A Very Tricky Richard Nixon Trivia Quiz

Could you pass a quiz?

Question: How big a pencil-neck trivia geek are you?

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: The Richard “I am not a crook” Nixon Memorial 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) __ In 1937, Richard Nixon applied to become a FBI special agent, but was turned down because he didn’t pass his mental health evaluation and failed his weapons acuity test, not hitting the target once.

2) __ During the 1968 Presidential election, Nixon made a cameo appearance on the popular television comedy show, “Laugh-In.” His four-second cameo consisted of him saying “Sock it … to me?”, a variation on one of the show’s taglines. Some say that the appearance humanized him, thus helping him win the election.

3) __ During 1973’s Super Bowl VII, President Richard Nixon called his friend, Washington Redskins coach George Allen, in mid-game to recommend a pass play, a reverse to the wide receiver. Allen took the President’s advice and the play resulted in a 13-yard loss for the Redskins. Some sports pundits say that it was this bumbled play that caused Washington to lose against the San Francisco 49ers.

4) __ Former President Richard Nixon served as an adviser to President Bill Clinton, in particular offering advice on dealing with the Russians. Clinton was the first President to ask Nixon for advice post-Watergate. Also, Clinton was first to invite the ex-President back to the White House.

5) __ “Barnaby Jones” was a seventies television detective series starring Buddy Ebsen. Richard Nixon was a member of the “Barnaby Jones” fan club. In 1985, he made a guest appearance at a fan club lunch honoring 77-year-old actor Buddy Ebsen.

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Here are the answers for the The Richard “I am not a crook” Nixon Memorial Quiz

Answers:

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

1) TF: This anecdote is both true and false. It’s true that, in 1937, Richard Nixon applied to become a FBI special agent. It’s false that he was turned down because he didn’t pass his mental health evaluation and failed his weapons acuity test.

When he became Vice President, Nixon asked FBI director J. Edgar Hoover what happened to his FBI application. Hoover, of course, didn’t know, but he did go back to headquarters and actually found Nixon’s application from almost twenty years earlier.

In 1969, Hoover made then-President Richard Nixon an honorary FBI member.

2) T: It’s true that Nixon made a cameo appearance on “Laugh-In” and said, “Sock it … to me?” His opponent, former Vice President Hubert Humphrey, wanted to make his own “Laugh-In” response: “I’ll sock it to you, Dick.” His campaign manager, however, advised him against it. Humphrey believed to the end that it was Nixon’s “Laugh-In” appearance that helped him win the election.

3) TF: It’s false that Nixon called in the play during Super Bowl VII. It’s true that the President called in a play to Washington Redskins coach George Allen during a 1971 playoff game with the 49ers. It’s also true that Nixon’s play resulted in a 13-yard loss for the Redskins.

4) T: It’s true that Richard Nixon served as an adviser to President Bill Clinton on Russian matters. It’s also true that Clinton was first President to invite Nixon back to the White House.

5) T: Amazing, but true. Richard Nixon was a member of the “Barnaby Jones” fan club, and even made a guest appearance at a fan club lunch.

SOURCES:

http://foia.fbi.gov/foiaindex/nixon_richard_fbi_application.htm

http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=2076

“Stooping to Conquer”, Elizabeth Kolbert, New Yorker, URL: (http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2004/04/19/040419fa_fact1)

“Nixon’s tricks not in NFL playbook”, Jennifer Allen, ESPN, URL: (http://espn.go.com/page2/wash/s/allen/020308.html)

http://imdb.com/name/nm0633271/bio

“Buddy Ebsen vistis fan club”, Judy Klemesrud, New York Times, URL: (http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F30A11F93E5F0C778DDDAC0894DD484D81&n;=Top%2fReference%2fTimes%20Topics%2fPeople%2fN%2fNixon%2c%20Richard%20Milhous)