Presidents & Traditions

40 questions · Answers revealed below each question · Print this set

1.Clint Longley played which position in his 1974 Thanksgiving comeback?
- A. Kicker
- B. Punter
- C. Tight end
- D. Quarterback
Show answer
Quarterback
Did you know? The rookie backup QB steadied Dallas that day.
2.The formal turkey pardon became an annual White House tradition beginning in which year?
- A. 1977
- B. 1981
- C. 1993
- D. 1989
Show answer
1989
Did you know? George H. W. Bush turned the pardon into an annual ritual in 1989.
3.In which year did Canada's Parliament establish an annual national Thanksgiving?
- A. 1901
- B. 1879
- C. 1926
- D. 1867
Show answer
1879
Did you know? Canada set an annual Day of General Thanksgiving in 1879.
4.The term "Black Friday" was coined in the 1950s and 60s by police in which city?
- A. Detroit
- B. New York
- C. Philadelphia
- D. Chicago
Show answer
Philadelphia
Did you know? Philadelphia police coined "Black Friday" for post-Thanksgiving traffic chaos.
5.Which group pressed Roosevelt for the 1939 earlier date?
- A. Retail merchants
- B. Railroads
- C. Farmers
- D. Church leaders
Show answer
Retail merchants
Did you know? Retailers wanted a longer selling season before Christmas.
6.Early-morning limited-quantity Black Friday deals are called what?
- A. Early birds
- B. Nightcrawlers
- C. Doorbusters
- D. Flash freezes
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Doorbusters
Did you know? "Doorbusters" lure shoppers before dawn.
7.In which year did O.J. Simpson set the Thanksgiving rushing record?
- A. 1980
- B. 1969
- C. 1976
- D. 1973
Show answer
1976
Did you know? The 273-yard record fell on Thanksgiving 1976.
8.What were the names of the two turkeys pardoned by Barack Obama in 2016?
- A. Tater and Tot
- B. Beans and Rice
- C. Corn and Cob
- D. Salt and Pepper
Show answer
Tater and Tot
Did you know? Obama pardoned turkeys named Tater and Tot in 2016.
9.Roosevelt's stated aim was to lengthen which season?
- A. The football season
- B. The school year
- C. The Christmas shopping season
- D. The harvest season
Show answer
The Christmas shopping season
Did you know? Moving the date stretched the pre-Christmas shopping window.
10.Black Friday is traditionally viewed as the start of which retail season?
- A. The Christmas shopping season
- B. The back-to-school season
- C. The summer clearance season
- D. The tax season
Show answer
The Christmas shopping season
Did you know? Black Friday traditionally opens the Christmas shopping season.
11.For which team did Randy Moss star in that 1998 Thanksgiving game?
- A. The Tennessee Titans
- B. The New England Patriots
- C. The Oakland Raiders
- D. The Minnesota Vikings
Show answer
The Minnesota Vikings
Did you know? The rookie receiver played for Minnesota in 1998.
12.Which president spontaneously spared a presentation turkey in November 1963, saying "let's keep him going"?
- A. Lyndon Johnson
- B. Richard Nixon
- C. Dwight Eisenhower
- D. John F. Kennedy
Show answer
John F. Kennedy
Did you know? Kennedy reprieved his 1963 turkey days before traveling to Dallas.
13.Which president signed the December 1941 resolution fixing Thanksgiving's date?
- A. Harry Truman
- B. Franklin D. Roosevelt
- C. Calvin Coolidge
- D. Herbert Hoover
Show answer
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Did you know? FDR signed the fourth-Thursday fix on December 26, 1941.
14.Retailers later reframed "Black Friday" as the day stores went into what?
- A. The red, meaning loss
- B. The black, meaning profit
- C. The record books
- D. The fog
Show answer
The black, meaning profit
Did you know? "In the black" accounting made the name sound prosperous.
15.Which team hosted O.J. Simpson's 273-yard Thanksgiving game?
- A. The Houston Oilers
- B. The Oakland Raiders
- C. The New York Jets
- D. The Detroit Lions
Show answer
The Detroit Lions
Did you know? Simpson ran wild at Detroit's Thanksgiving game.
16.The 1939 date change was mocked with which derisive portmanteau?
- A. "Roosevember"
- B. "Turkey Tuesday"
- C. "Franklin's Folly"
- D. "Franksgiving"
Show answer
"Franksgiving"
Did you know? Critics dubbed the two-year experiment "Franksgiving."
17.Which retail trade group's online division coined "Cyber Monday" in 2005?
- A. The Better Business Bureau
- B. Shop.org of the National Retail Federation
- C. The E-Commerce Federation
- D. The Chamber of Commerce
Show answer
Shop.org of the National Retail Federation
Did you know? NRF's Shop.org coined "Cyber Monday" in 2005.
18.What is the notorious Thanksgiving play of 2012 called?
- A. The Fumble Bowl
- B. The Butt Fumble
- C. The Stuffing Slip
- D. The Turkey Trip
Show answer
The Butt Fumble
Did you know? The "Butt Fumble" replays live in infamy.
19.In which year was the term "Cyber Monday" coined?
- A. 1995
- B. 2000
- C. 2010
- D. 2005
Show answer
2005
Did you know? Shop.org coined "Cyber Monday" in 2005.
20.For which team did O.J. Simpson rush for his Thanksgiving record?
- A. The Miami Dolphins
- B. The Denver Broncos
