Take This Presidental Quiz: 20 Questions That Will Test & Tease Your Historical Knowledge of Our Nation's Leaders

1. George Washington became enraged when his political opponents claimed that he left retirement to assume the presidency to 'please his vanity.' Why?

a. he could have assumed the title 'Emperor'

b. he could have assumed the title 'King'

c. he could have assumed the title 'Supreme Executive of the First Republic'

d. he could have assumed the title 'Prime Minister'

2. The earliest U.S. presidents were born British citizens. Who was the first president born an American citizen?

a. John Quincy Adams

b Andrew Jackson

c. Martin Van Buren

d. John Tyler

3. Most people know that teddy bears were named after Teddy Roosevelt. Which president had a fairly popular sport named after him?

a. George Washington

b. Grover Cleveland

c. Herbert Hoover

d. Harry Truman

4. Who is the only president to hold a patent?

a. James Buchanan

b. Abraham Lincoln

c. Woodrow Wilson

d. Jimmy Carter

BONUS 
QUESTION # 1

Who is the artist who painted 'Washington Crossing the Delaware', shown above?

a. John Singer Sargent

b. Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze 

c. Grandma Moses

d. Picasso






5. Who was the first president to get a divorce?
a. Dwight David Eisenhower
b. John F. Kennedy
c. Ronald Reagan
d. George H.W. Bush

6. Who was the first commander in chief to have a presidential airplane?
a. Franklin Delano Roosevelt
b. Harry Truman
c. Dwight David Eisenhower
d. John F. Kennedy

7. Which president did not get married while in office?
a. John Tyler
b. Millard Fillmore
c. Grover Cleveland
d. Woodrow Wilson

8. How many presidents have been assassinated?
1. Two
2. Three
3. Four
4. Five

9. Most people know that, at 6 foot 4, Abraham Lincoln was the tallest president. Who was the shortest?
a. John Adams
b. James Madison
c. Jimmy Carter
d. George W. Bush

BONUS QUESTION # 2
Where can you see this sculpture of Abraham Lincoln at right?
a. New York City
b. Illinois
c. Washington D.C.
4. Richmond Va.

10.Which president is not on Mount Rushmore?
a. George Washington
b. Thomas Jefferson
c. Andrew Jackson
d. Theodore Roosevelt

11. Which of these presidents did not win the Nobel Peace Prize?
a. Theodore Roosevelt
b. Woodrow Wilson
c. Franklin Delano Roosevelt
d. Jimmy Carter

12. An early president invented the decimal system of coinage currently in use, and proposed a bill prohibiting slavery '...from all future new states...' that, if it had passed, would have most likely prevented the Civil War. Who was he?
a. Thomas Jefferson
b. James Madison
c. John Adams
d. James Monroe

13. Which President was known as "Old Hickory?"
a. Ulysses S. Grant
b. Abraham Lincoln
c. Andrew Jackson
d. Martin Van Buren

14. One early president enjoyed a positive, productive administration after serving as governor of Virginia and Ambassador to France. Yet, after leaving office, to quote John Quincy Adams, 'His life for his last years has been one of abject penury and distress, and have brought him to a premature grave..' Who was he?
a. John Adams
b. Martin van Buren
c. Andrew Jackson
d. James Monroe

15. This president distinguished himself by preparing the Bill of Rights amendments to the Constitution and much of the legislation forming various departments of the new government. His name?
a. Thomas Jefferson
b. James Madison
c. James Monroe
d. John Adams

16. This president had an impressive career in foreign relations prior to assuming the Chief Executive' role. He served as Ambassador to the Netherlands, Portugal, Prussia, Geat Britain and Germany; he was the first 'Minister' to Russia. Who was he?
a. William Henry Harrison
b, John Quincy Adams
c, Millard Fillmore
d. Martin van Buren

17. This early president grew up as a poorly-educated orphan, a boy-militiaman in the Revolutionary War, a 'wild teenager', fought countless duels, lost thousands on horse races, and was a slave-owning plantation owner. His name?
a. James Polk
b. Andrew Jackson
c. Franklin Pierce
d. Millard Fillmore


18. This president served the shortest term in American history. Who was he?
a. Franklin Pierce
b. Millard Fillmore
c. Wiliam Henry Harrison
d. James Polk

19. This president almost made Cuba one of the United States of America! Who was he?
a. John Quincy Adams
b. Franklin Pierce
c. James Polk
d. John Adams

11. One president took office burdened by tragedy and grief. Shortly before his election, this president and his wife were traveling by train with their only remaining child (two prior children had died as infants) when their railroad car toppled off of the tracks. The President-Elect and his wife received minor injuries; their son, aged 11, was killed as they watched. Who was he?
a. Millard Fillmore
b. James Buchanan
c. Andrew Johnson
d. Franklin Pierce

Answers:
1. b
2. c
3. c
4. b
5. c
6. a
7. b
8. c
9. b
10. c
11. c
12. a
13. c
14. d
15. d.
16. b.
17. b.
18. c.
19. c.
20. d.

