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Where Knowledge Junkies Get Their Fix
We’ve been reading Second Acts: Presidential Lives and Legacies After the White House, a terrific book by Mark Updegrove on the post-White House lives of presidents.
The fine people at Globe Pequot have sent us three copies of Second Acts to give our brilliant readers. Here’s how you can win:
1. Test your ex-presidential knowledge by taking the mental_floss quiz.
2. Come back and tell us how you did – plus give us one piece of presidential trivia.
On Monday Tuesday, we’ll reward the three most fascinating facts with a copy of this Mr. Updegrove’s fascinating book.
Comments (81)
Comment
In The Magazine
8/10 WOO HOO! (I am a history geek)
Presidential Trivia…
John Quincey Adamas had a pet Aligator in the White House.
James A. Garfield would have survived his gun shot wound had doctors either washed their hands before probing for the bullet, or not probed at all.
Garfield was shot by a member of the Oneida communityy, which was a free sex commune prior to making China.
McKinley was shot at the World’s Fair in Buffalo. He was treated on the scene by an OB/GYN who said he would be fine. He died.
Teddy Roosevelt was the first President to receive Secret Service Protection. During his frequent nature walks he thought it was quite funny to try to loose his agents or out run them. (For a big man he could move fast)
I may post more later.
posted by Witty Nickname on 9-28-2007 at 11:44 am
I have a books for the kids all about the presidents and one all about the wives maybe I should read them. I got 5/10.
Reagan had a thing about playing with ears. I do too they are just so cute :)
posted by CropTillDawn on 9-28-2007 at 11:52 am
Only 4/10, but I knew those 4. Bad guesser, I guess.
Gerald Ford owned every single Desert Storm trading card.
James Garfield spent most of his time eating popcorn out of a latex glove.
Theodore Roosevelt once found a bunch of cat teeth glued to the top of his chandelier. He never figured out how they got there.
Herbert Hoover’s wife insisted on covering the family dog in perfume.
Benjamin Franklin was never president.
Thomas Jefferson had the idea of converting his greenhouse to a haunted house, but this fell apart because dead flowers aren’t that scary.
Millard Fillmore never let anyone know his middle name.
Ulysses S. Grant was once quoted as saying “When that many toddlers are so close to a wasp nest, all you can do is sit back and grin ’til it hurts.”
John Adams was rather unpopular with his servants because his customary bonus was a single clothes hanger.
posted by Jeremiah on 9-28-2007 at 11:58 am
9/10, love the history quizzes.
LBJ, in order to intimidate staff and cabinet members, made them follow him to the bathroom and give reports as he sat on the toilet.
posted by Polo on 9-28-2007 at 12:09 pm
7/10
President Eisenhower was the first president to use make-up in television appearances.
Jefferson sold his library to Congress in 1815 to pay off his debtors. A subscription service was actually proposed by Congress wherein citizens could donate money to Jefferson(after his presidency) to help take care of his massive debts. This effort failed. And despite the sale of his library, Jefferson used the money given to him by Congress to- what else- buy more books.
posted by jenni on 9-28-2007 at 12:11 pm
9/10
Presidential Trivia:
Franklin Pierce died in Concord, New Hampshire at 4:40 a.m. on October 8, 1869 at 64 years old, from cirrhosis of the liver, which had to do with his heavy drinking problem that he carried throughout his life.
posted by Aron on 9-28-2007 at 12:16 pm
6/10 - a solid D, but better than average so far :)
Trivia per Wiki:
The First U.S. Congress voted to pay George Washington a salary of $25,000 a year, about $566,000 in 2007 terms. Washington, already a wealthy man, refused to accept his salary, however, he asked for his living expenses to be covered. Theodore Roosevelt spent his entire $50,000 salary on entertaining guests at the White House. John F. Kennedy donated his salary to charities.
posted by Debi on 9-28-2007 at 12:20 pm
I only got 30% right. Reagan, Jefferson, and Washington. That’s pretty bad.
