Archive for the ‘ronald reagan’ Tag
I find it a little strange that the minute I blog about the 1980’s my responses go through the roof. I lived through the 80’s and was never all that fascinated by the things that occurred then. People love the crudeness and rudeness of 80’s humor and don’t get me started on the limericks. Through the effing roof. In keeping with reader demands, todays little quiz will test your memories of the 80’s unless you were “stoned” most of the time. I’ll excuse all of you stoners out there just this once. As always, the answers are below.
- Operation Able Archer was the codename of _______ that took place in 1983.
- _______ was the teacher who died in the Challenger disaster.
- What year did the Berlin Wall come tumbling down?
- Margaret Thatcher is a member of what British political party?
- Muammar Gadhafi was the dictator of what Middle Eastern country?
- Mikhail Gorbachev initiated reforms meant to _______ the Soviet Union.
- The passenger jet the Soviets shot down in 1983 was from what company?
- How many points to did the Dow Jones Industrial Index lose on Black Monday?
- What caused the Challenger disaster?
- President Reagan ordered the _______ of Libya after a terrorist attack in West Berlin.
Answers
NATO wargames, Christa McAuliffe, 1989, Conservative, Libya, Save, Korean air lines/Korean Air, 508, O-ring failure, Aerial bombing.
BELIEVE IT OR NOT – I SCORED 8 CORRECT
My father always insisted that I learn as much American history as I could. He felt that any real citizen of this country should learn as much about it as possible. I’ve always loved learning American history and todays quiz takes it to another level. This is presidential trivia that most people are unaware of but I’m sure you’ll still find it very interesting. It’s my great pleasure to share it with you. As always, the answers are listed below.
- Which American president has the greatest number of cities and towns in the US named after him?
- What salary did Ben Franklin advocate for the presidency during debates in 1787?
- How short was George Washington’s second inaugural address – the shortest in US history?
- Who was the first President to receive a salary of $100,000?
- What American President had an electric horse installed in his White House bedroom and rode it almost daily?
- Who was the first President elected when women nationwide had the right to vote?
- What First Lady was edited out of her movie debut?
- President Nixon kept a music box in his Oval Office desk. What song did it play?
- Both President John Tyler Jr. and his father John Tyler Sr. served as governor in what state?
- Who was the only President born in Illinois, the “Land of Lincoln”?
- After Spiro T. Agnew resigned from office in 1973 what entertainer loaned him $230,000 for living expenses and payment of Internal Revenue Service fees?
(Answers)
James Madison with 27, None, 135 words, Harry S. Truman, Calvin Coolidge, Warren G. Harding in 1920, Pat Nixon, Hail to the Chief, Virginia, Ronald Reagan, Frank Sinatra.
It seems that every time I do a post concerning the 1980’s, you folks respond immediately and request more 80’s nonsense. So, here’s what I’m going to do today. I’m going to give you a 10-question test of trivia from the 80’s. I’m posting the answers as well so be as honest as you can with your scoring. There is a strict Honor System here at E.U.T. Good Luck!!
- What kind of smile is mentioned in Duran Duran’s 1982 hit song “Rio”? Cherry Ice Cream.
- Whose ninth inning, pinch-hit, two-run homer won Game 1 of the 1988 World Series for the Dodgers? Kirk Gibson
- How many American hostages were released from Iran on January 20, 1981, just as Ronald Reagan was inaugurated? 52 Days
- What was the first number one hit song of the 1980’s? Please Don’t Go by K. C. and the Sunshine Band
- What was the title of Jim Varney’s first Ernest movie, in 1987? Ernest Goes to Camp
- For what did Bruce McCandless gain fame in the 1980’s? The first untethered spacewalk on the Challenger shuttle.
- What did you buy from MCI in the 1980s? Long-distance Phone Service
- What school won the most NCAA Division I football championships in the 1980s? Miami of Florida, 1983, 1987, and 1989
- How did Sally Ride earn fame in the 1980s? The First American Woman in Space
- What nation started a brief war with England by invading the Falkland Islands in April 1982? Argentina
MY FINAL SCORE WAS 5.
I purposely avoid posting about current political events after running a political blog in the early 2000’s called Anti-Stupidity. It was an interesting experiment that ultimately convinced me never to do it again. No matter what you post politically, half the country agrees, and the other half sends you hate mail and death threats. Such is the political condition of the country, and it hasn’t changed much in the intervening years.
I dislike all politics and political parties and will never understand why anyone would run for office these days. That includes those power-hungry individuals running for President. It would hardly be worth it if not for the corruption that eventually makes almost every former senator, representative, and President a multi-millionaire.
