Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. I actually didn't start out as a desk, you know. One of my first memories seems to be when I was still a ship, the HMS Resolute. I traveled with four other ships in 1850 to try to help find Arctic explorer Sir John Franklin. After returning to England for provisions, a new fleet and new commander set out to search again. I just can't remember why I was abandoned, can you?
2. It felt like I drifted around for years, but I was finally found and sailed to America in 1855. Britain waived all claims to me, so now I was the property of the Americans. Relations weren't so good then between America and Britain, so the Congress and President decided to fix me up and present me as a gift back to Britain. Which President was in office?
3. Well now, I was put back into service for the Royal Navy and I performed happily until it was decided that I would be decommissioned in 1879. I was broken to pieces, but I survived when Queen Victoria requested that some desks be fashioned from the ship's wood. I was formed into a partner's desk with many fine carving details and then re-gifted to America. Which American President was I given to in 1880?
4. President Franklin D. Roosevelt liked using my large surface area to work on. However, what modification he did request?
5. What with Presidents moving in and out and re-decorations and redesigns, sometimes it feels like I've stayed in every room of the White House. Which President, also the first to be broadcast in color, had me moved to the broadcast room?
6. Jackie Kennedy found me under a green cloth in the White House broadcast room. She had me restored (oh, the gloss!) and I was installed in the Oval Office for President John F. Kennedy to use every day. In October 1963, President Kennedy invited a photographer to snap pictures of himself with his son, John Jr., while he was working. The most famous of these was one with President Kennedy reading while John Jr. opened the kneehole door. Can you remember the photographer's name?
7. I remember when President Lyndon B. Johnson first came in the office and sat in the chair here. But, I can't remember why he didn't keep me in this lovely Oval Office, can you?
8. A second modification was requested by President Ronald Reagan. I know nothing ever stays the same, but yeesh! What change did President Reagan request?
9. In 2007 a film was released in which one of my doppelgangers played a significant role. The star of the movie, Nicholas Cage (Ben Gates), was trying to prove that this great-great-grandfather was not involved in the assassination of Lincoln. He didn't find what he was looking for in the hidden compartment, but did at least find a clue which helped him. Will you help me remember which movie?
10. Somebody published a picture of me on the internet! In the picture, the President is sitting back in his chair with his feet propped on top. Which of these Presidents has NOT had a picture taken with his feet on my table top?
Source: Author
mlcmlc
This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor
bloomsby before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.