The ninth President William Henry Harrison died a month after his inauguration of pneumonia and has the shortest presidency, a total of 31 days; and was the first president to die in office. Ironically he also gave the longest inaugural speech, an hour-and-forty-five-minute speech in a snowstorm. The 68-year-old President stood outside for the entire proceeding, greeted crowds of well-wishers at the White House later that day, and attended several celebrations that evening. One month later he died of pneumonia, almost certainly contracted from the inaugural ordeal. It’s sad and sort of humorous at the same time.
posted by Emily on 9-28-2007 at 12:49 pm
A solid, undisputed F! 4/10 Interesting info, though, and my one bit of presidential trivia to add to the mix is, I openly and unashamedly admit, something I just learned recently.
Abraham Lincoln sent Federal troops to a Maryland Legislative session to arrest the legislators before they could vote for secession. If Maryland had seceded DC would have been surrounded by Confederate states, cut off from any land routes to the Union.
posted by Pat on 9-28-2007 at 12:55 pm
Hooray - I also got 8/10.
Some Presidential facts:
John Quincy Adams liked to skinny dip in the Potomac and was once forced to talk to a female journalist when she sat on his clothes until he talked to her.
James Polk survived gall bladder surgery at the age of 17 using brandy as the anasthetic.
William Harding lost an entire set of White House china in a poker game.
George Washington had to borrow money so he could attend his own inauguration.
George Washington had the teeth of his 6 white horses brushed daily. Too bad he didn’t do the same with his own because at the time of inauguration he only had 1 tooth.
Andrew Jackson’s pet parrot had to be removed from his funeral becuase it was swearing.
posted by Joyce on 9-28-2007 at 1:01 pm
5/10 - I should have known better
In 1979 President Carter signed a bill legalizing the home manufacture of beer for personal use. - YAY BEER
John Quincy Adams, sixth president of the United States, loved to skinny dip in the Potomac River.
posted by Janet on 9-28-2007 at 1:01 pm
6/10. Two presidents have middle names of former presidents….
William Jefferson Clinton
Ronald Wilson Reagan
posted by Annette on 9-28-2007 at 1:01 pm
Awesome; I got 10/10!
Harry S. Truman did not receive a pension after leaving the Presidency. Immediately after his departure, his only income was his Army pension of less than $125 per month.
posted by Robert D. on 9-28-2007 at 1:02 pm
6/10
When Teddy Roosevelt’s wife, Alice, died in childbirth, he was so heartbroken that the child born, a daughter who was also named Alice, was never called by her first name. She was always known as Sister, because Teddy couldn’t bear the heartache of hearing his dear wife’s name.
posted by Tabi on 9-28-2007 at 1:10 pm
5/10 - oops.
When Garfield was president of Hiram College in Ohio, he used a gigantic safe that now resides in my parents’ basement. It is truly huge - walk-in size, and is so massive, it sinks a little each year, causing the concrete patio above it to crack.
posted by Rachel on 9-28-2007 at 1:19 pm
OK, I suck at Presidential trivia.
Second Acts: Presidential Lives and Legacies After the White House: The mental_floss Quiz
Score: 60% (6 out of 10)
The first President born a U.S. citizen was Martin Van Buren (1837-41). Van Buren was delivered on December 5, 1782, making him the first President born after the Declaration of Independence was signed.
Virginia is the birthplace of the greatest number of Presidents. It boasts eight. Thirty-one states have never claimed a native son as President.
Teddy Roosevelt was the first President to travel abroad while in office; he visited the Panama Canal in 1906.
In 1943 Franklin Roosevelt made the first Presidential flight.
Richard Nixon was the first President to visit all 50 states.
Bill Clinton set a record for the most trips abroad: 133.
posted by Sheldon Siegel on 9-28-2007 at 1:20 pm
Interesting; 6/10
What’s on the back of Harry Truman’s “The Buck Stops Here!” placard?
I’m from Missouri.
posted by Jan on 9-28-2007 at 1:21 pm
4/10
Sadly all the trivia I might know I would reference from ‘Presidental Anecdotes’, which was left in my grandmothers house when I moved in (at an age when I did not realize there was not a hard ‘C’ in anecdotes). Maybe I’ll see if I can find it and post something interesting there.
posted by mev on 9-28-2007 at 1:29 pm
All bearded Presidents were Republicans.
posted by Aviva on 9-28-2007 at 1:31 pm
A blistering 6/10 on the quiz. Move over, Tim Russert>
William Howard Taft was our fattest president at over 300lbs. His bathtub at The Whitehouse was so large, 4 normal size men could fit in it.
posted by Big Dog on 9-28-2007 at 1:33 pm
5/10 here.
