1. Which first lady used snuff in the White House?
A: The stylish Dolley Madison was fond of snuff - and rarely went anywhere without her snuffbox and a red-checked handkerchief into which she snorted after inhaling, following up with a more delicate lace hankie which she called her "polisher."
2. Which first lady was referred to as "Lemonade Lucy?"
A: During the administration of Rutherford B. Hayes (1877-1881), Lucy Hayes became known as "Lemonade Lucy" because she allowed no liquor or wines served at public functions.
Lucy Hayes was also responsible for inaugurating the tradition of egg-rolling on the White House lawn at Easter.
3. Has any president been married in the White House?
A: Yes. When Grover Cleveland's law partner, Oscar Folsom, was killed in an accident, Cleveland was often seen at the Folsom residence, and it was assumed that he was courting the aggrieved widow. To everyone's surprise, however, he announced plans to marry her daughter.
On June 2, 1886, he and Frances Folsom were married in the Blue Room of the White House. The president was 49, his bride 22.
4. What do Richard Nixon, Lyndon Johnson and George Bush have in common with Henry Wilson, George Dallas, Levi Morton, Garrett Hobart and Charles Fairbanks?
A: All of the above once occupied the office of vice president.
5. Who was the oldest chief executive to serve in the White House?
A: Ronald Reagan, who left office in 1989 at the venerable age of 78. The youngest? Theodore Roosevelt, vice president and only 42, reached the top-office after the assassination of President McKinley in 1901. John F. Kennedy, at 43, was the youngest man ever elected to the presidency.
6. Which first lady was responsible for "Hail to the Chief?"
A: Sarah Childress was only 19 when handsome James Polk came courting and soon married her. Later she played an active role during his years in the White House (1845-1849). It was she who chose "Hail to the Chief" to enhance the presidential presence.
Played by the Marine Band, the stirring march, from an old London musical, has been with us ever since.
7. Name the only man who served as both president and vice president without being elected to either office.
A: Gerald Ford. As leader of the Republican minority in the House, Ford earned bipartisan popularity. When Spiro Agnew resigned under fire in 1973 as Richard Nixon's vice president, Nixon chose Ford to replace him. Then in 1974, faced with impeachment proceedings, it was Nixon's turn to resign, thus propelling Ford into the presidency.
8. Which chief executive fathered the most offspring?
A: Twice married John Tyler (1841-1845) sired a total of 14 children. William Henry Harrison (1841), married once, fathered 10.
9. Who was the shortest of our presidents?
A: James Madison (1809-1817) was only 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighed a mere 100 pounds. Abraham Lincoln was our tallest president at 6 feet 4 inches tall.
10. Which president served two nonconsecutive terms in office?
A: Grover Cleveland was our 22nd president from 1885 to 1889. He was succeeded by Benjamin Harrison, 23rd chief executive, and then Cleveland scored a political comeback and served as our 24th president from 1893 to 1897.
11. Of all the presidents, which one performed the best parlor trick?
A: James Garfield (1881), tragically assassinated while in office, was one of the most cultured men ever to sit in the White House. Not only was he fluent in both Latin and Greek, but he entertained guests by simultaneously writing in Latin with one hand and in Greek with the other.
12. "Keep the ball rolling" originated in whose campaign?
A: William Henry Harrison's in 1840. When the Whigs decided to make him their candidate, they found he had no strong views on any issues of the day. To whip up enthusiasm they constructed a large paper ball, considerably taller than an average male, and rolled it day by day from Kentucky to Baltimore, their convention site.
13. Who was our heftiest chief executive at 300-plus pounds?
A: William Howard Taft was our heaviest president. For his White House stay, plumbers installed a 7-foot bathtub weighing a ton.
14. Which states have sent the most men to the White House?
A: Virginia leads with eight, Ohio touts seven, New York has sent along four and three hailed from Texas.
15. Who started the custom of tossing out a ball to launch the new baseball season?
A: William Howard Taft (1909-1913).
16. What candy bar was named after a White House occupant?
A: Baby Ruth. Five years after Grover and Frances Cleveland were married in the White House, their first child, Ruth, was born in 1891 - and soon won the hearts of the nation. Sadly, at 12 she died of diphtheria. The Baby Ruth candy bar, named in her honor by the Curtis Candy Company, made its debut in 1920.