- C. The Buffalo Bills
- D. The San Francisco 49ers
Show answer
The Buffalo Bills
Did you know? Simpson starred for Buffalo in the 1976 classic.
21.In which year did Leon Lett's Thanksgiving blunder happen?
- A. 1993
- B. 2003
- C. 1973
- D. 1983
Show answer
1993
Did you know? Lett's gaffe came in the 1993 snow game.
22.Which outdoors retailer has closed its stores every Black Friday since 2015 under "#OptOutside"?
- A. REI
- B. Cabela's
- C. Bass Pro Shops
- D. Dick's Sporting Goods
Show answer
REI
Did you know? REI closes on Black Friday to send people outdoors.
23.Into which teammate's backside did Sanchez collide in the Butt Fumble?
- A. Brandon Moore
- B. Nick Mangold
- C. D'Brickashaw Ferguson
- D. Tim Tebow
Show answer
Brandon Moore
Did you know? Sanchez hit guard Brandon Moore's rear and lost the ball.
24.In recent years, pardoned turkeys have retired at which historic Virginia estate of George Washington?
- A. Colonial Williamsburg
- B. Mount Vernon
- C. Arlington House
- D. Monticello
Show answer
Mount Vernon
Did you know? Pardoned turkeys have retired to George Washington's Mount Vernon estate.
25.Canada fixed Thanksgiving to its modern October Monday in which year?
- A. 1970
- B. 1957
- C. 1931
- D. 1918
Show answer
1957
Did you know? A 1957 proclamation set Thanksgiving for the second Monday of October.
26.In which year did the fourth-Thursday rule take effect nationwide?
- A. 1945
- B. 1942
- C. 1939
- D. 1941
Show answer
1942
Did you know? The 1941 resolution fixed the fourth Thursday effective November 1942.
27.Which anti-consumerist observance, founded in 1992, falls on the day after Thanksgiving?
- A. Cash-Free Friday
- B. Minimal Monday
- C. Buy Nothing Day
- D. No-Spend Sunday
Show answer
Buy Nothing Day
Did you know? Adbusters launched Buy Nothing Day in 1992.
28.Which Cowboys lineman infamously touched a blocked field goal in the 1993 snow game?
- A. Emmitt Smith
- B. Troy Aikman
- C. Leon Lett
- D. Michael Irvin
Show answer
Leon Lett
Did you know? Lett's touch let Miami recover and win on Thanksgiving.
29.What was the name of the first turkey pardoned by Barack Obama, in 2009?
- A. Popcorn
- B. Courage
- C. Liberty
- D. Tater
Show answer
Courage
Did you know? Obama's first pardoned turkey was named Courage in 2009.
30.In which Dutch city, where the Pilgrims lived before sailing, is a Thanksgiving service held each year?
- A. Rotterdam
- B. Leiden
- C. Delft
- D. Amsterdam
Show answer
Leiden
Did you know? Leiden's Pieterskerk hosts a non-denominational Thanksgiving service.
31.November 1939 famously contained how many Thursdays?
- A. Six
- B. Three
- C. Five
- D. Four
Show answer
Five
Did you know? November 1939 had five Thursdays, making the split possible.
32.Thanksgiving is one of how many annual US federal holidays?
- A. Eleven
- B. Twenty
- C. Four
- D. Six
Show answer
Eleven
Did you know? There are eleven annual federal holidays, Thanksgiving among them.
33.Which Colts quarterback threw six touchdown passes on Thanksgiving 2004?
- A. Peyton Manning
- B. Andrew Luck
- C. Johnny Unitas
- D. Jim Harbaugh
Show answer
Peyton Manning
Did you know? Manning's six-TD day dismantled Detroit in 2004.
34.What did the sign pinned to President Kennedy's 1963 presentation turkey read?
- A. "Happy Holidays, Mr. President"
- B. "Good Eating, Mr. President"
- C. "From the Farmers of America"
- D. "Best Wishes, White House"
Show answer
"Good Eating, Mr. President"
Did you know? The turkey wore a sign reading "Good Eating, Mr. President."
35.Which West African nation founded by freed American slaves celebrates Thanksgiving in November?
- A. Ghana
- B. Sierra Leone
- C. Senegal
- D. Liberia
Show answer
Liberia
Did you know? Liberia keeps a Thanksgiving holiday on the first Thursday of November.
36.Which industry complained loudest as the 1939 split left printed calendars obsolete?
- A. Bookbinders
- B. Calendar makers
- C. Bakers
- D. Barbers
Show answer
Calendar makers
Did you know? Calendar makers faced wasted stock in the "Franksgiving" mess.
37.Which industry celebrates "Green Wednesday", its biggest sales day, the day before Thanksgiving?
- A. The cannabis industry
- B. The seafood industry
- C. The lumber industry
- D. The toy industry
Show answer
The cannabis industry
Did you know? Cannabis retailers call the holiday eve "Green Wednesday".
38.In which year did the National Turkey Federation first present a turkey to President Harry Truman?
- A. 1947
- B. 1923
- C. 1961
- D. 1953
Show answer
1947
Did you know? Truman received the first presentation turkey in 1947, though he ate it.
39.In which month of 1939 did Roosevelt announce the date change?
- A. January
- B. August
- C. November
- D. May
Show answer
August
Did you know? Roosevelt sprung the change in August 1939.
40.Which financial company launched Small Business Saturday in 2010?
- A. Visa
- B. Mastercard
- C. American Express
- D. PayPal
Show answer
American Express
Did you know? American Express created Small Business Saturday in 2010.

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