For each question below, there are a number of choices. Choose one as your answer. Think Different is scored by the number of people who submit the same answer. It's best to be the only person who chooses a particular answer. The most common answer is called the sheep. You don't want to be a sheep. Incorrect answers get the sheep score plus five points. Low score wins. Bonus questions will allow you to reduce your score by up to nine.
You may drop one question and sheep one question. (To sheep means to accept the highest score on a question without fear of giving an incorrect answer.) These answers must come from your head; not your computer, reference library, or smartphone. No research is allowed. Last names are fine except when more is needed to identify presidents with the same last name. Submit your answers here: https://form.jotform.com/80417221193146
1. PRESIDENTS BEFORE AND AFTER I
You know the drill. Take two parts of the clue and combine them so they overlap. Example: Current Supreme Court justice who wrote the Declaration of Independence: Clarence Thomas Jefferson. Middle names and initials are not necessary except to distinguish between presidents with the same first and last name. LETTER NOT NECESSARY.
- Father of the country who wrote "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow"
- Chipmunk brothers who speak softly and carry a big stick
- Founding father who served as president in a wheelchair
- Singer of "Your Song" who led the invasion of Normandy
- Modern president who can take any trick
- Cleveland Cavaliers great who served only six months
- Constitutional architect who starred in "Cory in the House"
- Eubie Blake song for a president from Missouri
- The Great Communicator with three Shakespearean daughters (OK if you need some liberty on spelling)
- Give him a twenty and he might sing "Doctor, My Eyes"
2. GRADUATION DAY
Identify one of these presidents from his high school photo. NUMBER REQUIRED.
3. Name a president who died in office or succeeded one who did
4. PRESIDENTS BY BIRTH DATE
Name a president by his birth date. Letter not required.
- February 22, 1732
- February 12, 1809
- June 14, 1946
- January 30, 1882
- August 5, 1961
- October 27, 1858
- December 29, 1808 (think about this year)
- August 10, 1874
- April 23, 1791
- October 5, 1829
5. PRESIDENTS BY DEATH DATE
Name a president by his death date. Letter not required.
- November 22, 1963
- June 5, 2004
- January 22, 1973
- December 26, 1972
- December 26, 2006
- February 3, 1924
- June 28, 1836
- September 19, 1881
- March 8, 1930
- July 4, 1831
6. COLLEGES OF THE CHIEFS
Some presidents are known for the colleges and universities they attended. Some colleges and universities are known for the presidents who attended them. Letter not required.
- Where did Woodrow Wilson earn his Ph.D.?
- Where did Ronald Reagan go to college?
- Where did Herbert Hoover go to college (and get a school named for him)?
- What four-letter school graduated three four-letter Republican presidents?
- Which service academy graduated Jimmy Carter?
- Where did Donald Trump graduate? (either the school or university is fine)
- What Maine college claims Franklin Pierce?
- What college in the upper left hand corner of Massachusetts graduated James Garfield?
- What California institution matriculated Richard Nixon?
7. PRESIDENTS BY FIRST LADY
Some of our presidents wouldn't have gotten anywhere without their leading ladies. Identify a president by his First Lady's maiden name. Letter not required.
- Rodham
- Henry
- Bolling
- Todd
- Dandridge
- Payne
- Folsom
- Wallace
- Ryan
- Robinson
8. PRESIDENTS BY PREVIOUS OFFICE
Overwhelmingly, presidents come to office having held some other important office first. (There are exceptions.) Name the president who held one of these offices. LETTER REQUIRED.
A. Governor of Georgia
B. Governor of California
C. Governor of New Jersey
D. Governor of Massachusetts
E. Governor of Arkansas
F. Governor of Texas
G. Senator from Illinois
H. Senator from Missouri
I. Senator from Texas
J. Senator from California
BONUS - What president was the first to be elected a senator by popular vote? (-2 points)
9. DOWN THEY WENT
Name the major party presidential nominee defeated by these presidents. Letter not required.
- Truman
- Eisenhower
- Hoover
- McKinley
- L. Johnson
- Coolidge
- Harding
- G.H.W. Bush
- Carter
- T. Roosevelt
10. HAIL TO THE CHIEF
Name a president who appointed a chief justice
BONUS - What well known poet wrote the words to the president's official song, "Hail to the Chief"? (-1 point)
11. PRESIDENTIAL FACTS
Answer one of these facts about the presidents. Some are truly easy, so please read them before using a lifeline. LETTER REQUIRED.
A. What president was born on the 4th of July and was the first to be struck on a coin while in office?
B. What president was first to submerge in a sub while in office and made the only hole-in-one of his life on February 6, 1968?
C. Name the president whose brother was assassinated.
D. Who was the first president to visit the west coast while in office and get a state named for him in South America?
E. Who was the first (and so far only) president to die of cancer, four days after finishing his memoirs?
F. Who survived a ship explosion that killed two cabinet secretaries and four others?
G. Name a year of three presidents. (Will be scored separately)
H. Whose wife and mother died the same day?
I. Who saved 77 people from drowning during his time as a lifeguard?
J. Who was first to meet with a pope while in office?
K. Who appointed the first woman to cabinet?
L. Which president was first to take a train to the inauguration for his very brief presidency?
12. PRESIDENTS BEFORE AND AFTER II
You've done it before and you can do it again. Take two parts of the clue and combine them so they overlap. Example: Current Supreme Court justice who wrote the Declaration of Independence: Clarence Thomas Jefferson. Middle names and initials are not necessary except to distinguish between presidents with the same first and last name. LETTER NOT NECESSARY.
- President from Texas who makes many of the leading household cleaning products, including Windex
- "Tutti Frutti" singer who famously declared he's not a crook
- Quebec battle site for a Civil War president
- Sci-fi author who took over right before the crash
- Son of a president who never made it to the majors
- Heir to the British throne who was assassinated in Buffalo
- Wartime president recorded by Elvis
- Old Tippecanoe played a president whose plane was hijacked
- Peanut farmer who founded the Journal of Negro History
- Unelected president with a double name who was originally Hueffer
13. BOOKS BY PRESIDENTS
Most of our presidents have been known for their wordiness. Some of them were successful authors before they were president. Some became successful authors as a result of running. The rest became successful authors as a result of being president. Who wrote what?
- Manual of Parliamentary Practice
- Dreams from My Father
- History of New York City
- Portrait of the Assassin
- Congressional Government
- An Answer to Paine's "Rights of Man"
- Six Crises
- The Art of the Deal
- Liberty Under Law
- Principles of Mining
- Where's the Rest of Me?
- Profiles in Courage
BONUS - PRESIDENTIAL FIRSTS
Answer up to six of these for -1 point each. No penalty for a wrong answer. Letter REQURED.
A. Who was the first president to resign the office?
B. Who was the first president to serve who had been born in a hospital?
C. Who was the first president inaugurated in Washington?
D. Who was the first president to attend a manned space launch?
E. Who was the first president to transit the Panama Canal while in office?
F. Who was the first president to speak on television from the White House?
G. Who was the first president to hold a pilot's license?
H. Who was the first president to father a child while in office?
I. Who was the first president to receive a passport while in office?
J. Who was the first president to throw out the first pitch of the baseball season?
K. Who was the first president to be granted a patent? (In this case, for a device for buoying vessels over shoals.)
L. Who was the first president photographed in office?
M. Who was the only president to die in office whose wife also died during what would have been his presidency?