# Do people know about Grover Cleveland's nonconsecutive-ness? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 16, 2006, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-know-about-grover-clevelands-nonconsecutive-ness/352861 "2006-04-16T06:02:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2006, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-know-about-grover-clevelands-nonconsecutive-ness/352861/21 "2006-04-17T06:06:13Z")
My favorite radio show, _Says You!_, lets listeners submit questions. One of their recurring categories is Odd Man Out; from a list of four, you have to figure out what three of them have in common that the fourth one doesn’t. I submitted this. Who’s the odd man out of: George Lazenby Pope Pius XII Hugh Downs Benjamin Harrison They didn’t use the question, but, yeah, I knew about Cleveland. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2006, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-know-about-grover-clevelands-nonconsecutive-ness/352861/22 "2006-04-17T14:02:35Z")
> [@Mayo Speaks!](#): > > I pointed out that although GWB is indeed the 43rd president, he’s only the 42nd seperate man to hold the office, since Grover Cleveland was both the 22nd and 24th president. I must admit I’ve never understood this formulation. Not about GC serving non-consecutively; that part I get. And I know he held the 22nd and 24th _presidencies_. But I fail to see how that makes him **two presidents.** People always said Reagan was the 40th _president_, and so on, up to GWB being the 43rd president. But those counts only hold true if Grover Cleveland was two separate presidents, which I kind of doubt, the evidence from _Futurama_ aside. If we’re counting his _terms_, well, why wasn’t Franklin Roosevelt FOUR presidents? The count would be way over 43 by now if we counted terms. I do understand trhat people are trying to assign some kind of added significance to Cleveland’s nonconsecutive terms. But GWB is **not** the 43rd person to hold the office just because Cleveland held it twice and we’re not counting everyone else’s second terms (or third, or fourth, in the case of FDR). And since the definition of “president” is “person who holds that particular office”, seems like GWB must be counted as the 42nd president, Reagan as 39th, sorry Reagan fans (when he was elected there was much chest-thumping over the round number of 40), and Cleveland as “the 22nd president, whose second term came at a later time than usual through interesting circumstances, but who remains one human being and the 22nd to hold that office”. Sailboat ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2006, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-know-about-grover-clevelands-nonconsecutive-ness/352861/23 "2006-04-17T18:34:03Z")
All I remember is how the Republicans taunted _Ma, ma! Where’s my pa? Gone to the White House, ha ha ha!_ After winning the election, the Democrats retorted, _Hurrah for Maria, hurrah for the kid. We voted for Grover and we’re d——n glad we did._ This was in such a prudish era that Thomas Hardy wrote “the Wh—re of Babylon.” ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2006, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-know-about-grover-clevelands-nonconsecutive-ness/352861/24 "2006-04-17T18:38:34Z")
> [@glee](#): > > Now do you non-Brits know about our Monarchs and Prime Ministers?! History Channel. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2006, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-know-about-grover-clevelands-nonconsecutive-ness/352861/25 "2006-04-17T18:41:21Z")
I know about the non-consecutiveness, but I remember Grover Cleveland mainly because his name is a Muppet and a city in Ohio. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2006, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-know-about-grover-clevelands-nonconsecutive-ness/352861/26 "2006-04-17T18:52:53Z")
> [@Robot Arm](#): > > My favorite radio show, _Says You!_, lets listeners submit questions. One of their recurring categories is Odd Man Out; from a list of four, you have to figure out what three of them have in common that the fourth one doesn’t. > > I submitted this. > > Who’s the odd man out of: > > George Lazenby > Pope Pius XII > Hugh Downs > Benjamin Harrison > > They didn’t use the question, but, yeah, I knew about Cleveland. Okay, now please give us the _answer_. I know too little about who preceeded and succeeded Hugh Downs. ---
**Author:** ![saoirse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@saoirse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saoirse)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2006, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-know-about-grover-clevelands-nonconsecutive-ness/352861/27 "2006-04-17T19:23:41Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > All I remember is how the Republicans taunted > _Ma, ma! Where’s my pa? > Gone to the White House, ha ha ha!_ > > After winning the election, the Democrats retorted, > _Hurrah for Maria, hurrah for the kid. > We voted for Grover and we’re d——n glad we did._ > > This was in such a prudish era that Thomas Hardy wrote “the Wh—re of Babylon.” No, no no. The correct response was: Blaine, Blaine James G Blaine A continental liar from the State of Maine! By the way, my favorite piece of Cleveland trivia is that Frances Folsom, the futrure Mrs Cleveland was living across the street from my ex-Brother-in-Law’s house just before she moved to the White House. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2006, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-know-about-grover-clevelands-nonconsecutive-ness/352861/28 "2006-04-17T19:37:54Z")
I agree with **Sailboat**. It makes absolutely no sense to call George W. Bush the 43rd president. ---
