Presidential Trivia Answers (May 10 & 11)

Thanks for playing!

(1) QUESTION: Which President(s) has received a Grammy award(s)?

ANSWER: Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama. Each received a Grammy in the “spoken word” category.  Clinton received two awards: One for his memoir, “My Life” (2005), and one for a children’s book that he’d contributed to in 2004.

(2) QUESTION: One President was married to a strict Presbyterian who banned dancing and hard liquor in the White House.  Which President?

ANSWER: James Polk. The President James K. Polk Home and Museum explains: “As First Lady, Sarah capably handled her position’s social obligations. Responsible for remodeling the interior of the President’s House on a limited budget, she created an elegant setting befitting the highest office in the land. A strict Presbyterian, she did not allow the dancing and heavy drinking that were common at Washington parties. Despite her restrictions, she remained a popular hostess whose hospitality enhanced the President’s political influence and popular image.”

(3) QUESTION: Who was the first President to throw out the ceremonial first pitch of the baseball season? Who was the first to do so from the pitchers’ mound, instead of the stands?

ANSWER: William Howard Taft was the first to make a ceremonial first pitch. He was attending the Washington Nationals—Philadelphia Athletics game on April 14, 1910. Ronald Reagan was the first to throw from the pitchers’ mound, but Bill Clinton was the first make a successful throw from the pitcher’s mound to the catcher.