Copyright, FunTrivia.com. All Rights Reserved.
Some questions from U.S. News and World Report

Cream of Asparagus Soup and Flaky Buttermilk Biscuits: A Hearty Meal For A Lazy Sunday Afternoon

We had a rare quiet Sunday and of course our thoughts turned to ...eating!! Last week I purchased some thin and really healthy looking spring asparagus, a favorite vegetable of mine, and they were still sitting in the refrigerator begging to be cooked. Asparagus soup came to mind.

This past week we had two days of relative warmth but as the fickleness of late February would have it, we quickly transited back to a cold and windy weekend. Soup sounded like the perfect fare for the waning days of winter.

A word about asparagus: this vegetable has so many health benefits that I wondered why I didn't cook it every day! It reminds me a bit of the tiny but powerful blueberry, jam packed full of all good things. Here's a list of some asparagus pluses.

Asparagus:

• Can detoxify our system
• has anti-aging functions
• can protect against cancer
• reduces pain and inflammation
• can prevent osteoporosis and osteoarthritis
• reduces the risk of heart disease
• lowers cholesterol
• Is antifungal and antiviral
• cleanse the body and prevent kidney stones
• Prevents bladder and urinary tract infections
• lowers blood pressure naturally
• stimulates hair production and is one of the best super foods for balding.
• help prevent birth defects

Often we use pills as food supplements to get some of the benefits I listed above but eating healthy whole foods is so much better. Asparagus contains loads of potassium, folates, Vitamin K and fiber. For optimum health benefits it is suggested that asparagus be eaten raw.

So now that we're all feeling guilty about pill popping our vitamin and mineral supplements, get out your cooking equipment and prepare to make a very easy soup. If you don't have asparagus, you can make this with broccoli or cauliflower. The buttermilk biscuits have really no redeeming qualities but they are so delicious especially when just removed from the oven. Was this simple soup meal easy to make? Yes and yes. The soup took about a half hour, the biscuits about fifteen minutes.

Cream of Asparagus Soup

Ingredients
1 pound fresh asparagus
3‑1/2 cups chicken broth
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup light cream or half and half
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper




Directions

• Trim and discard ends of asparagus and cut into 1-inch pieces. Combine asparagus and 1 cup broth in medium saucepan; cook 12 to 15 minutes or until tender.
• Set aside 1 cup asparagus. Purée remaining asparagus pieces with broth in blender or food processor.
• Melt butter in large saucepan. Stir in flour. Gradually add remaining broth and cook stir until slightly thickened. Stir in cream, salt, pepper, puréed asparagus mixture and top with reserved asparagus pieces.

Flaky Buttermilk Biscuits
2 cups flour
1 TBS baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
6 TBS cold butter
1 cups cold buttermilk

Directions

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
• Whisk all of the dry ingredients together. Place the flour mixture into a food processor and add the butter cut into small pieces. Pulse the flour a few times until the flour looks like coarse crumbs or use 2 knives or a pastry blender. Work with cold butter and stop when your flour resembles coarse crumbs.
• Form a well in the middle of the flour mixture. Add the cold buttermilk. Add the liquid into the dry ingredients slowly and gently. Combine all the dry with the wet ingredients. Add more buttermilk ½ TBS at a time if needed. The dough should be sticky.
• Flour a large board or use your counter. Place the dough on the board and spread it out using your fingers. Flatten it until it is about ½ inch thick. Cut your biscuits using a biscuit cutter or a large glass. Repeat the process until you have cut all of your biscuits.
• Place the biscuits on a baking sheet close to each other. This will let them get taller. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until lightly browned.

Fall Fashion 2011: An Amateur Fashion Wannabe Blogger (That'd Be Me) Spots Some Trends. Well, Maybe.

So as Fashion Week draws to a close I'll wrap up my very novice fashion reporting by calling out a few trends I think I spotted (from the comfort of a seat in my kitchen using a MacBook Pro) during the Mercedes-Benz Fall Fashion 2011 Week held at Lincoln Center in New York City.



Color
Black, black and more black for fall. No surprise there but as I mentioned the other day, I noticed a lot of blues in the shows I looked at. Isaac Mizrahi rounded out the week with some orange and yellow. But the darker shades prevailed as far as street clothing and most evening wear went. Yellow dress from Isaac Mizrahi is at right.