Today’s post is political trivia in its lamest form. These are odd and rarely known facts on many of our past Presidents chosen at random . . .
- Jimmy Carter is the first President to have been born in a hospital. All thirty-eight previous presidents were born “at home.”
- The chief drafter of the United States Constitution and twice President was a lightweight on the scales. James Madison weighed in at only 100 pounds and he was the shortest President, at 5’4″.
- James Buchanan has been the only bachelor to serve as president of the United States.
- Not until Herbert Hoover was President., in 1929, did the U.S. Chief Executive have a private telephone in his office. (The telephone had been invented 53 years earlier.) The booth in a White House hallway had served as the president’s private telephone before one was finally installed in the Oval Office.
- A campaign issue in John Quincy Adams unsuccessful reelection campaign of 1828 was the White House expense account: $50 for a billiard table, six dollars for billiard balls and $23.50 for chessmen.
- The first U.S. President to be born in the 20th century didn’t take office until 1961 – John F. Kennedy (1917-1963).
- The longest Presidential inauguration Address lasted nearly two hours, 8,445 words, almost twice as many as any other Presidents. It was delivered during a snowfall by a hatless, coatless William Henry Harrison in 1841. He became ill and died of pneumonia exactly a month later making his presidency the shortest in history.
- Theodore Roosevelt was the first US President to ride in an automobile and the first to fly in an airplane, among many other firsts.
- Until 1826, white people in the United States were sold as indentured servants who would be freed after a certain period of time. Andrew Johnson, who became President in 1865, was a runaway white slave; advertisements appeared in newspapers in an attempt to get him back.
- President William Howard Taft weighed 350 pounds. He got stuck in a bathtub in the White House and someone had to be called to pull him out. He then had a special bathtub made. It was so big that, when it was delivered, four White House workmen climbed into it and had their picture taken.
HAIL TO THE CHIEF – LOL
I’ve stated on many occasions that I was done writing about politics and politicians. I’m afraid after watching the Biden administration in recent weeks I can’t remain quiet any longer or I will lose my effing mind.
As we all know the Ides of March can be a dangerous time as can be verified by Julius Caesar. In celebrating that infamous day today, I thought a short discussion on Presidents was in order. With Russia and the Ukraine battling it out and Biden and his socialist vice-president doing absolutely nothing. It made me wonder where Biden will be listed as compared to past presidents. We’ve had some dunces, some fools, and a large number of incompetents. Many American lives have been sacrificed when presidential decisions went sideways. The following information was recently commissioned by C-SPAN to answer that question definitively and the results are fascinating. They ranked each president according to a number of different factors such as public persuasion, crisis leadership, international relations, and vision while in office. Here are their top ten.
Abraham Lincoln
George Washington
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Teddy Roosevelt
Dwight David Eisenhower
Harry S. Truman
Thomas Jefferson
John F. Kennedy
Ronald Reagan
Lyndon B. Johnson
Obviously, I don’t see the name Trump, Obama, Bush, or Carter listed in the top ten. After observing Biden since he took office, I would rank him around #40. He’s had a number of opportunities to make life a bit more difficult for the Russians but hasn’t done it. Either he’s an old fool or his advisors are incompetent. It seems their more concerned with party politics than international affairs. Maybe if gas reaches $6.00 a gallon someone will begin paying attention. This situation is getting out of hand and could turn dangerous at any time. Keep sitting on your hands Joe.
VOTE DEMOCRATIC AND KISS PUTIN’S ASS
Normally, I find that posts concerning anything remotely related to sex seem to catch everyone’s eye. I’ve found one other subject that draws as much attention (almost) and that’s death. Here are a few obscure facts on celebrities during their final days and hours. It’s a bit morbid but informative.
- Errol Flynn (1909 – 1959) was buried at Forest lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California, with a half-dozen friends, six bottles of whiskey, and farewell gifts from his boozing buddies.
- It happened one night, the death of Oscar-winning legend Claudette Colbert (1903 – 1996), after she suffered a series of strokes. But when she was alive, the actor made a promise: “I must never think about death. People who think about death are mentally sick.”
- John Belushi (1949 – 1982) His final resting place is at Abel’s Hill Cemetery, Martha’s Vineyard but Belushi ain’t where you think he is. The huge boulder marked BELUSHI is just a deterrent, a place where fans can leave their liquor bottles, cigarette packs and other sundry “souvenirs”. His real grave lies several yards from the boulder, and nobody’s telling exactly where that may be.
Trivia Footnote: The three longest obituaries to run in the New York Times were, Pope John Paul II at 13870 words, Richard Nixon at 13155 words, and Ronald Reagan at 11,411.
