Category: Brain Teasers

Trivia: Who utilizes the tradition of unlimited debate called a “filibuster”?

House Representatives
Senators
Speaker of the House
Any member of Congress

The correct answer is Senators

So why is this answer correct? : Senators use a tactic referred to as a “filibuster” to delay legislation from being voted on. They do this by taking the floor and speaking, sometimes for hours on end, to delay the vote long enough to prevent a decision. The longest filibuster in history lasted for 24 hours and 18 minutes when South Carolina Senator Strom Thurmond spoke against the Civil Rights Act of 1957. This tradition of unlimited debate within the Senate has been around since its inception. A filibuster can be ended by a three-fifths vote (60 out of 100 senators) in a procedure known as a “cloture.”

Trivia: Who picks the President if the Electoral College ties?

House
Senate
Majority leaders
Speaker of the House

The correct answer is House

So why is this answer correct? : Per Article II of the Constitution, if the Electoral College somehow ends in a tie (it hasn’t in 200 years) the House has the power to name the next President. This decision was made because the House most closely represents the nation as a whole. The House has exercised this power twice in the history of the United States. The first time was in 1800 when Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr tied and the House appointed Jefferson. The second time occurred in 1824 when the House named John Quincy Adams President despite Andrew Jackson winning the popular vote.

Trivia: How long did Alexander Hamilton want Senate terms to be?

One year
Six years
Twenty years
Lifelong

The correct answer is Lifelong

So why is this answer correct? : The highly influential founding father Alexander Hamilton had his own ideas for how long senators should serve. He believed that lifetime terms would hamper the “amazing violence and turbulence of the democratic spirit,” which would keep bad behavior in check. He and his peers (the writers of the Constitution) had many disagreements about this, but they ended up compromising with a term of six years, a rule that still stands today.

Trivia: Since 1909, Congress has used what unique form of transit at the Capitol?

Glass elevators
Subway
Moving walkways
Scooters

The correct answer is Subway

So why is this answer correct? : Washington, D.C., is well known for its Metro transit system, but not everyone knows Congress has its own private version. Members of Congress and their staff use a private subway line to quickly travel from nearby Senate and House office buildings to the Capitol. In 1912, the line’s original Studebaker cars were replaced by a monorail vehicle with a wicker coach, and in 1993 that system was replaced by an automatic train.

Trivia: The first foreign dignitary to address Congress was from which nation?

France
India
Portugal
Mexico

The correct answer is France

So why is this answer correct? : The honor of the first foreign dignitary to address Congress went to the Marquis de Lafayette, the Revolutionary War veteran who returned to the U.S. in 1824 and received a hero’s welcome. Though it’s now common for visiting officials to address Congress in a joint session, Lafayette actually met with both chambers separately.

Trivia: Who was the first President to have a veto overridden by Congress?

Abraham Lincoln
Bill Clinton
John Tyler
James Polk

The correct answer is John Tyler

So why is this answer correct? : Written into Article I, section 7 of the Constitution, the presidential veto system is an important dynamic of the balanced government branches envisioned by the Founding Fathers. Since George Washington’s first veto in 1792, Presidents have vetoed over 2,500 bills. In 1845, President John Tyler’s veto of a bill preventing him from authorizing new Coast Guard bases was the first to be overridden by a two-thirds vote of Congress.

Trivia: Which food has been on the menu in Capitol dining halls since 1904?

Bean soup
Chili
Tuna
PB&J sandwiches

The correct answer is Bean soup

So why is this answer correct? : Michigan navy bean soup has been a staple on congressional menus for decades, though the roots of this tasty tradition are murky. Some say Senator Fred Dubois of Idaho passed a resolution keeping the soup on the daily menu while he was chair of the committee responsible for the dining room. Others credit House Speaker Joseph Cannon, who reportedly erupted with rage in 1904 after being told bean soup wasn’t available.

Trivia: In 1968, who became the first Black woman in Congress?

Yvonne Brathwaite Burke
Barbara Jordan
Maxine Waters
Shirley Chisholm

The correct answer is Shirley Chisholm

So why is this answer correct? : Shirley Chisholm’s motto was “Unbought and Unbossed,” and she served the state of New York with that credo for 14 years as a U.S. representative. She was the first Black woman to enter Congress, but not the last. Since her boundary-breaking election, 56 additional Black women have been elected. Chisholm later unsuccessfully ran for President, and in 2015 she was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Trivia: Which congressional position encourages their party to vote together?

Majority leader
Whip
Rider
Speaker of the House

The correct answer is Whip

So why is this answer correct? : The congressional whip position was created in the early 1900s, named for a type of hunting dog responsible for keeping the pack from straying during a chase. Each political party has two whips, one for each chamber of Congress. An important official within their party, whips are responsible for tallying votes, rounding up members for procedural hearings, and standing in for leadership when necessary.

Trivia: Since 1968, there has been a desk on the Senate floor filled with what?

Pencils
Candy
Lapel pins
Loose change

The correct answer is Candy

So why is this answer correct? : Sweets-loving Senator George Murphy was a Hollywood film star who rose to popularity in California’s Republican Party during the 1950s and was elected to Congress in 1965. The senator kept his desk filled with candy and would offer his stash to colleagues. The tradition has continued ever since, with other GOP senators filling the desk over the years.