Richard Nixon was a big fan of the television show “All In The Family”, although he called it “The Archie Show”.
George Washington became sick after riding his horse in the rain. Doctors, as was common of the time, drained his blood. It helped kill him.
Every President to wear a beard while in office has been Republican.
posted by Jeff on 9-28-2007 at 1:40 pm
6/10.
The “S” in Harry S Truman is not his middle initial; it’s his middle name. His parents couldn’t decide which grandfather to honor, Anderson Shipp Truman or Solomon Young. So the “S” was meant for both of them.
posted by Nick on 9-28-2007 at 1:45 pm
4/10 (don’t tell my History prof…I made an A in his class!)
Trivia: No president of the United States was an only child.
posted by Lizard Breath on 9-28-2007 at 1:46 pm
My score - 6/10 (Thanks to Uncle John’s bathroom reader series for helping me remember a couple of these).
Here is some interesting Trivia about Andrew Jackson (given to me by my college history teacher).
When Andrew Jackson became president, he had a party at the white house, and anyone was invited to come to the party. The day after the party, there were people all over the white house that had passed out from the night before. Must’ve been quite a party!
posted by derekgio on 9-28-2007 at 1:47 pm
I only got the one about Thomas Jefferson correct because I live in Virginia.
Here’s my fact I remembered from college:
Calvin Coolidge was such a non-sociable snot, that at a social event a chatty woman who sat at the table with him gave him this cheerful challenge, “I bet my friend back home that I would get you to say more than three words!” The rest of the evening he did not say anything else. Then finally towards the end of the event he leaned over and said quietly to the woman, “You loose.”
posted by Rebecka on 9-28-2007 at 2:03 pm
7/10 (I shouldn’t have second guessed myself on the first question.)
William McKinley’s wife was epileptic. During state dinners he would throw a napkin over her face when she would have a fit.
George Washington had a distillery at Mount Vernon.
posted by Camille on 9-28-2007 at 2:06 pm
4/10…I’m horrified. Please don’t tell my children. (note to self - go with first instinct)
Speaking of children both of my children are named after Presidents. Reagan (daughter) and Lincoln (son). They’d be horrified to know I did so poorly on this quiz.
Does that count as Presidential trivia?
Hmm…real trival. Presidents Adams, Jefferson, and Monroe all died on the 4th of July.
posted by Karen on 9-28-2007 at 2:10 pm
I got 80%. Yay me!
Presidential trivia: Bill Clinton’s favorite relish is watermelon rind pickle.
posted by Caitlin on 9-28-2007 at 2:15 pm
8 of 10.
Truman was not the only President with a middle initial of “S” that didn’t stand for anything — Hiram Ulysses Grant’s congressman erroneously nominated him to the U.S. Military Academy as “Ulysses S. Grant,” because everyone called Grant by his middle name and his mother’s name was Simpson. The Academy refused to let him enroll under a different name than his nomination was registered in, and he kept “Ulysses S. Grant” as his name for the rest of his life. He never used “Simpson” as his middle name.
posted by George on 9-28-2007 at 2:33 pm
50% - my worst quiz score yet!
Teddy Roosevelt’s pit bull, Pete, once horrified White House guests when he tore off the French ambassador’s pants during an event.
Not only was Lincoln assassinated, but his poor dog Fido was stabbed to death by a drunk in the street the following year.
posted by Jenny on 9-28-2007 at 2:35 pm
I think I may have the worst score with 30%. But then again, I’ve never been great at history.
I don’t have any of my own random trivia. But for what it’s worth, I think this one should win:
Andrew Jackson’s pet parrot had to be removed from his funeral becuase it was swearing.
posted by Erin on 9-28-2007 at 2:38 pm
8/10 - a solid effort.
