Tag: trivia

Good news! Rather than frustrate you with one of my quizzes I will shift gears and present some interesting and informative trivia regarding our presidents.

Did you know that:

1. George Washington’s dentures were not made of wood as is commonly thought, but rather of ivory,
   gold, and human and animal teeth, among other materials.
2. John Adams and Thomas Jefferson both died within hours of each other on the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in 1826. Neither was aware of the other’s demise.
3. As a teenager, James Monroe was a hero at the Battle of Trenton during the Revolutionary War. He and some 50 other volunteers crossed the Delaware River ahead of Washington’s main force and harassed the Hessian forces.
4. James Madison, the “father of the Constitution,” was the shortest president. He was only 5 feet, 4 inches tall and weighed less than 100 pounds.
5. Andrew Jackson is the only president to fight in both the Revolutionary War, when as a 13-year-old he was wounded and taken prisoner, and the War of 1812.
6. John Tyler was the first president to have a veto overridden by Congress.
7. James Polk was the first president to retire after one term and not seek reelection.
8. William Henry Harrison delivered the longest inaugural address in history, a
   105-minute speech without a hat or overcoat, on a cold and windy day on March 4, 1841. After
   developing pneumonia, he died in the White House exactly one month later,
   becoming the president with the shortest tenure and the first one to die in office.
9. Dwight Eisenhower, Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Europe during WWII, was only an average student at West Point and graduated in 1915 61st in his class of 164.
10. Millard Fillmore declined to accept an honorary degree of Doctor of Civil Law from
    Oxford, saying, “No man should accept a degree that he cannot read.”
11. Chester Arthur, who acceded to the presidency upon the assassination of James Garfield, was known as the “Dude President” for his fancy attire and indulgence in extravagant luxury.
12. William Howard Taft started the tradition of the president throwing out the
    first pitch of the baseball season on April 14, 1910.
13. Grover Cleveland personally answered the White House telephone during his tenure.
14. Benjamin Harrison was the first president to have electricity in the White
    House. After he once got an electric shock, he was reluctant to touch the light switches and often left the lights on at night.
15. William McKinley was the first president to use campaign buttons.
16. Abraham Lincoln was the only president to obtain a patent. In 1849, he
    invented a complicated device for lifting ships over dangerous shoals by means
    of “buoyant air chambers.” (Alas, his patent was never put into practical use.)
17. Andrew Johnson was buried with his head resting on a copy of the Constitution (ironic since he was the first president to be impeached).
18. Ulysses S. Grant was born Hiram Ulysses Grant but changed his name because – wait for it …. – he did not like his monogramed initials (HUG).
19. Franklin Pierce was the first president to cancel his inaugural ball (due to the death of his son).
20. James Buchanan is the only president who never married. His niece acted as White House hostess while he was in office.
21. The much-maligned Herbert Hoover, who presided over the beginning of the Great Depression, refused to accept a salary for his presidency and gave all of his federal paychecks to charity. Some would say he did such a terrible job as president that he didn’t deserve to get paid anyway.
22. Franklin Roosevelt was a devoted stamp collector who kept up his hobby while in office.
23. The middle initial ‘S’ in Harry Truman’s name is not an abbreviation and does not stand for another name.
24. Dwight Eisenhower was an avid golfer who installed a putting green on the White House lawn.
25. John F. Kennedy was the first person born in the 20th century to become president.
26. Lyndon B. Johnson graduated from high school at the age of 15.
27. Richard Nixon was the only president to be elected as both VP and president twice, was the first president to visit all 50 states, and the only president to resign from office.
28. George H.W. Bush was the only president to serve as United States Ambassador to the United Nations.
29. Bill Clinton was the only president to have been a Rhodes Scholar.
30. John Tyler had the most children –15.
31. Washington, Madison, Jackson, Polk and Buchanan did not have any biological children.
32. The famous “Teddy Bear” was named in honor of Theodore Roosevelt.
33. Woodrow Wilson’s picture is featured on the rarely used $100,000 bill.
34. Herbert Hoover was the only president sworn in by a former president,
    Chief Justice William Howard Taft.
35. Calvin Coolidge is the only president to take the oath of office in his own home. It was administered by his father who was a notary public.
36. Presidents John Tyler and Woodrow Wilson were the only presidents who had two official first ladies; both remarried during their presidential tenures.
37. Grover Cleveland was the only president to be married in the White House (June 2, 1886).
38. President Joe Biden suffered from a serious stutter as a child. Some of his malicious classmates gave him the nickname “dash.”
39. Donald Trump is the only sitting U.S. president to set foot in North Korea. On June 30, 2019, he crossed the demarcation line in the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea after shaking hands with North Korean leader Jong-Um-Kim. Trump is also the only sitting US President to lay a wreath at the Western Wall in Jerusalem (May 22, 2017).
40. President Reagan appeared in 53 Hollywood movies from 1937 to 1964, although technically Grover Cleveland was the first president to appear in a dramatic film (albeit a silent one) in 1896.

Conclusion

Well, there you have it, a little history and a little fun.