Hems 
I thought most were longer arriving at knee length or just below. L.A.M.B had some really cute short skirts, unfortunately not for me, but I love the look. Mini from Gwen Stefani's L.A.M.B. is at left.

Silhouettes
I still see a trend toward chemise or flapper style dresses (a.k.a. the screen siren),  long or short, and wonder why it wasn't noted by other reviewers (I mean, really!!) . There are lots of free-form clothing being shown by designers like Proenza Schouler but I still love classic shapes. Take a look at Oscar de la Renta, he never disappoints. The dress at right from Alice + Olivia.

Headgear

A wide variety from cloche, Russian, fedoras and burka-styles were all over the runways. Perhaps our cold winter was instrumental in influencing this look? Insert detail from Oscar de la Renta.

Accessories
I had to go back and look for handbags which led me to believe the big bag look is over! There were a few larger bags but most were more reasonable in size or not shown at all. Lots of belts though, boots and booties. The belted look at left from Badgley Mischka.

Outerwear
I thought the coats were fantastic. The short cropped fur was in almost every collection as were capes or caplets. Furs came in black, white and vivid colors which makes them so much fun. A colorful combination from Luca Luca at left. Cape below, from Halston Collection.

Fall Fashion 2011: The Best of the Dress; 'Mad Men? Michelle? Who Do We Have To Thank For The Resurgence?

TRIAS

A couple of years ago AMC premiered the 60s drama 'Mad Men' and our fashion sense has never been the same. It became apparent after a few episodes that the dress, so popular back then, would be making a spectacular comeback banishing the Hillary pantsuits to the back of the closet, hopefully forever. I admit I had a love affair with separates, they seemed much more useful and interchangeable than a dress. My dresses were limited to a few black formal type frocks that were uninspired at best, predictable at worst.

Oscar de la Renta

Elie Tahari

Then came actresses January Jones, Christina Hendricks and yes even the frumpy Elizabeth Moss ...and we were once again in love with the dress. Michelle Obama, during the President's campaign and now as First Lady has placed an exclamation point on the style donning sleeveless and sweatered varieties. I became hooked and looked to stores like Banana Republic, Ann Taylor and Zara for some reasonable purchases. For more serious dresses Nordstroms, Lord & Taylor and Macy's ( but only the NYC store) can add some fabulous dress silhouettes to your wardrobe.

Tory Burch

Isaac Mizrahi

So as I went through the runway photos, I had my eye out for dresses that appeal to me. Most of the ones I've detailed in the last two days have been formal. Today I'll highlight daytime and shorter evening wear from some of the greatest designers. Hopefully a less pricey version of some of these will appear in my favorite stores.

To be sure there are lots of separates still on the runway but I think the dress has more appeal. This past Tuesday, I was watching the latest episode of 'The Good Wife". Alicia, the main character played expertly by Julianna Marguiles is usually outfitted in a lawerly suit. To see if she can shed light on a romantic voicemail left her by her boss Will, she decides to approach him.....wearing a dress....finally! The dress, by Michael Kors, was purchased at Saks Fifth Avenue.

Oscar de la Renta

Jason Wu

Fall Fashion 2011: Feeling a Little Blue? Designers Choose A Cool Accent Color

Badgley Mischka

I thought I'd read somewhere that orange was the color for 2011 so as I was scrolling through this week's runway pics I thought I see a lot of the carroty hue. Instead I noticed a cool and vibrant blue popping up in and amongst the traditional winter black, grey and beige tones.

A couple of years ago, while working for the Journal, we did a story on the Pantone colors of the year. That year (was it 2008?) the colors were blue and brown. As the year went on, and even beyond that, those two colors in combination with each other not only showed up in fashion wear but also in a big way in home decor. This year, Pantone has chosen the color honeysuckle (see link) but I didn't see much of that color in the shows either.

Douglas Hannant

When you read Pantone's press release (and I suggest doing just that since it makes a compelling case for the pinkish color choice) I noticed that last year's color was turquoise. Perhaps the designers are just catching up? I'd find that hard to believe but there it is in black and, er, blue.

So a vibrant blue it is, a happy choice for me since I have a lot already in my wardrobe. I'm a bit disappointed on the lack of orange but maybe it'll appear in more of our summer wear maybe paired with the cheerful honeysuckle....a color scheme reminiscent of the 'late 1960s'.