At 6′4″ and 180 lbs, Lincoln was the tallest president (for now, at least–I will shatter that mark). The shortest was James Monroe, at 5′4″ and 100 lbs.
posted by Greg on 9-28-2007 at 2:41 pm
I got 9 out of 10- missed the Truman question.
Franklin Pierce was one of the worst presidents- but also one of the most interesting. His life was almost as tragic as Lincoln’s. During the Mexican-American War he was either a hero or coward during the Battle of Churubusco- it is uncertain which. In college, he was friends with Nathaniel Hawthorne and Longfellow. His marriage was not good because of his drinking and attempts to deceive his wife. She did not want him to pursue the presidency, so he attempted to make it look like he was being drafted for the office against his wishes. She found out about this and never forgave him. While on the way to his inauguration, his only surviving child was killed before his (and his wife’s) eye in a railroad accident. She went completely off the deep end and was rarely seen after this. His administration was dreadful and his party did not renominate him. After leaving the White House, he was quoted as saying that “there’s nothing left to do but get drunk”. At one point he ran over an old lady with his carriage. During the Civil War, he sympathized with the Confederacy- an unwise thing to do in his home state of New Hampshire. One night a group rioted outside his house and threatened to burn it down. SOmeone should make a sad movie about him.
posted by harold on 9-28-2007 at 3:02 pm
Four wrong.
George Washington, while commanding the Colonial Forces, passed through my area and there is a historical marker where he drank from Halfway Brook. There is a lot of Revolutionary history in this area. I live in Saratoga, the turning point of the war.
Teddy Roosevelt was climbing Mt. Marcy, the highest mountain in New York and the source of the Hudson River, when McKinley was shot. T.R. then rode, full out, on horse back in the night, to the closest train station to board a train for Buffalo. The route of his ride is called “the Teddy Trail”.
posted by gus on 9-28-2007 at 3:11 pm
3 out of 10. I feel shame.
Theodore Roosevelt was the first President to fly in an airplane, ride in a car, and travel in a submarine.
posted by mrs.djs on 9-28-2007 at 3:14 pm
60% I should have known better…
Theodore Roosevelt, who loathed the moniker “Teddy” and was known as Teedie by his family, coined the phrase
“Good to the last drop” about the Maxwell House coffee he enjoyed.
Ad Man, Taxidermist, Politician, Naval Expert, boxer…!!!!
posted by Lauren on 9-28-2007 at 3:22 pm
9/10 - Didn’t know about Truman’s memoirs.
After the death of his first wife Letitia (you read that right), John Tyler was touring the the state-of-the-art warship Princeton along with his Secretary of State Abel P. Upshur, former Senator David Gardiner, and Gardiner’s daughter Julia. The ship was so state of the art, that its two large guns actually carried names: the Oregon and the Peacemaker. Providence apparently was unhappy with a weapon of war so named and Peacemaker exploded, killing poor Upshur and throwing the 24-year-old Julia into the waiting arms of the 54-year-old president. Tyler became the first president married while in office a short while later. (By the way, Upshur’s death led to John C. Calhoun’s appointment as Secretary of State, and during his brief tenure he worked for Texas Annexation and linked westward expansion to the expansion of slavery, bringing about all sorts of strife between North and South…but I digress). Much of this was reported in the last issue of Mental_floss. What was not mentioned was that Tyler was likely our most fecund president, fathering fifteen children in all (eight by Letitia and seven by Julia). His first child, born in 1815, was five years older than his second wife—and 45 years older than his last child born in 1860.
But the story gets stranger…Lyon Tyler, whom John sired at the spry young age of 63, went on to continue the family tradition and in 1928, at the age of 75 fathered a child himself. That son, Harrison Tyler is still alive. The grandson of the tenth president of the United States, the grandson of a man born in 1790, is alive today. He currently lives on his grandfather’s estate, Sherwood Forest, in Virginia. And ladies, if you’re interested, he may be looking to continue the family legacy.
More information can be found on the genealogy section of the Sherwood Forest Plantation website.
posted by Bob Peck on 9-28-2007 at 3:31 pm
So I only got 4/10, but that’s good because I only actually knew one for sure!
