The Perils of Pauline - A Beloved White House Cow Quiz

Answer: Wayne

Cows mooed regularly on the White House lawn until the early 20th century. Pauline Wayne was the last of the White House butter producers. Coming from a long line of purebred Waynes, she was also known as Miss Wayne. William Henry Harrison had a cow named Sukey and Andrew Johnson kept two Jersey cows.

Answer: William Howard Taft

The ever corpulent Taft loved his milk and cream. To meet his delectable dairy needs and that of his wife, Helen, and their three children, Pauline was shipped in express from her home in Wisconsin to the presidential mansion. She arrived in Washington D.C. in November, 1910 and remained until Taft's single term nearly evaporated. William McKinley owned a parrot that could reportedly whistle "Yankee Doodle." Benjamin Harrison had a goat named Whiskers and James Garfield owned a dog named Veto.

Answer: Isaac Stephenson

Republican Isaac Stephenson owned a large dairy farm in Kenosha, Wisconsin. When the presidential need for cream surfaced, Stephenson selected Pauline from his large stock of purebred cows. Pauline's arrival in Washington D.C. corralled an article in the November 10, 1910 edition of the "New York Times". Knute Nelson represented Minnesota, Benjamin Hooper was from Virginia and Samuel Brainerd stood for Pennsylvania.

They were all members of the 48th U.S. Congress.

Answer: Mooly Wooly

There are conflicting reports as to why Pauline took the reins from Mooly Wooly. Some say Wooly's well went dry. "The Washington Evening Star" reported Wooly bought the farm -- not from sowing her wild oats but from eating too many.

Answer: Holstein-Friesian

At four-years old, Pauline weighed in at around 1,500 pounds. The attractive little butterball soon became clarified as the "Queen of the Capital Cows". The Holstein-Friesians were originally bred in Germany and the Netherlands specifically for production of large quantities of milk.

They were introduced to the United States in the late 1850s. Europeans refer to the breed as Friesian while Americans call them Holstein.

Answer: 7 to 8

In 1910 "The New York Times" reported Pauline churned out 7.5 gallons of milk per day. Ardent Pauline followers milked it for all it was worth - increasing the daily leach to 16 gallons. This figure doesn't hold water, let alone milk, and is very hard to swallow. Still, the cream from eight gallons of milk creates more than three pounds of butter. "The Washington Post" dubbed Pauline "provider-in-chief [of] the finest milk and butter."

Answer: The Washington Post

Between 1910 and 1912, "The Post's" archives list more than 20 stories in reference to Pauline. A questionable bit of reporting surfaced in November, 1910 when a zealous reporter first interviewed the presidential pet. Among other things, Pauline "spoke" to "The Post" about politics.

She reportedly stated she was a progressive, did not believe in muckraking, and did not support the suffrage "moovement". "The Washington Post" earned its Pulitzer for public service in 1973 for covering the Watergate scandal.

Answer: Produced a calf

"The Washington Post" headline read, "Pauline in Disgrace". The newspaper reported Pauline had birthed the calf, Big Bill, the morning after she'd boarded the train bound for Washington. Big Bill was so named due to his size. Some reports state the White House took the bull by its horns and shipped him off to a farm in Maryland. "The Los Angeles Herald", on November 29, 1910, reported Bill had moved on from the White House stables to the land of milk and honey the previous day.

The cause of death was brain fever.

Answer: The Chicago stockyards

In 1911, Pauline's presence was requested at the International Dairymen's Exposition in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. While hesitant to allow Pauline to participate in public exhibitions, Taft agreed. According to "The Milwaukee Sentinel", while en route to the Expo, a train switch crew mistakenly attached Pauline's private car to a fleet of cattle cars headed for the Chicago stockyards. Two days later, following a flurry of presidential telegraphs, Pauline was located and rescued from certain slaughter.

Answer: Home to Wisconsin

As Pauline possibly felt her days on the south White House lawn were numbered, her health began to wane. President Taft kindly returned her to the Stephenson's Wisconsin farm in hopes the spring in her step would return. A study was conducted by Professor Christine Nicol at Bristol University in the United Kingdom.

She concluded cows have a complex set of emotions -- they feel fear, anxiety, pain and worry about the future - much like humans.