Celebrating the Presidency

Presidents' Day

Today is Presidents' Day and a time for some interesting U.S. Presidential trivia. Just to get your brain cells stimulated, try a little fill in the blank history. Barack O'bama is the ___ th president of the united states. His Washington D.C. street address is ________________. As President, he is _______________ of the United States Armed Forces. And, as president, he was indirectly elected by the people through the _______________ for a term of ___ years. He is one of only ___ nationally elected Federal officers.


Here are twenty Presidents' Day stumpers. See how many correct answers you can make (or guess) and report your results to the site. Good luck and no cheating. You're on the "honor system," which seems really strange since today we are asking questions about politicians. The warm-up above didn't count, but I will reveal the answers to all the questions at the end of the post.

The Trivia Quiz

1. Who is the only president to be counted twice in the numbering of the presidents?
a. Franklin D. Roosevelt,  b. Grover Cleveland,  c. Harry Truman,  d. John Quincy Adams.

2.  John F. Kennedy and what other president are the only presidents buried in Arlington National Cemetery?
a. Richard M. Nixon,  b. Thomas Jefferson,  c. Andrew Jackson,  d. William H. Taft.


3. The only president to serve in both World Wars was
a. Woodrow Wilson,  b. Harry Truman,  c. Lyndon B. Johnson,  d. Dwight D. Eisenhower.


4. The only president whose two assassination attempts against him were made by women was
a. James Garfield,  b. Gerald Ford,  c. Ronald Reagan,  d. James Polk.


5. The president who is related to Benedict Arnold, Marilyn Monroe, Winston Churchill, Presidents Franklin Pierce, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt and Gerald Ford is
a. Barack Obama,  b. Bill Clinton,  c. George H. Bush,  d. Jimmy Carter.


6. The first president to have been divorced was
a. Ronald Reagan,  b. Thomas Jefferson,  c. Grover Cleveland,  d. Ulysses S. Grant.


7. The most common religious affiliation among presidents has been
a. Methodist,  b. Baptist,  c. Episcopalian,  d. Presbyterian.


8. What president is NOT portrayed on U.S. coins?
a. Franklin D. Roosevelt,  b. John F. Kennedy,  c. Dwight D. Eisenhower,  d. Andrew Jackson.

9. This president suffered from depression, was fluent in seven languages, and was the only president to be defeated by his own vice president.
a. John Adams,  b. Jimmy Carter,  c. James Buchanan,  d. James Madison.


10. This president had no vice president.
a. Thomas Jefferson,  b. Millard Fillmore,  c. Teddy Roosevelt,  d. Martin Van Buren.


11. Nicknamed "Accidental President," he was also the president who had the most legitimate children.
a. James Madison,  b. Andrew Johnson,  c. John Tyler,  d. Rutherford B. Hayes.


12. The first president born in the United States, not in a colony that later became a state was
a. John Q. Adams,  b. James Madison,  c. James K. Polk,  d. Martin Van Buren.


13. What president was a speed reader recorded at a rate of 2,000 words per minute?
a. Bill Clinton,  b. Jimmy Carter,  c. Dwight D. Eisenhower,  d. Richard M. Nixon.


14. The first president to be a Rhodes Scholar was
a. George H. Bush,  b. Lyndon B. Johnson,  c. Bill Clinton,  d. Grover Cleveland.


15. The president who won two Grammy Awards for Best Spoken Word Album is
a. Barack Obama,  b. Jimmy Carter,  c. George H. Bush,  d. Bill Clinton.


16. The first president to have a Christmas tree in the White House was
a. Franklin Pierce,  b. James Madison,  c. Abraham Lincoln,  d. John Tyler.


17. What president did not vote until the age of 62?
a. George Washington,  b. James K. Polk,  c. William McKinley,  d. Zachery Taylor.

18. The first president to be photographed was
a. Abraham Lincoln,  b. Andrew Jackson,  c. John Quincy Adams,  d. William H. Taft.


19. The first president NOT born in the continental United States was
a. Barack Obama,  b. John Quincy Adams,  c. James Monroe,  d. John F. Kennedy.


20. Who is the "elegant" president credited with saying, "I may be President of the United States, but my private life is nobody’s damned business."
a. Bill Clinton,  b. George H. Bush,  c. Barack Obama,  d. Chester A. Arthur.

Answers:

President Obama is the 44th president. His street address as President is 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Of course, he is Commander-in-chief of the Armed Services of the U.S. He was elected through the Electoral College for a term of 4 years. The President is one of only two nationally elected Federal officers, the other being the Vice-president.

1. B  Grover Cleveland is the only person to be counted twice in the numbering of the presidents because he won two terms that weren’t back-to-back. 

2. D  Kennedy and Taft are the only presidents buried in Arlington National Cemetery. 

3. D  Eisenhower was the only president to serve in both World Wars.

4. B  Ford was the only president whose two assassination attempts against him were made by women.

5. C George H. Bush  Bush is related to Benedict Arnold, Marilyn Monroe, Winston Churchill, Presidents Franklin Pierce, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt and Gerald Ford.   

6. A Ronald reagan was the first president to have been divorced.

7. C The most common religious affiliation among presidents has been Episcopalian,

8. D Andrew Jackson. Lincoln, Jefferson, F. Roosevelt, Washington, Kennedy, and Eisenhower are portrayed on U.S. coins.

9. A  John Adams (1797-1801) was the only president to be defeated by his own vice president, Thomas Jefferson.

10. B Millard Fillmore (1850-1853) had no vice president. President Zachary Taylor suddenly died. Vice President Millard Fillmore assumed the Presidency and was left to secure passage of five separate measures dealing with slavery problems.

11. C John Tyler had the most legitimate children, 15.

12. D Van Buren was the first U.S. president born in the United States. The presidents preceding Van Buren were born in colonies that later became states. Van Buren was the first to be born after the adoption of the U.S. Constitution.

13. B  Jimmy Carter was a speed reader.

14. C  Bill Clinton was the first president to be a Rhodes Scholar.

15. A  Barack Obama won 2 Grammy Awards for Best Spoken Word Album

16. A  Franklin Pierce  Pierce was the first president to have a Christmas tree in the White House.

17. D  Zachery Taylor Taylor did not vote until the age of 62. Until that time, he had not established an official place of residence because he had moved many times as a soldier.

18. C  John Quincy Adams was the son of a former president and the first to be photographed.

19. A  Barack Obama was born in Hawaii.

20. D Chester A. Arthur.  Author Mark Twain, deeply cynical about politicians, conceded, "It would be hard indeed to better President Arthur's administration."