In my statistics class every day my professor always does a “Question of the Day” and earlier this week it was Presidnetial trivia! Unfortunately none of the trivia I learned was on this quiz, but my interesting fact is:
FDR was related by blood or marriage to 11 other Presidents.
posted by Ren on 9-28-2007 at 3:54 pm
9 out of 10. Missed the T.R. question.
Unfortunately the quiz had my favorite Presidential trivia item (John Tyler’s second act. Although it is wrong to say he served there given that he died before the Congress met.
So my next best one is that James Monroe had the second largest victory of the electoral college votes for his second term. Capturing every state since he ran virtually unopposed. However, one elector wanted to preserve Washinton’s legacy of the only unanimous electoral college win so he voted for J. Quincy Adams.
posted by Pragmatic Cynic on 9-28-2007 at 4:30 pm
Only 50%, but that was better than I thought that I’d do….did better on the more modern presidents, than on the older ones…..??? :)
posted by LaDonna Powell on 9-28-2007 at 4:59 pm
80% - I can’t imagine that anyone would ask Gerald Ford to be VP again, particularly one running in 1980.
My favorite piece of presidential trivia relates to more than one president. Supposedly, the Native American leader Tecumseh cursed the US presidency (or perhaps the general that defeated him, William Henry Harrison) after his defeat in the Creek wars of the 1810s. When Harrison was elected president in 1840, he died in office a month after his inuguration. Every president elected in a year ending in zero thereafter (1860, 1880, 1900, 1920, 1940, 1960, 1980) died in office, either from natural causes or assassination. Ronald Reagan seems to have broken the curse, since he survived his assassination attempt and no one’s really tried for Bush.
I remember reading somewhere, but have no idea whether or not it’s true, that James Garfield could write in Greek with one hand and Latin with the other simultaneously. Go figure.
posted by Jennifer on 9-28-2007 at 5:28 pm
7/10. Not bad for a high-schooler.
Presidential Trivia: John Quincy Adams, the only president to be elected to the House after his term, suffered a stroke in 1848 on the floor of the House. He was carried to the Speaker’s room, where he died two days later.
posted by Michaela on 9-28-2007 at 5:30 pm
10 of 10
John Adams (a founding father) signed a document (Treaty of Tripoli) that was unanimously approved by the US Senate which explicitly stated that the US government “is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion”. Said document was subsequently published in newpapers in New York City and Philadelphia without any reported controversy or outcry.
posted by Dave on 9-28-2007 at 5:36 pm
Self-confessed history freak and reader of biographies, I got 9/10!
Millard Filmore was illegitimate.
Abraham Lincoln ordered the guns of Baltimore’s harbor turned around to face the city after riots broke out opposing the Civil War. A whole new perspective on “the dawn’s early light!”
Franklin Roosevelt was a great fan of movie star Carole Lombard and ordered a liberty ship named in her honor after her tragic death on a WWII bond drive.
Harry Truman was playing poker in the basement of the Senate office building when FDR died. He was sent for and walked to the White House without protection even though the country was at war.
posted by susan moscareillo on 9-28-2007 at 5:39 pm
8/10. Hah!
I know very little presidential trivia and what I knew has already been posted. Darn.
posted by Steve on 9-28-2007 at 6:59 pm
Tried to post once, not sure if it went through. If it did, I thought of some trivia! John Quincy Adams (the only president to subsequently serve in the House) died on the House floor. (Score was 8/10)
posted by Steve on 9-28-2007 at 7:02 pm
Scored 7/10
Gerald Ford was born Leslie Lynch King, Jr. — he changed his name in 1935 to honor his stepfather; he was not legally adopted by his stepfather.
