Presidential Trivia

A few nights ago, I went to Chula Vista to listen to the former host of KPBS' A Way with Words give a talk on the newest of his 30 books, Presidential Trivia. The tickets were relatively cheap and the proceeds benefited a theatre which is dear to my heart, so off we went.

I had never seen nor, I think, heard Richard Lederer, as he left the KPBS program before I became a local listener, but I have become a fan of the radio program he helped to create and have always been a fan of presidential trivia, so I bought his book.

As he was signing it, I had an opportunity to speak with the author. I told him I had been interested in his talk mainly because I had been on my high school and collegiate Quiz Bowl teams and had devised a system by which to quickly and easily remember all of the presidents in order.

Now, this was relevant because he'd made a point of illustrating patterns in the presidency, and patterns are exactly the crux of my system. In particular, patterns of three. As simple as this seems to me, however, I have only managed ever to teach one other person this system. Everyone wave to Fawad, wherever he is. Hi, Fawad! Whether my failure to successfully revolutionize the learning-the-Presidents industry suggests a degree of difficulty or merely a notable lack of students, I can't say, but as I went about trying to encapsulate the system for my evening's host, I was met with a raised eyebrow.

Mr. Lederer reached into a nearby bag for a small wallet-like object which held a number of business cards. I wondered for a moment whether he was going to refer to me to A Way with Words, which at one time was looking for a new Puzzle Guru. As it happened, though, the card he handed me had nothing to do with the radio show at all. As he handed me the object, he commented "the way your mind works, you might be interested in this. I just finished my local presidency."

What was the card?

Well....

Now this isn't the first time I've been referred to this Society, and there are several reasons to believe that I would qualify, as my mother has done. However, the cost of testing is $40 and the cost of an annual membership is $52 -- for little more than the privilege to tell people that you're in the top 2% of American minds.

I rather like to think I've done that by having the former president of the local chapter refer me on my first meeting with him.

What can I say? I'm cheap.

Plus, if only the top 2% of American minds can solve the daily puzzles on the Mensa Puzzle-A-Day calendar, I fear for the population.

I leave you with today's offering from The Mensa Puzzle Calendar:

How many common English words can you make from the letters below, using all five letters once in each word? We found six words.

A B E S T