The Odd Fact Out Trivia Quiz

Answer: He was a member of the Federalist party.

George Washington was the only president that didn't belong to any party. His dog's name was Sweet Lips, and his diaries are still being preserved today.

Answer: A $6,000 velvet suit and carriage were used at his inauguration.

An expensive suit and carriage were supposed to be used at the inauguration, but bad weather delayed the arrival of them. He ended up walking, wearing a homemade gray sweater. John Adams and Thomas Jefferson did die on the same day. And, during his presidency, he wrote a book rejecting Jesus' divinity. However, it wasn't published until after his death.

Answer: He wanted to build a navy from scratch for use in The War of 1812.

No, instead of building a navy from scratch, he wanted to rent Portugal's navy! And, yes, he didn't even weigh 100 pounds. He was only 5 feet, 4 inches tall.

Answer: He was the first president to have his photo taken.

John Quincy Adams was actually the first man to have his photo taken. A delegate from New Hampshire purposely voted against Monroe, since he wanted Washington to be the only president to run a clean sweep with the electoral votes. He was very poor toward the end of his life, and he did move in with his daughter.

Answer: Both of his parents were born in France.

Actually, both of his parents were from a village in Ireland.

Answer: He dedicated his autobiography to his wife.

His wife is actually not mentioned at all in his autobiography. He was paid $100,000 in a lump sum after he served his four years as president.

Answer: He held dances every Saturday for the local citizens.

He hated dancing and any forms of entertainment. He felt that having fun was wasting time, so dancing was banned in the White House during his term. Because of overwork, he died very shortly after serving as president.

Answer: He put the first Christmas tree up in the White House.

Franklin Pierce was actually the one to put up the first Christmas tree. Indeed, he was the only bachelor president, and he kept very silent about his ended relationship with his girlfriend. Queen Victoria sent him messages over the first Atlantic cable. And, my personal favorite: "Polk's secretary of state, Buchanan, was appointed minister to Russia during Jackson's first term.

He said, 'It was as far as I could send him out of my sight, and where he could do the least harm. I would have sent him to the North Pole if we had kept a minister there!'" www.umkc.edu/imc/prestriv.htm.

Answer: He spoke out against wrestling one time in one of his debates.

Lincoln was a very big wrestling fan. He patented the floating drydock in 1849 as well. When his son Willie died of typhoid fever three years before Lincoln's death, he began attending church twice a week and reading the Bible.

Answer: He was considered one of the biggest musical experts during his time.

Grant was actually tone-deaf. He once said, "I only know two tunes. One of them is Yankee Doodle and the other isn't." He did set a high jump record at West Point as well. And don't ask me why, but he did love cucumbers in vinegar for breakfast!

Answer: He had the first telephone installed in the White House.

Rutherford B. Hayes was the first to have the telephone installed. Hayes actually talked with Alexander Graham Bell! Unfortunately, it took Garfield 11 weeks to die after being shot.

Answer: He was the first president to have a child born in the White House.

Grover Cleveland was the first to have a child born in the White House. We hear her name today on "Baby Ruth" candy bars. He got the nickname "Centennial President" because he was inaugurated 100 years after George Washington. And everyone in the White House was afraid to touch the new electric light switches, so most of the time, the lights stayed on!

Answer: He owned a snake called "Emily Broccoli."

OK, the snake was known as "Emily Spinach". Booker T. Washington was that first African-American to dine at the White House (as Roosevelt's guest). He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1906, being the first American, not just president, to do so.

Answer: He once said, "What this country needs is a good five-cent cigar."

"What this country needs is a good five-cent cigar" was actually said by his vice-president, Thomas Riley Marshall. And, although Freud never met Wilson, he wrote studies on the fact that Wilson identified himself with Christ.

Answer: It was not known until his autopsy that Harding died of a heart attack.

Actually, there were no autopsies held for Harding. It was believed that his wife had poisoned him to save him from all of the scandals of his presidency. Laddie Boy, his dog, also had yearly birthday cakes made out of dog biscuits. A regular guest of his weekly poker games, Jess Smith, always guaranteed the provision of liquor.

Answer: He and his wife spoke in Japanese when talking about private manners.

He and his wife spoke Chinese when talking about private manners. His vice-president, Charles Curtis, was of Kaw Indian race. Plus, the servants usually would hide in closets to avoid being seen when Hoover entered the room.

Answer: He once said that the Easter Egg Roll competition was better than the Christmas festivities.

Believe it or not, FDR requested that the Easter Egg Roll competition be banned, which it was for 11 years. The 11 presidents he was determined, by genealogists, to have been related to are the following: George Washington, John Adams, James Madison, John Quincy Adams, Martin Van Buren, William Henry Harrison, Zachary Taylor, Ulysses S. Grant, Benjamin Harrison, Theodore Roosevelt, and William Howard Taft.

Answer: He was the first president to NOT have a dog in the White House

US presidents seem to have felt that having a dog about the place was good for their public image. Eisenhower had a Weimaraner named Heidi.

Tackling Jim Thorpe, Eisenhower became injured while playing West Point football. He was also an avid golf player and TV watcher.

Answer: He loved giving electric toothbrushes as gifts.

His predecessor, Lyndon B. Johnson, was the one who loved giving electric toothbrushes as gifts. Johnson once stated, "I give these toothbrushes to friends for then I know that from now until the end of their days they will think of me the first thing in the morning and the last at night."

Answer: A lifesize peanut-shaped balloon burst before being used in Carter's inauguration parade.

Fortunately, and what a good way to end this quiz, that lifesize balloon never burst. It actually got used in the parade. And, in honesty, he never really liked the name "James." Amy Carter also gets credit for starting a White House tradition, mentioned in the choices. Thanks to http://www.umkc.edu/imc/prestriv.htm for good information!