by ci on 3-13-2008 at 2:59 am
Fun exercise but my area of expertise. I did them in order — hope that’s OK — and did not miss any. It took me 3:21, but I think I could break 3 minutes.
So, next ask me the vice presidents.
posted by alonzo font on 3-26-2008 at 11:10 am
Can’t believe it - but got them all with some seconds left to spare!
posted by Christian on 4-18-2008 at 10:51 am
I missed 0 with over 4 minutes to go. What can I say? I’m a nerd.
posted by Chris on 4-18-2008 at 2:00 pm
I missed:
James Garfield, Chester Arthur, Grover Cleveland, Benjamin Harrison, Warren Harding, Herbert Hoover
posted by cait on 4-18-2008 at 4:06 pm
I missed
James Monroe, Zachary Taylor, Millard Fillmore, Franklin Pierce, James Buchanan, Andrew Johnson, Chester Arthur, Benjamin Harrison
not bad for a non-American!
posted by Seamus Sweeney on 4-20-2008 at 6:18 am
only martin van buren. And to be honest i couldn’t tell you a single fact about him, not even party affiliation.
posted by nate s on 4-21-2008 at 9:40 am
I missed Taft and Cleveland. The Simpsons helped me with some of the lesser-known ones, though; the schoolchildren sang a song once about the Mediocre Presidents: “There’s Taylor, there’s Tyler, there’s Fillmore and there’s Hayes/There’s William Henry Harrison/’I died in thirty days!’”
Also: Van Buren was a Democrat as VP and President, but he had a little third party going later on.
posted by jeem on 4-23-2008 at 12:38 pm
It took me several trys to finally remember all of the presidents (probably about 10 or so). But now that i can do it on a somewhat consistent basis, i’m now going for speed. My record so far is all 42 presidents in 2:28 (5:32 remaining).
But presidentis i usually have trouble with: McKinley, Pierce, Fillmore, Grant
posted by Andy on 4-25-2008 at 3:37 pm
now my fastest is 1:44…wow i’m a big dork
posted by Andy on 4-29-2008 at 1:10 pm
make that 1:30
posted by Andy on 4-30-2008 at 4:47 pm
taylor and hayes. blast!
posted by tyler on 4-30-2008 at 8:47 pm
Polk & Benjamin Harrison…got 41 in the first 2 1/2 minutes, then just sat there. Even knew that the 2nd Harrison was Wm Henry’s grandson and STILL forgot to list him. And Polk…I just have no excuse for missing him.
posted by Jesse on 5-9-2008 at 1:25 pm
I misses Van Buren, Polk, and Fillmore
posted by Tom on 5-11-2008 at 7:30 pm
I miss three, but not really just because I couldn’t spell buchanan, mckinnely and couldn’t remember ben harrison’s first name oopps. Thank you grade school president’s song
posted by Tia on 5-12-2008 at 1:21 pm
Martin Van Buren, James K. Polk, Zachary Taylor, Millard Fillmore, Andrew Johnson, Rutherford B. Hayes, Warren Harding, Dwight Eisenhower
posted by colleen on 5-12-2008 at 11:48 pm
Those familiar with the mailing address for mental_floss will be thrilled to know that the only president i missed was Warren G. Harding.
posted by silverthorn on 5-15-2008 at 3:30 am
NEW RECORD!!!!
All 42 presidents in ONE MINUTE!!!
BOO YEA BOYEE!!!
posted by Andy on 5-16-2008 at 3:08 pm
I missed 8-
James Madison, James Monroe, Martin Van Buren, John Tyler, Millard Fillmore, Rutherford B. Hayes, Grover Cleveland, William McKinley
grrrr!