The first memorial to FDR in Washington, D.C. is a marble block that is roughly the size of the desk he used. It was dedicated to him in 1965 by his friends who abided his wish to have a plain memorial.
posted by michaelk on 9-28-2007 at 7:47 pm
5/10…meh
Wilson could read as fast as his finger would move down the page.
posted by Joanna on 9-28-2007 at 8:40 pm
8/10
Here is one for you:
What ex-president negotiated a settlement between the baseball owners and umpires that averted an umpire strike?
posted by Harold on 9-28-2007 at 9:10 pm
9/10
Calvin Coolidge’s home is now a cheese factory that was started by his father.
and Franklin Pierce had fallen so out of favor later in life, that he wasn’t allowed to be a pallbearer at his best friend’s funeral. Best friend being Nathaniel Hawthorne, of course.
posted by tim on 9-28-2007 at 11:18 pm
Results- 5/10
Thomas Jefferson died of Mercury poisoning as a result of treatment for intussuception (telescoping of the intestines).
posted by TimW on 9-29-2007 at 12:40 am
9/10
John Adams and Thomas Jefferson died on the same day, July 4, 1826, the fiftieth anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
posted by Matt L. on 9-29-2007 at 12:41 am
8/10 - I love history!
At the peace conference in Paris after WWI, Wilson was struck with the Spanish flu and underwent a personality change so profound that he capitualated on virtually all the conditions set by France, England, Italy and Japan. Some say the flu and/or stress precipitated his stroke 4 months later.
The harsh conditions imposed on Germany at this conference set the conditions for Hitler’s rise and WWII. Try to avoid the flu.
posted by Karen on 9-29-2007 at 4:00 am
8/10…. what can I say? I’m a lucky guesser…
Franklin Pierce attended Bowdoin College in Maine, just down the street from me and this laptop. There, among his friends and classmates Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Calvin E. Stowe, and John Hale, he met his future wife. Jane Appleton was the daughter of the president of Bowdoin College (talk about a conflict of interests!) and their marriage was plagued with misfortunes.
posted by Allison on 9-29-2007 at 5:42 am
9/10 but then again, I was a history major.
Zachary Taylor refused to pay the charges for the message that contained the news of his election to the office. Apparently he found the charge too high. The letter was never delivered.
Andrew Jackson is the only president (that we know of) to have killed a man in a duel. The duel was over the honor of his wife, who had been previously married
After leaving the office, William Howard Taft, who is perhaps only known for being the fattest President, lost nearly 100 pounds while on the Supreme Court, which was the job he wanted in the first place.
posted by Stu on 9-29-2007 at 8:27 am
4/10
Lincoln and his wife held seances in the White House. They had great interest in psychic phenomena.
Robert Todd Lincoln arrived too late to stop three seperate presidential assassinations.He met his father, President Abraham Lincoln, at the theatre after John Wilkes Booth had fired the shot. He went to a Washington train station to meet President Garfeild, arriving only minutes after he was shot. And, he traveled to Buffalo, New York to meet President Mckinly, but got there after the fatal shot had already been fired.
Lincoln once had a dream right before the fall of Richmond that he would die. He dreamt that he was in the White House, he heard crying and when he found the room it was coming from he asked who had died. The man said the President. He looked in the coffin and saw his own face. A week later Lincoln died.
Richard Nixon and his wife, Pat Nixon, are buried alongside one another between the Rose Garden and his birth home at the Nixon Libary. Funerals for both were held on the Library grounds.
posted by Lynnette on 9-29-2007 at 9:03 am
Second Acts: Presidential Lives and Legacies After the White House: The mental_floss Quiz
Score: 70% (7 out of 10)
Often depicted wearing a tall black stovepipe hat, 16th president of the United States Abraham Lincoln carried letters, bills, and notes in his hat.
When Gerald Ford proposed to to his wife, he was wearing one brown & one black shoe.
posted by Nick Queen on 9-29-2007 at 9:05 am
A disgraceful 6/10. I should know better!
One of my favorite factoids is that Jimmy Carter was the first president to be born in a hospital. Everyone prior had been born at home.
James Garfield wrote Latin with one hand and Greek with the other.
Grover Cleveland answered the White House phone personally.
James Buchanan was the only president who never married.
posted by Katherine on 9-29-2007 at 10:35 am
-Lynette reminded me of another strange thing about Nixon - during his funeral the normally sunny California weather turned violent with lightning, thunder, rain and even hail.
posted by karen on 9-29-2007 at 1:40 pm
6 out of ten. Not too bad. Don’t know too much presidential trivia, but:
George W. Bush is a distant relative of Franklin Pierce, widely regarded as the worst president ever.