17. What two presidents used not their first but their middle names?
A: Hiram Ulysses Grant dropped the Hiram as a child when his schoolmates teased him about the word formed by his initials - H.U.G. Thomas Woodrow Wilson dropped the Thomas in favor of Woodrow.
18. When did the term "first lady" originate?
A: With the very first first lady. In 1789, when Martha Washington attended her husband's inauguration in New York, the country's first capital, she was hailed by a crowd which shouted, "Long live Lady Washington - "lady" derived from that salutation. Lucy Webb Hayes (1877-1881) was the first to bear the full title, according to most historians.
A much later first lady, Jacqueline Kennedy, shunned the term, saying it reminded her of a racehorse.
19. Which president was the first to be born a U.S. citizen?
A: Martin Van Buren (1837-1841), our eighth president. The preceding seven were all born subjects of England.
20. What family dynasties have we had in the White House?
A: John Adams and John Quincy Adams, father and son, presidents No. 2 and No. 6; Teddy Roosevelt and Franklin Roosevelt, distant cousins; and less well-known, the Harrisons: William Henry Harrison, our ninth president, was the grandfather of Benjamin Harrison, our 23rd.
21. Which chief executive had the shortest term of office?
A: At his 1841 inauguration, William Henry Harrison spoke for two hours in a cold drizzle, refusing to wear an overcoat or a hat. He caught pneumonia and died just short of a month after being sworn in.
22. Which first lady was the first to hold her own press conference?
A: Eleanor Roosevelt, in 1932. In 1978, Rosalynn Carter began attending White House Cabinet meetings, a first which drew considerable opposition, although she merely sat in the rear of the room taking notes.
23. Which chief executive was later elected to the House of Representatives.
A: The only ex-president to make that transition was John Quincy (pronounced Quin-zy) Adams, son of the more famous John. Never viewing his role as a political comedown, Adams served in the House with great distinction for almost 18 years until his death in 1848.
24. Which president neglected to mention the presidency on his tombstone?
A: Thomas Jefferson (1801-1809) died on July 4, 1826, as did his old friend, John Adams. For mention on his tombstone he chose the founding of the University of Virginia, his writing of the Declaration of Independence and also that of the Statute of Religious Freedom for the State of Virginia, failing to include his tenure as vice president under John Adams or his own presidency.
25. Who was our only bachelor president?
A: James Buchanan (1857-1861). When the young lady to whom he was engaged died, Buchanan's interest in the opposite sex seemed to perish with her. In the White House, his attractive niece, Harriet Lane, served as hostess and surrogate first lady.
26. In the campaign of 1800, Thomas Jefferson and opponent Aaron Burr each received 73 electoral votes for president. How was this tie resolved?
A: Following the existing law, the election was thrown into the House of Representatives, which chose Jefferson. Again according to the then current law, the second-ranking candidate, Burr, became vice president. The law was later amended so that the president and vice president would both belong to the same party.
27. Who was the first president of our country?
A: Obviously a trick question. However, one could make a good case for John Hanson (1721-1783). Before the present constitution was written and ratified, the original colonies were governed by an earlier constitution, the Articles of Confederation, from 1781 to 1789. John Hanson, the most prominent of the Maryland patriots, was elected first president of the Congress.
John Hanson retired in 1782 and died the following year, an early demise which helps explain his relative obscurity.
28. Name the only president to serve more than two terms.
A: A very easy question. Franklin Roosevelt was elected four times, serving from 1932 to 1945 when he died in office. A two-term limit law was subsequently enacted and is still in effect.
29. Which chief executive met the oddest death?
A: Our 12th president, Zachary Taylor, served only one year and four months of his term in office. On July 4th, 1850, under a hot sun, he attended a ceremony at the unfinished Washington Monument. Afterward he refreshed himself with several glasses of ice water. Still later, back at the White House, he ate handfuls of cherries and washed them down with iced milk. In the evening he experienced severe stomach cramps and developed symptoms of cholera and typhoid. He died on July 9.
30. Name the most popular political campaign song.
A: "Happy Days Are Here Again," first used by Franklin Roosevelt in his 1932 campaign, is still the Democratic Party anthem today. It was written by Milton Ager, father of contemporary author Shana Alexander.
Norman Zierold is a free-lance writer based in Boone, N.C.