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Pass time with hail to the chief quiz

by Sarah Jenkins
Yakima Herald-Republic

For most of us at this point in the painfully protracted presidential campaign, there is absolutely nothing else we need (or want) to know about John McCain or Barack Obama.

But as we lurch toward Election Day a week from Tuesday, I was thinking about other presidents, and our history with presidents and presidential campaigns (none of which lasted nearly as long as this one).

So here are 25 questions to test your knowledge -- or at least to take your mind off attack ads, seemingly nonstop polling and the whole spectrum of partisan punditry. Take a deep breath and relax: There's not a single question about the campaign to become our 44th president.

 

1. The oldest elected president was Ronald Reagan (age 69); the youngest was John F. Kennedy (age 43). But who was the youngest man to become president?

 

2. The tallest president was Abraham Lincoln at 6-foot-4. Who was the shortest?

 

3. So now we know the tallest and the shortest. But who was the heaviest president?

 

4. George W. Bush is our 43rd president, but there actually have only been 42 presidents. How do you explain that?

 

5. Eight presidents were born British subjects. Name as many of them as you can.

 

6. Which movie featured Monty Python's famous argument sketch as part of its presidential debate?

 

7. Nine presidents are portrayed on the front of U.S. paper currency. Which presidents and which bills?

 

8. When was the term "first lady" first used?

 

9. Presidents Abraham Lincoln, James Garfield, William McKinley and John Kennedy were assassinated in office. But assassination attempts were made against another six presidents. Who were they?

 

10. Nine presidents never attended college. Name them.

 

11. Three presidents have died on the Fourth of July. Who were they?

 

12. And one was born on the Fourth of July. Who was he?

 

13. Howard Stern was initially offered the lead role in a big-budget election movie but turned it down. What is the name of that movie?

 

14. In the 12 presidential elections from 1960 to 2004, did California vote more often for the Democrat or the Republican?

 

15. What do Al Gore, George McGovern, Al Smith and William Howard Taft have in common?

a) They lost their home state in a presidential election

b) They won the popular vote but lost the electoral vote, thereby losing the presidency

c) They won only two states in an election

d) All of these

 

16. Which candidate asked voters to "Stand up for America"?

a) Richard Nixon

b) Ronald Reagan

c) Barry Goldwater

d) George Wallace

 

17. Allison Janney was offered the role of C.J. Cregg on "The West Wing" after Aaron Sorkin saw her in which election film?

 

18. Eight presidential candidates are shown below: which two won 49 states?

a) George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush

b) Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan

c) George Washington and James Monroe

d) Franklin Roosevelt and Lyndon Johnson

 

19. George W. Bush is the second president to follow in the footsteps of his father, George Herbert Walker Bush (the 41st President). Who was the other father-son presidential pair?

 

20. Six presidents had no children, while John Tyler had the most of all the presidents. How many?

 

21. This presidential ticket was referred to by supporters as "Grits and Fritz."

a) Lyndon Johnson & Hubert Humphrey

b) Walter Mondale & Geraldine Ferraro

c) Bill Clinton & Al Gore

d) Jimmy Carter & Walter Mondale

 

22. Six presidents are portrayed on U.S. coins. Which presidents, and which coins?

 

23. What kind of animal was Rebecca, a pet owned by President Calvin Coolidge and his wife, Grace?

a) Squirrel

b) Fox

c) Raccoon

d) Goat

 

24. Which president started the tradition of the "presidential first pitch" of baseball season?

 

25. Since that first pitch, every president but one has opened at least one baseball season during their tenure. Who was the exception?

 

These questions were compiled from a variety of Web sites, including infoplease.com, funtrivia.com, americanvillage.org and PBS.org. Where possible, the answers were confirmed in the history section of the official White House Web site, whitehouse.gov.

* Sarah Jenkins is editor of the Yakima Herald-Republic. If you have a question or concern, you can reach her at 577-7703; P.O. Box 9668, Yakima WA 98909; or sjenkins@yakimaherald.com. You can also comment on this column in the "Inside the Newsroom" blog, at editor.yakimablogs.com.

 

ANSWERS

1. Theodore Roosevelt; he was 42 when he succeeded McKinley, who had been assassinated.

 

2. At 5-foot, 4-inches, James Madison was the shortest.

 

3. William Howard Taft, who sometimes tipped the scales at more than 300 pounds during his tenure. After he became stuck in the White House bathtub, Taft ordered a new one installed. The replacement was big enough to hold four grown men of average size.

 

4. Grover Cleveland was elected for two nonconsecutive terms and is counted twice, as our 22nd and 24th president.

 

5. George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson and William Henry Harrison were all born in the American colonies when they were under British rule.

 

6. "Head of State," starring Chris Rock and Bernie Mac.

 

7. George Washington ($1), Thomas Jefferson ($2), Abraham Lincoln ($5), Andrew Jackson ($20), Ulysses S. Grant ($50), William McKinley ($500), Grover Cleveland ($1,000), James Madison ($5,000) and Woodrow Wilson ($100,000).

 

8. 1877, in reference to Lucy Ware Webb Hayes. Most first ladies, including Jackie Kennedy, are said to have hated the label.

 

9. Andrew Jackson, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan.

 

10. George Washington, Andrew Jackson, Martin Van Buren, James Taylor, Millard Fillmore, Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Johnson, Grover Cleveland and Harry Truman.

 

11. John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and James Monroe all died on the Fourth of July.

 

12. Calvin Coolidge was born on that day.

 

13. "Man of the Year"; Stern had a prior commitment to his satellite radio show, so Robin Williams got the part instead.

 

14. Republican. California only voted Democratic five times: 1964, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004.

 

15. a) Gore lost Tennessee in 2000, McGovern lost South Dakota in 1972, Smith lost New York in 1928 and Taft lost Ohio in his bid for re-election in 1912.

 

16. d) As the American Independent Party candidate for president in 1968, he ran on a platform that favored racial segregation and tough anti-crime measures.

 

17. "Primary Colors," in which she played Miss Walsh.

 

18. b) Nixon in 1972 won every state except Massachusetts (and non-state Washington, D.C.); Reagan in 1984 won every state except Minnesota (and Washington, D.C.).

 

19. John Quincy Adams, the sixth president, was the son of John Adams, the second president.

 

20. Tyler and his first wife, Letitia Christian, had eight children. After her death, he married Julia Gardiner and they had seven more children.

 

21. d) Carter, hailing from Georgia, was Grits, while Mondale's nickname was Fritz.

 

22. Abraham Lincoln (penny), Thomas Jefferson (nickel), Franklin Roosevelt (dime), George Washington (standard quarter), John F. Kennedy (half-dollar) and Dwight D. Eisenhower (old-style $1 coin).

 

23. c) The pet raccoon lived with the Coolidges in the White House.

 

24. William Taft, on April 4, 1910, during an opening day game between the Washington Senators and the Philadelphia Athletics.

 

25. Jimmy Carter

 

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