posted by shennydenny on 6-17-2008 at 9:43 pm
I missed Martin Van Buren, James K. Polk, Franklin Pierce, James Buchanan, Chester Arthur, Grover Cleveland, William McKinley, Calvin Coolidge. I remembered Taylor, Tyler, Fillmore, Hayes and WH Harrison, thanks to The Simpsons…sadly, I forgot about Lisa’s “Chester A. Arthur-itis”. (Hangs head in shame)
posted by Gabrielle on 6-18-2008 at 6:59 pm
Curse you, Chester A. Arthur! There’s no excuse for forgetting US Grant or Gerald Ford (oops), but I maintain that Van Buren is forgettable for a reason and shouldn’t count against the total…
posted by jen on 6-21-2008 at 5:24 am
got em all, i remember that shit from grade school
posted by dr mario on 6-28-2008 at 2:40 am
missed: James Monroe, Martin Van Buren, William Henry Harrison, James K. Polk, Millard Fillmore, Rutherford B. Hayes, Chester Arthur, Grover Cleveland, Benjamin Harrison, William McKinley, William Howard Taft, Warren Harding, Calvin Coolidge. BUT, as I don’t recall any of them ever really did anything, not feeling TOO bad. Only difficulty (other than failing memory) was trying to spell Buchanan. Maybe some kind of predictive thingee could be used to get around spelling issues?
posted by crybaby on 7-1-2008 at 7:53 am
Martin Van Buren, Millard Fillmore, Rutherford B. Hayes, James Garfield, William McKinley
posted by Chris on 7-2-2008 at 12:15 am
missed: James Buchanan, James Garfield, William McKinley, Woodrow Wilson
I sat for about 3 minutes straight wondering “who was the $#(*&$ing president who wanted th League of Nations?!?” *sigh*
posted by Debbie on 7-7-2008 at 9:25 am
I missed 9. James Madison, James Monroe, Martin Van Buren, John Tyler, James K. Polk, Zachary Taylor, Rutherford B. Hayes, Grover Cleveland, Warren Harding
I can’t believe I missed Monroe! I sat there for a few minutes working my wat backwards until I remembered Taft, McKinley and both Harrisons.
posted by Griffin on 7-7-2008 at 5:12 pm
missed Rutheford B. Hayes, Chester Arthur, Martin Van Buren and James Buchanan
posted by ellie on 7-11-2008 at 12:43 pm
Got ‘em all in 3:41.
I know presidents.
posted by Rob on 7-21-2008 at 9:56 pm
I got them all in 4 minutes
posted by Bob Linn on 7-24-2008 at 11:19 am
I got them all in four minutes.
posted by Bob Linn on 7-24-2008 at 11:20 am
I got them all (in order) with 5:45 to spare. I had to re-type Quincy Adams as John Quincy Adams, though.
posted by Liz Sigal on 7-24-2008 at 11:53 pm
Missed 6. Benjamin Harrison, Truman, Wilson, Buchanan, Polk, LBJ…
I thought I typed both Johnson’s in but missed Lyndon B. Weird I blanked on some obvious ones.
Not bad considering I’m on my 3rd glass of wine.
posted by Nerak on 7-25-2008 at 12:36 am
I got them all. It counted wrong. Showed I had 4 left, but I had listed them all.
posted by curtis on 7-25-2008 at 9:37 am
All very nice. Got all 42 people in 3:02. Your program wouldn’t accept Grover Cleveland a second time (I entered the names in order). Per the U.S. State Department, Cleveland is both the 22nd and 24th President. But a very nice quiz. :-)
posted by Michael W. Beatty on 8-14-2008 at 9:29 pm
Missed:
Martin Van Buren, John Tyler, James K. Polk, Zachary Taylor, Chester Arthur, Warren Harding
posted by Joe Slabotnik on 8-20-2008 at 7:18 am
Got all 43 of them although you only list 42. George W Bush is the 43rd president because Grover Cleveland was both the 22nd and 24th presidents.
posted by Jim on 8-21-2008 at 1:07 pm
Martin Van Buren, James K. Polk, Zachary Taylor, Abe Lincoln, Rutherford B. Hayes
So I was pretty proud of myself of getting all the presidents from Mckinley on….
I missed Lincoln though.. Got guys like Buchanan, Pierce, Johnson (Andrew), Grant, Tyler, Willie Harrison, Ben Harrison… and I missed Lincoln..
Sigh…
posted by Hahn on 8-23-2008 at 11:01 pm
I choked…forgot Van Buren, the Harrisons, Taylor, Garfield, Arthur, McKinley, Taft…and this is the killer,,I forgot Harry S. doh!
posted by Kristi on 8-24-2008 at 8:50 pm