Andrew Jackson fired his whole Cabinet over Peggy Eaton, a ‘woman of loose morals’ married to a senate member and friend of Jackson. The women shunned her, and Jackson threatened to fire the men if they couldn’t get their wives to include her. His behaviour was probably due to the fact that his own wife had been accused of adultery, and he believed that that was what killed her. Well, the men couldn’t convince their wives to talk to Eaton, so Jackson fired everyone except Van Buren, saved by his status as a bachelor. Later, when her husband died, Eaton, then 59, ran off with an Italian dancer in his twenties.
Jackson also once killed a man defending his dead wife’s honour.
posted by Kitty on 9-29-2007 at 2:54 pm
8 out of 10… but i had the help of Joe Kennedy in Chicago…
Benjamin Harrison’s fathers body was dug up and stolen by grave robbers intended to sell it to a medical school. They did and Benjamin found the body at Ohio Medical College hanging on a hook :(
posted by Bryan Yerman on 9-29-2007 at 5:25 pm
7/10 - puts me to shame.
President Wilson also holds a Ph.D in history. He is quoted in the film, “Birth of a Nation.” This film is responsible for bring back the KKK in the early 20th century. Yes, Wilson was Very racist.
posted by Jem on 9-29-2007 at 6:24 pm
10 of 10….Love that presidential trivia!
President Ulysses S. Grant was once arrested during his term of office and was convicted of exceeding the Washington speed limit on his horse and fined $20.
Zachary Taylor did not vote until he was sixty-two,did not even vote in his own election.
Thomas Jefferson wrote his own epitaph without ever mentioning that he was US President.
posted by Holly Amos on 9-30-2007 at 7:30 am
Oop, took me a while to realise, but I meant Buchanan instead of Pierce…..
posted by Kitty on 9-30-2007 at 9:00 am
I got 6 out of 10…… and I guessed at a couple of them……
Jimmy Carter is the only president to have seen a UFO. I believe he even filed a report about seeing the UFO too.
posted by Albert on 9-30-2007 at 1:47 pm
I got 8 out of 10. Washington and Truman fooled me (Two of my favorites, too.).
Had a history prof claim that Jimmy Carter was so inept at foreign policy that upon hearing two different approaches to a Mideast problem from Cyrus Vance and Zbigniew Brzezinski (Sorry about the spelling), Carter couldn’t decide on which approach. Solution: Staple the two together.
posted by gewurz03 on 9-30-2007 at 5:20 pm
3 of 10…yikes.
After John Hinckley’s attempted assasination of Ronald Reagan, Nancy
Reagan hired an astrologer, Joan Quigley, who determined the president’s personal schedule for nearly seven years based on her psychic insights.
posted by Lauren on 9-30-2007 at 6:01 pm
5 out of 10. I’m a Spanish teacher, not a history teacher.
Here is an interesting fact that I love.
James K. Polk has a song about him written by They Might Be Giants. This may not sound very interesting, but I have an interesting story to go along with it.
My friend, Erik K. was dejected in college during his sophomore year. He had turned to drugs, was facing failure in most of his classes, and saw no light at the end of the tunnel. During finals, he opted to get high instead of study for his history final. (on a side note: he is a HUGE TMBG fan, having memorized most of their songs.) When he arrived to his history final the next day he was presented with three questions, one of which must be answered in an essay. The question he chose to answer was: Give a description of the presidency of James K. Polk and outline his contributions to the nation. Erik went from a D to an A after taking this final. Here are the words to the song. He changed it so that it would not rhyme and received an A+ on the paper. This is a true story.
In 1844 the democrats were split.
The three nominees for the presidental candidate
Were Martin Van Buren, a former president and an abolitionist,
James Buchanon a moderate,
Lewis Cass a general and expansionist.
From Nashville came a dark horse riding up, it was James K. Polk, Napoleon of the stump.
Austere, Severe, he held few people dear,
His oratory filled his foes with fear,
The factions soon agreed, he’s just the man we need, to bring about victory, fulfill our manifest destiny, and annex the lands the Mexicans command. And when the vote was cast the winner was, James K Polk, Napoleon of the stump.