A couple of 'cool' examples are illustrated here all images are from style.com.

http://www.pantone.com/pages/pantone/Pantone.aspx?pg=20821&ca=4

Carolina Herrera

Oscar de la Renta

Fall Fashion 2011: Dresses Ready For Their Closeup; The Return of the Screen Siren

Jason Wu

I haven't paid too much attention to this year's fall fashion shows being held in New York this week and last. Today was kind of a 'sick' day, me being a bit under the weather and my daughter being felled by a serious stomach virus. I decided to distract myself and take a look at what we'll be wearing (or not) come autumn.

Tracy Reese

A couple of years ago, the goddess dress was all the rage and with good reason: most women, should they need to be formally dressed, look great in a goddess dress. Last August, The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City had a major exhibition called American Woman: Fashioning a National Identity. Chemise or flapper style dresses took their place in the history of American female dress and I noticed a trend as I was scrolling through the fashion shows: the screen siren is back!

Actresses Rita Hayworth, Hedy Lamarr, Lizabeth Scott, Veronica Lake, Lauren Bacall, Jean Harlow, Gene Tierney, Lana Turner and Greta Garbo evoke sultry and sophisticated images of movies back in the 30s and 40s and fashion designers are showing siren-inspired dresses, long and short. for next fall during New York's Mercedes Benz Fashion Week. Badgley Mischka, Jason Wu, Tracy Reese, Carolina Herrera, Monique Lhuillier have all signed onto the trend and of course the look is spectacular.

Embellishments, fringe, kicky bottoms and shimmery sheers falling easily from the neckline are reminiscent of the era. I easily found a few samples in my search today. All of the photos are from style.com and I consistently refer to that site for up-to-the-minute shows and analysis.

Badgley Mischka

Monique Lhuillier

Valentine's Day Tutorial: Cooking Up A Plan To Hook A Husband; French Food? Whatever It Takes To Get The Job Done

When we were in our very early twenties, my sister and I had a great idea on how to hook a husband. We weren't desperate to get married but somehow the old chiche "the way to a man's heart is through his stomach' got hold of us and we began cooking with a vengeance. Coq au vin, strawberry tart, quiche and crepes Suzette were our specialities...very French...no doubt inspired by Audrey Hepburn in the movie 'Sabrina'. We tried out our French fare on my boyfriend (now husband of 30+ years) and a succession of my sister's boyfriends (she being more popular than me) culminating with her husband (also of 30+ years). So I suppose you could say we were successful! Seriously, what male college student wouldn't jump at the chance of a home-cooked meal, experimental though they were, prepared by two ambitious sisters on a mission. Of course they didn't know what the mission was but ....details....details......

Audrey Hepburn at a Paris cooking school

in the movie 'Sabrina'.

Once we walked down the aisle, the cooking didn't stop through there were quite a few uninspired food years when we were busy raising our families. But we did marry men who loved to eat and that brings me to my post today. I really couldn't say what my husband's favorite food item is but something he's ordered consistently over the years is New England Clam Chowder. We've enjoyed it in the best (and sometimes worst) of places including the source, having sipped the swarthy soup at Boston's Faneuil Hall Marketplace where preparing it truly comes from the heart. I don't believe I've ever made it from scratch so today, Valentine's Day, I decided to prepare the soup for dinner.

The recipe I'm following is pretty basic, no need to mess with a classic, and I'll serve it tonight with oyster crackers and pumpernickel bread.

Classic New England Clam Chowder

Makes 8 servings
Ingredients
4 slices bacon, diced
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
1 1/2 cups water
4 cups peeled and cubed potatoes
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
ground black pepper to taste
3 cups half-and-half
3 tablespoons butter
2 (10 ounce) cans minced clams

Directions

• Place diced bacon in large stock pot over medium-high heat.
• Cook until almost crisp; add onions, and cook 5 minutes.
• Stir in water and potatoes, and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, and cook uncovered for 15 minutes, or until potatoes are fork tender.
• Pour in half-and-half, and add butter.
• Drain clams, reserving clam liquid; stir clams and 1/2 of the clam liquid into the soup.
• Cook for about 5 minutes, or until heated through. Do not allow it to come to a boil.

I should not, in all fairness, implicate my other two sisters in our culinary chicanery. Actually they were too young back then but they eventually married and today are talented and inventive cooks. Food preparation might be in our genes: our great-aunts were cooks and domestics when they arrived on these shores from Ireland many years ago. My mother was great in the kitchen as well though truthfully most of our soups came from a can. I'd be remiss not to mention that there is a brother in our family and as far as I know he's not much of a cook. He did however marry well: my sister-in-law makes a mean sweet-potato casserole.

But it all ended well and our many years together as couples gives legitimacy to our original plan. I love it when a plan comes together.