From the Detroit Free Press
Your day to show you know presidents
18 questions for holiday; 18 answers, too
February 21, 2005
Yes, dear reader, a quiz. So sharpen your pencil or focus your cursor and let's see how much we know about the 42 guys who have served as president.
1. Here it is (A) President's Day. Or is it (B) Presidents Day? Or (C) Presidents' Day?
2. Which sequence is wrong?
A: (A) Truman, Eisenhower, JFK. (B) Wilson, Harding, Coolidge. (C) Madison, Monroe, Jackson. (D) Hayes, Garfield, Arthur.
3. Which president said this about his college fight song, which was played instead of "Hail to the Chief" during his term? "It is the most inspirational college song in the whole United States. Every time it is played I get goose bumps. I still get them."
A: (A) Wilson. (B) Eisenhower. (C) Ford. (D) Clinton.
4. After his term, this president became chief justice of the Supreme Court.
A: (A) John Quincy Adams. (B) Fillmore. (C) Harrison. (D) Taft.
5. When a person said to this president, "I bet someone that I could get more than two words out of you," the president replied, "You lose."
A: (A) Lincoln. (B) T. Roosevelt. (C) Coolidge. (D) JFK.
6. Four U.S. presidents were shot and killed in office. Ronald Reagan was shot and wounded; Gerald Ford was attacked twice by gun-toting assailants, but not wounded. Now the tough question: What president was shot after he left office?
A: (A) U.S. Grant. (B) Grover Cleveland. (C) Teddy Roosevelt.
7. Which president wrote a book that won a Pulitzer Prize?
A: (A) Grant. (B) Eisenhower. (C) JFK. (D) Nixon.
8. A portrait of which president is the most-reproduced piece of art in history?
A: (A) Washington. (B) Jefferson. (C) Lincoln. (D) F. D. Roosevelt.
9. His good-bye speech to the country at the end of his presidential term warned the nation of "the military-industrial complex."
A: (A) Hoover. (B) Eisenhower. (C) Carter. (D) Reagan.
10. Name the president who was father of 15 children.
A: (A) Jefferson. (B) Tyler. (C) McKinley. (D) Harding.
11. New Hampshire boasts the Presidential Range, where nine of 13 mountain peaks are named for presidents. The other four are named for Sam Adams, Daniel Webster, Ben Franklin and Henry Clay. Mt. Clay may be renamed for:
A: (A) Truman. (B) JFK. (C) Coolidge. (D) Reagan.
12. Only one president is buried in Washington, D.C. Name him.
A: (A) Grant. (B) Taft. (C) Wilson. (D) JFK.
13. Name the president born on the Fourth of July.
A: (A) Grant. (B) Arthur. (C) Coolidge. (D) G. H. W. Bush.
14. Pick the two presidents from this list who got married while they were president.
A: (A) Pierce. (B) Cleveland. (C) T. Roosevelt. (D) Wilson.
15. One president was a bachelor. He was:
A: (A) James Buchanan. (B) Millard Fillmore. (C) Benjamin Harrison. (D) Herbert Hoover.
16. The current president's favorite movie is:
A: (A) "Independence Day." (B) "The Blues Brothers." (C) "Field of Dreams." (D) "Going My Way."
17. Which trio of presidents is almost universally considered the top three in terms of leadership?
A: (A) JFK, Washington, Lincoln. (B) Washington, Lincoln, F. D. Roosevelt. (C) Lincoln, Jefferson, Washington. (D) F. D. Roosevelt, Jackson, Lincoln.
18. Of the 42 men who have served as president, how many graduated from college?
A: (A) 42. (B) 40. (C) 31. (D) 25.
Below are the answers, not a spoiler... unless you conside the answers spoilers.
1, C. 2, C. 3, C, referring to the University of Michigan's "The Victors." 4, D, in 1921. 5, C. 6, C, in 1912. The bullet pierced his chest, but had been slowed by a glasses case and folded speech in his coat pocket. Roosevelt recovered. 7, C, "Profiles in Courage." 8, C, on the penny; billions have been minted since 1909. 9, B. 10, B. 11, D. 12, C. Taft and JFK are buried in Arlington, Va. 13, C. 14, B and D. 15, A. 16, C. 17, B. 18, C.
edited to change title to dead from former.... much more appropriate since this day was to honor Washington & Lincoln's Birthdays (both in February) rather than celebrate the shrub that is occupying the office currently
skittles
"The problem with political jokes is how often they get elected."
"Closed minds always seem to be connected to open mouths"