In four short years he met his every goal
He seized the whole southwest from Mexico
Made sure the tarriffs fell
And made the English sell the Oregon territory
He built an independent treasury
Having done all this he sought no second term
But precious few have mourned the passing of
Mister James K. Polk, our eleventh president
Young Hickory, Napoleon of the Stump
Definitely “A” material for a sophomore history class!! I swear this story is true.
posted by Tommy M on 9-30-2007 at 6:46 pm
And on a side note: Erik K went on to finish school and is quite successful now. Actually, passing that class out of the blue gave him some motivation to keep going. He was close to dropping out when he took that final. Yay James K Polk and TMBG!
posted by Tommy M on 9-30-2007 at 6:52 pm
8/10
James Buchanan was the only bachelor president. And he was succeeded by Abraham Lincoln, who has been widely rumored to have had some homosexual trysts in his Springfield days. A romantic rendezvous as Buchanan was leaving the White House and Lincoln was moving in? With apologies to the announcer in the Tootsie Roll Pop commercials, the world may never know.
posted by BravesDawg on 10-1-2007 at 5:50 am
I scored a measley 4 out of 10. And I love history (bow my head in shame).
Ok…”trivia”. During Lincoln’s presidency, wild turkeys were kept on the White House residency for holiday dinners.
posted by Beth on 10-1-2007 at 8:12 am
I got 100%!
Trivia: The White House was unfinished when John Adams moved in. The East Room was so damp and drafty that many cords of wood had to be burned to dry it out. Abigail Adams, ever the sensible New Englander, therefore used the room to dry her laundry.
posted by Jack on 10-1-2007 at 10:21 am
5/10 unfortunately…….
Slick Willy Clinton’s given name at the time of his birth was William Jefferson Blythe IV.
posted by Davey on 10-1-2007 at 12:03 pm
I scored a 7/10 = 70%
One of the more interesting facts I knew outside of school–
George Washington carried Mint leaves, or various other “fresh smelling” leaves in his coat, due to his insecurity over his breath. I can only imagine how that worked out with those infamous wooden teeth. Regardless, that is why he rarely smiled…not because of the teeth, but due to fear of mockery over breath.
A family member of mine kept journals, and was a member of Washington’s Army. He is one of the men that recorded the crossing of the Delware River, and the first man to invited as a guest to Washington’s home.
posted by Tiffany Earl on 10-1-2007 at 1:13 pm
6/10 -better than my school average
If one does some checking there is a lot of proof that Chester Arther was born in Canada
posted by Benson on 10-1-2007 at 1:53 pm
80%. Not bad.
Did you know that President Gerald Ford was a scratch golfer?
posted by Campbell Hay on 10-1-2007 at 3:24 pm
7/10 for me.
There is a village and a soccer team in Paraguay named after Rutherford B. Hayes. He is a hero in Paraguay because he ruled in their favor in a border dispute after the War of the Triple Alliance.
posted by Mark M. on 10-1-2007 at 4:41 pm
6/10 Disappointing effort, I thought I knew more.
Andrew Jackson is the only President to kill a man in a duel. In 1806 after a quarrel regarding a bet, Jackson and a southern man by the name of Charles Dickinson (a marksman according to reports) dueled. Jackson’s gun misfired allowing Dickinson to shoot Jackson in the ribs (wound never fully healed), but it was Jackson who delievered the fatal shot while grasping his chest.
posted by Ryan Anderson on 10-1-2007 at 7:10 pm
7/10. Not bad.
William Howard Taft may have had sleep apnea. Due to his affliction for falling asleep at meetings and Supreme Court hearings, scientists today believe that this was caused by irregular breathing due to his weight.
The Blue Room was used by the Adams as a place to dry their laundry.
posted by Daniel Pecoraro on 10-1-2007 at 8:53 pm
In 1948, a few months before his death, Babe Ruth visited Yale to donate a copy of his autobiography. He presented it to the captain of the school’s baseball team.
The captain’s name was George Bush.
posted by Janet on 10-2-2007 at 8:51 am
Second Acts gives an excellent review of historical fact of the American presidents. One in reading the responses of the test takers could only be impressed.
posted by n updegrove on 1-17-2008 at 9:59 am