- Humphrey Bogart (1899 – 1957) His last words were to his wife Lauren Bacall as she left his bedside to run a quick errand, “Hurry back”. He was buried with a small gold whistle that he had given to Bacall before they were married. It referred to their first movie together and was inscribed with “If you want anything, just whistle.”
- Joan Crawford (1905 – 1977) She died in her New York apartment from a heart attack and was also suffering from breast and pancreatic cancer. Her last words were directed to her housekeeper that had begun to pray out loud. She emphatically stated “Damn it! Don’t you dare ask God to help me!”
I certainly hope that when my time comes, I’ll have something a little more interesting to say. Maybe I’ll make a crib sheet to keep in my pocket with three or four really interesting comments and just before I go, I’ll choose the one I like the best. I don’t need a cutesy epithet either because hopefully my ashes will be floating somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean.
OH, TO BE A CELEBRITY
This is the first of two posts concerning our two major political parties. I decided to do the dumb quotes of the Republicans first to avoid the never ending complaints of bias from the Democrats and other Liberals. After all this time they still haven’t gotten my core message. I don’t much care for any politicians from any party. This is my friendly gesture to all of you non-Republicans out there that stupid things are consistent to all parties. Enjoy . . .
- “If this were a dictatorship, it’d be a heck of a lot easier, just so long as I’m the dictator.” ~ George W. Bush
- “When the President does it that means that it’s not illegal.” ~ Richard M. Nixon
- “Exercise freaks are the ones putting stress on the health care system.” ~ Rush Limbaugh
- “Grown men should not be having sex with prostitutes unless they are married to them.” ~ Jerry Falwell
- “Facts are stupid things.” ~ Ronald Reagan
- “This foreign policy stuff is a little frustrating.” ~ George W. Bush
- “Trees cause more pollution than automobiles.” ~ Ronald Reagan
- “[America has to import so many workers because] for the last 35 years we have aborted more than a million people who would have been in our workforce.” ~ Mike Huckabee
- “I even accept for the sake of argument that sexual orgies eliminate social tensions and ought to be encouraged.” ~ Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia
- “I would not say that the future is necessarily less predictable than the past. I think the past was not predictable when it started.” ~ Donald Rumsfeld
- “Well, I learned a lot. I went down to (Latin America) to find out from them and (learn) their views. You’d be surprised, they’re all individual countries.” ~ Ronald Reagan
- “We have a lot of work to do. It’s a very hard struggle, particularly given the situation on the Iraq-Pakistan border.” ~ John McCain (the countries share no common border)
- “The only way to reduce the number of nuclear weapons is to use them.” ~ Rush Limbaugh
- “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on you.” ~ Representative. Virginia Foxx
- “I know the human being and fish can coexist peacefully.” ~ George W. Bush
Be sure to check back tomorrow for the Democratic posting on this subject. You’ll see that both stupid and smart people have the ability look ridiculous at times. It’s unfortunate that we the citizenry are forced to listen to all their never-ending nonsense.
GOOD LUCK TO US ALL
I decided to step away from a journal entry today and offer up some unusual tidbits of presidential trivia. Since the political winds are once again beginning to blow I thought it might interest some of you. This information has been chosen at random and I’m not picking on any one party. To be sure, there’s enough useless information coming out of both parties to make everyone happy. Here we go. . .
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Edith Wilson, the wife of Woodrow Wilson, often rode a bicycle in the corridors of the White House.
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Richard M. Nixon once worked as a carnival barker.
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Thomas Jefferson had a pet mockingbird that followed him upstairs to bed every night.
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First Lady Abigail Adams, wife of John Adams, used to hang laundry in the White House East Room to dry.
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David Rice Atchison, a state senator from Missouri (1843-1855), was President of the United States for one day.
Who knew we had a president for just one day? I can think of quite a few others I would have loved to have for only one day.
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Calvin Coolidge, President from 1923 to 929, was the last President to write his own speeches.
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President Jimmy Carter was the first president born in a hospital.
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Ronald Reagan received over seventy-five thousand gifts, including three hundred seventy-two belt buckles, a dog house, a six foot long pencil, and a four-square-foot portrait made out of ten thousand jelly beans.
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When Zachary Taylor became President in 1849, he kept his horse “Old Whitey” on the front lawn of the White House.
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Ulysses S. Grant was once arrested near the White House and fined twenty dollars for driving a team of horses too fast.
I don’t doubt for a minute that Grant was probably under the influence of some unknown alcoholic beverage. That’s the same guy who once upon a time allegedly threw up on one of his officers .
