How Much Do You Know About "The White House"?

Answer a series of forehead-slapping anecdotal factoids. It's up to you to weigh each fact in each anecdotal factoid. They're tricky. One might seem like total B.S. until it's revealed to be strangely and disturbingly "True." Another anecdotal factoid might seem to contain all solid and verifiable facts until it's revealed to be yet one more big fat garden variety "Bald-Faced Lie." And here's the trickiest part: an anecdotal factoid might even be "Half-True"; in other words, a mishmosh of truths and bald-faced lies, where you don't know where one ends and the other begins, much like the usual slop served by Madison Avenue, Washington D.C., and the Internet in its entirety.

Category: That Wunnerful White House Quiz

Decide for yourself, and mark "T" for "Truth", "F" for "Bald-Faced Lie" or "TF" for "Half-Truth" in the blank slot next to each factoid.

The answers will be revealed on the next page.

1) __ During World War One, President Woodrow Wilson kept a flock of sheep on the White House lawn to save manpower in the war effort.

2) __ The first White House wasn't in Washington D.C. For sixteen months, starting in 1789, Boston's Faneuil Hall marketplace was converted into the temporary house for the President while the Washington D.C. White House was being built.

3) __ The White House wasn't officially called "The White House" until an executive order by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1901. Before that, the White House was called the Parker House.

4) __ In retaliation for American troops burning down Canada's parliament in 1813, British troops torched the White House in 1814.

5) __ The White House has four kitchens: the main kitchen, the family kitchen, the diet kitchen, and the kosher/halal kitchen. It also has 15 bathrooms, one public restroom, and the original outhouse used during President Andrew Jackson's administration.

6) __ In 1792, a public competition was held to choose a design for the President's house in Washington D.C. One of the entrants was future president Thomas Jefferson, who had designed his own home, Monticello. He used the pseudonym "A.Z." for the competition. His design wasn't chosen.

7) __ After the assassination of President Lincoln, his widow Mary Todd sequestered herself in her bedroom for five weeks. During this period of mourning, many of the White House's furnishings and artwork were looted. When she finally left the White House, critics accused her of stealing government property.

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Here are the answers for That Wunnerful White House Quiz.

Answers:

A reminder: "T" is for "Truth", "F" is for "Bald-Faced Lie" or "TF" is for "Half-Truth".

1) T: It's true that, during World War I, President Woodrow Wilson kept a flock of sheep on the White House lawn to save manpower in the war effort. The Wilson White House also auctioned off the sheep's wool for Red Cross donations.

2) TF: This anecdote is both true and false. It's true that the first White House wasn't in Washington D.C. It's false that Boston's Faneuil Hall marketplace was converted into the temporary house for the President while the Washington D.C. White House was being built. For the first 16 months of his term, George Washington resided in Philadelphia.

3) TF: This anecdote is both true and false. It's true that the White House wasn't officially called "The White House" until an executive order by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1901. It's false that the White House was ever called Parker House. It's, in fact, a Boston restaurant famous for inventing the Boston cream pie.

4) T: It's true that British troops torched the White House in retaliation for American troops burning down Canada's parliament buildings.

5) TF: This anecdote is both true and false. It's true that the White House has a main kitchen, a family kitchen, and a diet kitchen. It's false that it has a kosher/halal kitchen. It's true that the White House has 15 bathrooms and one public restroom. It's false that President Andrew Jackson's original outhouse was ever a part of the historical White House.

6) T: It's true that future president Thomas Jefferson entered his architectural design for the President's house in Washington D.C. under the pseudonym "A.Z."

7) T: It's true that, during Mary Todd Lincoln's five weeks of mourning, many of the White House's furnishings and artwork were looted. It's also true that, when she finally left the White House, she was accused of stealing government property. As a response to her accusers, Mrs. Lincoln gave a complete inventory of every personal item that she was taking with her.

Sources:

http://www.snopes.com/language/colors/whitehouse.asp

http://www.whitehousehistory.org/06/subs/06_b.html

http://www.whitehousehistory.org/06/subs/06_a05.html

http://www.whitehousehistory.org/06/subs/06_a02.html

"White House", B. Philip Bigler, Encyclopedia Britanica, URL: (http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9076827/White-House)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_York