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Quiz: How much do you know about these obscure US presidents?

Test your knowledge.

THE PRESIDENT OF the United States of America. It has become arguably the most powerful elected position in the world.

Imagine you reached that role. It’s the most significant achievement of your entire life, and one that just a few dozen other people managed.

However, also imagine that, over time, you fade from most popular pages of the history books, and before you know it, the first time some people read your name is in a Saturday night quiz on TheJournal.ie.

Let’s meet those very men!

Let's start with Millard Fillmore. Was he a real president, or am I having a laugh?
Sure, he's real.
Millard Fillmore? Yeah right, you're having a laugh.
And what about Hopscotch Montgomery? Was he a real president?
Shutterstock
Yep he's real too. He's often called The Forgotten Lincoln for laying the groundwork for abolishing slavery.
Okay now you're taking the you-know-what.
Chester A. Arthur was a member of which of these groups?
Wikimedia
The Irish Republican Brotherhood
Fenian Brotherhood

Young Ireland
None of the above

None of the above because, like Hopscotch Montgomery, he's not real.
What was unique about Martin Van Buren?
Sorry now, but this lad was definitely not president of the United States.
He's the only president to not swear on the Bible during his inauguration.

He's the only president to have served on both sides of the Civil War.
He's the only president to have spoken English as a second language.

He's the only president to have fallen in love.
Helen St. Freelander, *technically* the first woman elected President of the United States, was born in which state?
Shutterstock
Delaware
Georgia

New Hampshire
Territory of Orleans (later known as Louisiana)

A state of non-existence because you've made her up.
What did memorable president Theodore Roosevelt, at the time serving as assistant secretary of the US Navy, say about the very forgettable William McKinley?
"He has no more backbone than a chocolate éclair."
"He has a bottom and a face that you look up and down twice and left to right no more than three times."

"The march of time has been cruel to McKinley, and you can see its footprints all over his face."
"If his morals sank any lower I would be duty-bound to mobilise the Coast Guard."
Which president is pictured here?
Richard Nixon
William Howard Taft

Calvin Coolidge
Zachary Taylor

Handsome Tucker The Horse (one of the four Novelty Presidents of 1823)
How many Whig presidents were there?
Wikimedia
0
4

8
None - they all have their own hair.
What did this guy, Rutherford B. Hayes, oversee the ending of?
The Marshall Plan
The US policy of non-interventionism

The Reconstruction
The world
Finally, what's the connection between James Garfield, president for just six months, and Alexander Graham Bell, inventor of the first working telephone?
Garfield was a skilled metal worker and was the only person Bell would use to make his prototypes. This relationship continued while Garfield was in office.
After Garfield was shot, Bell used a metal detector to try to find where the bullet was lodged.

Bell and Garfield were in university together. Bell, too busy crafting inventions to attend lectures, relied on Garfield's notes to pass his exams.
Garfield was the first person Bell called after inventing the telephone, however Garfield did not answer (because he didn't have a telephone, obviously).

Nothing because you made up James Garfield.
Answer all the questions to see your result!
Wikimedia
You scored out of !
You are JFK
Share your result:
Wikimedia
You scored out of !
You are Abraham Lincoln
Share your result:
Wikimedia
You scored out of !
You are George Washington
Share your result:
Wikimedia
You scored out of !
You are FDR
Share your result:
Wikimedia
You scored out of !
You are Ronald Reagan
Share your result:
Wikimedia
You scored out of !
You are Richard Nixon
Share your result:
Wikimedia
You scored out of !
You are George W Bush
Share your result:
Wikimedia
You scored out of !
You are Bill Clinton
Share your result:
You scored out of !
You are Lyndon B Johnson
Share your result:
Wikimedia
You scored out of !
You are Lyndon B Johnson
Share your result:

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21 Comments
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    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Fr Romeo sensini.
    Favourite Fr Romeo sensini.
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    Oct 24th 2020, 10:07 PM

    That… did not go well.

    294
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    Mute Seymour business
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    Oct 24th 2020, 10:22 PM

    Also the black sea is actually orange,, or maybe that’s just a Fanta sea.. anyway 7/15..

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    Mute Jan O'Sullivan
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    Oct 24th 2020, 10:39 PM

    @Seymour business: same pmsl

    11
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    Mute D H
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    Oct 24th 2020, 10:06 PM

    MacDonald Trump is Orange

    198
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    Mute James Fox
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    Oct 24th 2020, 10:13 PM

    What the hell is Bandy

    287
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    Mute Kevin O'Brien
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    Oct 24th 2020, 10:37 PM

    @James Fox: Scandinavian version of ice hockey.

    34
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    Mute kevin mc cormack
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    Oct 24th 2020, 10:38 PM

    @James Fox: something the author of this quiz has had to much of

    122
    See 4 more replies ▾
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    Mute Brian Murphy
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    Oct 24th 2020, 10:47 PM

    @kevin mc cormack: class kev.

    17
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    Mute Karl Lambert
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    Oct 25th 2020, 1:33 AM

    @Kevin O’Brien: it’s more like field hockey on ice.

    4
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    Mute Jason Byrne
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    Oct 25th 2020, 9:17 AM

    @Kevin O’Brien: it’s not a scandinavian version of ice hockey as ice hockey is played jn Scandinavia. It’s a cross between ice and field hockey. Popular in Scandinavia and Russia and strangely enough, Mongolia. It was ‘started’ in England in the 18th century and in the late 1800′s football clubs used it as a way to train and have fun in the winter.

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    Mute Bountyop
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    Oct 25th 2020, 11:07 AM

    @Jason Byrne: Maybe not strange given Ulaanbaatar is the coldest capital city in the world…

    4
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    Mute RadioMikeOBrien
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    Oct 24th 2020, 11:18 PM

    I’m so bored I did this quiz.