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The middle initial “S” in President Harry S. Truman’s name didn’t stand for anything.
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John Tyler (1790-1862), 10th president, was unable to get a decent job after leaving office and worked at a village pound tending cows and horses.
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Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919), once delivered a one-hour speech in spite of being shot moments before by a would-be assassin.
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President George H.W. Bush banned broccoli from the White House in March 1990, the California broccoli growers delivered nine tons of the vegetable to Washington.
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President Millard Fillmore, in 1851, became the first chief executive to use a bathtub in the White House.
Here’s a special bonus entry for JFK. He was known for a lot of questionable shenanigans but I’ll be nice and take the high road today. He was also the first President born in the twentieth century.
That should do it for today. More to come. . .
I’m not feeling too domestic today so gardens, food, and computers are off the menu. I’ve been paging though my library of interesting but useless facts and factoids. At first I couldn’t decide whether to supply all of you with unusual information about sex but I think I’ll save that for another day. Since I consider myself a patriotic citizen it was only logical (Thanks Mr. Spock) that I find as many odd and unusual facts about some of our great and no so great presidents.
With Obama on his way out (Yeah!)(Finally!) and the presidential election looming I felt we needed to reconnect with our American roots. Lets start if off with ten quick questions about some of our past presidents. I’ll list the questions first and the answers will be found at the end of this post.
Questions
1. How many bathrooms are in the White House?
2. What was the Secret Service’s code name for Barbara Bush?
3. What did Woodrow Wilson, Americas 28th president, denounce as a symbol of “the arrogance of wealth”?
4. President Gerald Ford pardoned Iva D’Aquino in 1977. Who was she?
5. President Lydon Johnson called his pet beagles Him and Her; what did President Franklin D. Roosevelt and his wife, Eleanor, name His and Hers?
6. What president was ticketed for speeding in Washington, D.C., while he was in office?
7. What did President John F. Kennedy commission Pierre Salinger to do on the eve of signing the Cuban Trade Embargo?
8. How many tons of jelly beans were purchased by the White House during the presidency of Ronald Reagan?
9. What did President Franklin D. Roosevelt have printed on the White House matchbooks?
10. Which American president was the first to have a telephone on his desk in the White House? 
I found a few of the question interesting but the answers were even better. I’m sending this bonus trivia story along because it’s just do damn strange.
"On his way home from Harvard one day, Robert Todd Lincoln, the son of President Abraham Lincoln, fell off the platform while waiting for his train. He was saved from possible death by Edwin Booth, the actor, and brother of John Wilkes Booth – the man who, only a few weeks later, assassinated President Lincoln.”
Answers
1. 34
2. Tranquility
3. The Automobile
4. Tokyo Rose, the seductive-voiced Japanese radio propagandist during World War II.
5. The pistols they kept under their pillows.
6. Ulysses S. Grant, in his horse and buggy. He was fined $5.00.
7. Buy and stockpile 1,500 Havana cigars.
8. 12 Tons
9. “Stolen from the White House”
10. Herbert Hoover, in 1929. Previous presidents used an enclosed phone booth in the hallway outside the Oval Office.
MORE SEX TRIVIA TO COME
Before I start my post for today I thought I’d celebrate for just a moment the 104th birthday of one of my favorite people, Ronald Wilson Reagan, our fortieth president. Things have certainly gone downhill since he left the presidency and he is sorely missed. Happy Birthday Mr. President!
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My convalescence continues today after my colonoscopy. I was told to take it easy for a few days and I tend to listen closely to doctors who tell me to do things I enjoy doing. So a lazy day for catching up on emails, writing a little, and loafing a lot. We’ve been given a one day reprieve by the weather gods with no snow anticipated. Starting tomorrow we’re being warned of another damn snowstorm preparing to drop a foot or more of snow on us. We already have so much snow we’re running out of places to put it. These pictures were taken in the city of Biddeford, Maine yesterday and as you can see another foot of snow will make walking around town a real chore.
Our family group braved the cold weather last night and thoroughly enjoyed a meal at Famous Dave’s. There were ribs, brisket, and sauces all around. I’d been jonesing for catfish for the last two weeks and it was well worth the wait. The grandson munched on his favorite meal of Mac and Cheese, pineapple chunks, and a few Oreo cookies. Top that off with a glass of chocolate milk and he was in hog heaven. It was a great evening out even though the temps were near zero and the wind-chill even worse.
Our visitor from Los Angeles, my better-half’s oldest son, flies out today to return to the left coast. He was greeted here by more snow than he’s seen for many years. He’ll appreciate that California weather a lot more I’m sure.
everyuselessthing.com 