President Obama was what number?

[T'Girl]

In a discussion about politics the other day I casually tossed in that President Obama was the forty-fourth president, but he was the forty-third man to be president. And was met with a bunch of semi-blank stares. We're all "trapped" in schools for at least twelve years. Was my little reference that obscure?

 

[Mallory]

People always forget Grover Cleveland.

 

[the Dagman]

Grover Cleveland, gone and forgotten apparently.

 

[Dorian Thompson]

Ma! Ma! Where's my Pa?
Gone to the White House!
HA! HA! HA!

 

[Snaploud]

Grover Cleveland was completely ignored by my history teachers, so, yeah, it probably qualifies as obscure (meaning not widely known).

 

[RJDiogenes]

People always forget Grover Cleveland.

That's why he joined Sesame Street-- to teach people how to count.

 

[Zulu Romeo]

In a discussion about politics the other day I casually tossed in that President Obama was the forty-fourth president, but he was the forty-third man to be president. And was met with a bunch of semi-blank stares. We're all "trapped" in schools for at least twelve years. Was my little reference that obscure?

It was brought to light recently on UK television:

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PA8qT5PzSS4[/yt]

 

[Ensign_Redshirt]

^^

I hope he doesn't get a nightly visit by Creedy's men for this one.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

"Was"? Did someone assassinate him already?

 

[TheBrew]

"Was"? Did someone assassinate him already?

Ooh... not in great taste there.

Especially if his plane crashed today.

 

[Misfit Toy]

"Was"? Did someone assassinate him already?

Ooh... not in great taste there.

Especially if his plane crashed today.

He was talking about Grover. lol

 

[trampledamage]

Hmm... I was hoping for a "woman in disguise" story. Oh well... you learn something new every day

 

[milo bloom]

I think it's one of those factoids that may seem interesting at first glance, but relatively unimportant in the long run. Personally, I think I've learned and forgotten and re-learned this particular one a couple of times over the years. I recently relearned it for example because of Obama being the first black president, so I would have been reading articles about other presidential "firsts" or "unusual facts" (like Gerald Ford never being elected to the office of VP or President but succeeded via Constitutional process, or GWB not being truly elected in 2000, oops this isn't TNZ, forget I said that last one )

 

[RandyS]

How can we expect teachers to pass on knowledge, when alot of them are every bit as ignorant as the students??

At least, that's how it seemed when I was in school.

And, no. I'm not trying to be funny.

 

[RJDiogenes]

I think it's one of those factoids that may seem interesting at first glance, but relatively unimportant in the long run. Personally, I think I've learned and forgotten and re-learned this particular one a couple of times over the years. I recently relearned it for example because of Obama being the first black president, so I would have been reading articles about other presidential "firsts" or "unusual facts" (like Gerald Ford never being elected to the office of VP or President but succeeded via Constitutional process, or GWB not being truly elected in 2000, oops this isn't TNZ, forget I said that last one )

And then there was the President whose Sister was First Lady... I should know who it was, but can't think of him off the top of my head. As for GWB, there was a similar electoral crisis in 1800.

 

[Snaploud]

I think it's one of those factoids that may seem interesting at first glance, but relatively unimportant in the long run. Personally, I think I've learned and forgotten and re-learned this particular one a couple of times over the years. I recently relearned it for example because of Obama being the first black president, so I would have been reading articles about other presidential "firsts" or "unusual facts" (like Gerald Ford never being elected to the office of VP or President but succeeded via Constitutional process, or GWB not being truly elected in 2000, oops this isn't TNZ, forget I said that last one )

And then there was the President whose Sister was First Lady... I should know who it was, but can't think of him off the top of my head. As for GWB, there was a similar electoral crisis in 1800.

The fun ones (read: popular vote/electoral college craziness) were in 1824, 1876, and 1888.

 

[Captain Ice]

I think it's one of those factoids that may seem interesting at first glance, but relatively unimportant in the long run. Personally, I think I've learned and forgotten and re-learned this particular one a couple of times over the years. I recently relearned it for example because of Obama being the first black president, so I would have been reading articles about other presidential "firsts" or "unusual facts" (like Gerald Ford never being elected to the office of VP or President but succeeded via Constitutional process, or GWB not being truly elected in 2000, oops this isn't TNZ, forget I said that last one )

And then there was the President whose Sister was First Lady... I should know who it was, but can't think of him off the top of my head. As for GWB, there was a similar electoral crisis in 1800.

Again, Mr. Cleveland. He is also the only president to get married in the White House.

 

[RJDiogenes]

^^ There you go. He was a pretty interesting guy when you think about it. Actually, as I think about it some more, there were other Presidents who had First Ladies who were not their wives, including the very obvious Thomas Jefferson.

 

[Dorian Thompson]

James Buchanan was the only one who never got married. Woodrow Wilson was the only one who was widowed and then remarried while in the White House. Met the 2nd Mrs. Wilson a year after the first Mrs. Wilson passed. Six months of courtship, then remarriage. The press today would have gone ape shit over that.

 

[RJDiogenes]

Presidents were more interesting in the past. The system we have now just leaves us with generic figureheads.