    80
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    Mute Quiet Goer
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    Oct 24th 2020, 10:08 PM

    A black box was recently discovered on Bouvet Island, thought to be from a missing plane.

    Upon closer inspection it read “Castletownbere fishermans coop, no unauthorised use”

    54
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    Mute Chris O'Sullivan
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    Oct 24th 2020, 10:52 PM

    @Quiet Goer: I don’t know if that’s fact or fiction. During summers by the ocean we always wanted a solid one to keep bait and or frogs in but only ever found mangled ones

    6
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    Mute Robbie Moles
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    Oct 24th 2020, 11:19 PM

    Can’t believe that there was no Kenan and Kel related question…..who loves orange soda??

    45
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    Mute Kevin O'Brien
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    Oct 24th 2020, 11:31 PM

    @Robbie Moles: I do, I do, I do-ooooh

    20
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    Mute Jan O'Sullivan
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    Oct 24th 2020, 10:39 PM

    7/15 weird irrelevant questions most had nothing to do with the colour orange fun all the same

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    Mute Alan
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    Oct 24th 2020, 10:48 PM

    Surprised there wasn’t a Trump question in there, anyway, 13/15 never thought I was that orange

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    Mute Neil Reilly
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    Oct 25th 2020, 2:35 PM

    @Alan: same here

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    Mute The Grand Nagus
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    Oct 24th 2020, 10:26 PM

    Ahh a quiz from the people who sit at the window in starbucks and make up things because they have no life

    35
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    Mute Kevin O'Brien
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    Oct 25th 2020, 1:31 AM

    @The Grand Nagus: Ahh a comment from a person who sits by his window alone & bitter because he has no life.

    96
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    Mute Hugh McCann
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    Oct 24th 2020, 10:06 PM

    What’s the difference between an Apple and an Orange ?

    30
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    Mute Optimus Prime
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    Oct 24th 2020, 10:16 PM

    @Hugh McCann: one is an apple and one is an orange

    42
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    Mute King B
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    Oct 24th 2020, 10:28 PM

    @Tommy Berry: loving it haha

    19
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    Mute Kieran Monaghan
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    Oct 24th 2020, 10:59 PM

    What was Tommy’s favourite drink?

    27
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    Mute Sean
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    Oct 25th 2020, 12:42 AM

    In the 17th century, Dutch growers cultivated orange carrots as a tribute to William of Orange – who led the the struggle for Dutch independence – and the color stuck. A thousand years of yellow, white and purple carrot history was wiped out in a generation.

    21
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    Mute Fachtna Roe
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    Oct 25th 2020, 11:29 AM

    @Sean: Those apple b*****ds!

    3
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    Mute Kenneth Hayden
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    Oct 24th 2020, 10:06 PM

    10.
    Ohhkay.

    17
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    Mute Darren Carroll
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    Oct 25th 2020, 2:11 AM

    How about doing real journalism and investigating why the government are keen to seal archives for 30 years..the colour orange who gives a f_(k

    17
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    Mute Kevin O'Brien
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    Oct 25th 2020, 2:27 AM

    @Darren Carroll: They could be investigating ss we speak for all we know. Probably not, but could be. It’s just a quiz, something to lighten the mood.

    32
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    Mute DeWitt
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    Oct 25th 2020, 5:34 AM

    @Darren Carroll: who cares

    4
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    Mute Paul Buckley
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    Oct 24th 2020, 11:04 PM

    Does anyone think that Nicky Ryan could do with a haircut ?

    13
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    Mute Kevin O'Brien
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    Oct 24th 2020, 11:26 PM

    @Paul Buckley: No, I think her hair is fine :-)

    21
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    Mute Alan
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    Oct 25th 2020, 4:33 AM

    How did they come up with 15 questions!!! Terry’s choc was a great q though

    12
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    Mute Louise Ni Riain
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    Oct 24th 2020, 10:37 PM

    7 out of 15 happy with that

    11
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    Mute The Kev in Kevlar
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    Oct 25th 2020, 2:47 AM

    Carrots were originally purple, until genetically modified by the dutch and british, as purple was seen as a royal colour

    10
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    Mute David Law
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    Oct 24th 2020, 10:06 PM

    What the hell is this

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    Mute Kevin O'Brien
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    Oct 24th 2020, 10:40 PM

    @David Law: A quiz. If you didn’t know that, I doubt you done very well ;¬) On a serious note, it’s possible the worst one yet, and that takes some doing :¬\

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    Mute Andrew Behan
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    Oct 25th 2020, 1:19 AM

    Persimmon is more commonly known as a Sharon fruit. I put saffron by accident… Grrrrr

    6
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    Mute Geraldine O'Riordan
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    Oct 25th 2020, 1:00 AM

    You scored 10 out of 15!

    You are a tangerine.

    5
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    Mute Kevin O'Brien
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    Oct 25th 2020, 2:05 AM

    @Geraldine O’Riordan: When life gives you tangerines, make Tanora.

    10
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    Mute A d d y o u r n a m e
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    Oct 25th 2020, 12:13 AM

    What on earth is bandy?

    4
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    Mute Stewart O Neill
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    Oct 25th 2020, 12:36 AM

    50% not bad

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    Mute Kevin O'Brien
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    Oct 25th 2020, 1:24 AM

    @Stewart O Neill: So you got one of them half right lol.

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    Mute Radek Warchola
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    Oct 25th 2020, 12:43 PM

    8/15 …… no comment

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    Mute Kiern Mcx
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    Oct 25th 2020, 1:05 AM

    youtu.be/nxByyoMynZA Orange!

    1
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