future trivia questions

The Many Presidential Firsts of Barack Obama

President Obama’s appearance on the Daily Show this week was not merely a publicity event — it was a historic event. Because as soon as he walked onto Jon Stewart’s set, Obama became the first sitting president ever … to appear on that show.

Now, granted, only two other presidents even had the opportunity to appear on the Daily Show. But so what? When Franklin D. Roosevelt became the first president to appear on television at the 1939 World’s Fair, it was no less historic simply because television had recently been invented. It was a presidential first, and in America, we just like our presidential firsts for some reason. And Obama has been making a lot of them, under the radar. We’re not saying they’re all significant in any way (first president to travel to Pakistan prior to becoming president, for example), but some of them are (first black president, duh). And at the very least, they might be useful in a trivia game someday. So get to know them.

The Many Presidential Firsts of Barack Obama