Giles ,'Selfless'
Off-topic discussion. Wanna talk about corsets, duct tape, or physics? This is the place. Detailed discussion of any current-season TV must be whitefonted.
Why is it that I can name, from memory, every single monarch of England in order but can't name all the US Presidents in order?
I can tell you which English kings were deposed, murdered and what royal house they belonged to and if there was a civil war going on during their reign but I can't name very many Vice-Presidents.
If it makes you feel better, I can't do any of that.
Why is it that I can name, from memory, every single monarch of England in order but can't name all the US Presidents in order?
Has someone been playing on sporcle.com?
I've done the presidents and countries and am now teaching myself national flags. I haven't even attempted British or French kings.
If it makes you feel better, I can't do any of that.
Neither can I. There are lots of things like that (well, OK, not the English monarchs to that extent, but...) that I feel like I should know and/or remember but don't. Pretty sure I never had to learn all the Presidents in order, so I never did. I think, "Oh, I should just learn [insert knowledge gap here]." And then I don't do it. Because I'm lay-zee. I think I can still do most of the state capitals, though, so I comfort myself with that. And I know my way around the world map. More or less.
Or maybe I should go visit sporcle.com. Sporcle?
I had to memorize the presidents in order at one point, high school I think, but after the exam I promptly lost that knowledge. Monarchs of anywhere I never knew.
I had to memorize the kings of France at one point. We made up a song. I can't remember it, but I can still recite A Helene by Pierre de Ronsard.
I used to be fascinated with the First Ladies (and sisters, etc., for the unmarried guys). I had a shiny book about them from a childhood trip to D.C. The presidents themselves just never interested me as much.
Oh, did you see the first ladies' dresses at the Smithsonian? Since we lived near DC and my parents were very big on museums, I saw those once a month throughout my childhood.
Oh yeah, saw those. I love trips to D.C.
Or maybe I should go visit sporcle.com. Sporcle?
No idea where the name came from but there are quizzes on all sorts of topics: geography, history, language, TV, etc.
For geography and things like U.S. presidents the maps/lists are blank and if you put in a right answer they fill in where it should go. So you don't have to know the placement/order, but I try to do them in order to teach myself (when you hit "give up" you can see all the answers).