**Author:** ![Homebrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Homebrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homebrew)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2006, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-know-about-grover-clevelands-nonconsecutive-ness/352861/29 "2006-04-17T19:48:37Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > All I remember is how the Republicans taunted … You \*remember \*it? Wow, I didn’t know you were _that_ old. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2006, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-know-about-grover-clevelands-nonconsecutive-ness/352861/30 "2006-04-17T19:58:28Z")
> [@Smeghead](#): > > I’d say it’s probably one of those semi-common trivia facts that a lot of people know. Grover Cleveland and his non-consecutive presidancy was the subject of at least one Final Jeopardy. The only one I ever got before the answer was revealed. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2006, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-know-about-grover-clevelands-nonconsecutive-ness/352861/31 "2006-04-17T20:36:40Z")
> [@Skammer](#): > > Okay, now please give us the _answer_. I know too little about who preceeded and succeeded Hugh Downs. How do you know the odd man out wasn’t Pius XII? [spoiler]In 1960, Hugh Downs was the announcer for the _Tonight Show_. In a famous incident, Jack Paar (the host) criticized NBC for censoring a joke of his and walked off the show, leaving Downs to take over. He said there had to be a better way to make a living than to be the center of such controversies. A month later he came back, saying he’d looked and there wasn’t. As near as I can find out, Downs was the host all that time. George Lazenby, Hugh Downs and Benjamin Harrison all had jobs where they replaced, and were then replaced by, the same person. I don’t have to explain about Lazenby, do I?[/spoiler] ---
**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2006, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-know-about-grover-clevelands-nonconsecutive-ness/352861/32 "2006-04-17T22:03:13Z")
Yep, I learned about it in 1968 [here](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0063389/) . ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2006, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-know-about-grover-clevelands-nonconsecutive-ness/352861/33 "2006-04-17T22:32:29Z")
> [@glee](#): > > Now do you non-Brits know about our Monarchs and Prime Ministers?! Well, there is the oddity of the two Kings of England who served non-consecutive terms (Henry VI and Edward IV). ---
**Author:** ![scotandrsn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a4c791/32.png) [@scotandrsn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scotandrsn)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2006, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-know-about-grover-clevelands-nonconsecutive-ness/352861/34 "2006-04-17T22:45:41Z")
> [@saoirse](#): > > No, no no. The correct response was: > > Blaine, Blaine > James G Blaine > A continental liar from the State of Maine! > > By the way, my favorite piece of Cleveland trivia is that Frances Folsom, the futrure Mrs Cleveland was living across the street from my ex-Brother-in-Law’s house just before she moved to the White House. The way I heard it in high school history class was as simultaneously published campaign taunts: The Democrats had “Blaine, Blaine, James G. Blaine, the Continental Liar from the state of Maine!” The Republicans had “Ma, Ma, Where’s My Pa?” all by itself. Post-election, the Democrats added, “He’s in the White House, Ha Ha Ha!” The other thing to remember about Cleveland is that he was the only democrat to hold the seat between Johnson (left office 1869) and Wilson (took office 1913) ---
**Author:** ![scotandrsn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a4c791/32.png) [@scotandrsn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scotandrsn)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2006, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-know-about-grover-clevelands-nonconsecutive-ness/352861/35 "2006-04-17T22:49:54Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > I agree with **Sailboat**. It makes absolutely no sense to call George W. Bush the 43rd president. To properly amend it, I suppose we would have to say that GWB heads the 43d presidential administration, Cleveland having overseen two by virtue of haveing headed it twice, non-consecutively. So we’ve had 42 men oversee 43 administrations that span 55 4-year terms. ---
**Author:** ![saoirse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@saoirse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saoirse)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2006, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-know-about-grover-clevelands-nonconsecutive-ness/352861/36 "2006-04-18T13:32:22Z")
Also that he was the first candidate to receive a plurality of the popular vote three consecutive times. ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2006, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-know-about-grover-clevelands-nonconsecutive-ness/352861/37 "2006-04-18T14:35:30Z")
There was a bill passed recently authorizing a set of $1 coins with presidential faces on them (4 a year for 10 years; unless someone dies in the interrim). It was stipulated that there will be 2 Cleveland coins. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2006, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-know-about-grover-clevelands-nonconsecutive-ness/352861/38 "2006-04-18T16:52:16Z")
> [@ZebraShaSha](#): > > That’s Freaking Cool, I never realized how crazy it was to claim a VP signed in before a President as the actual President. > > Mea culpa! Why does the VP get sworn in before the POTUS anyway? ---
**Author:** ![Petey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f1d935/32.png) [@Petey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Petey)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2006, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-know-about-grover-clevelands-nonconsecutive-ness/352861/39 "2006-04-18T19:00:42Z")
> [@BwanaBob](#): > > There was a bill passed recently authorizing a set of $1 coins with presidential faces on them (4 a year for 10 years; unless someone dies in the interrim). It was stipulated that there will be 2 Cleveland coins. Interestingly, in 1933 after FDR’s inauguration, the mint issued a coin declaring him the 31st president. That should have settled it, but no, he is regarded as the 32nd president. > [@alphaboi867](#): > > Why does the VP get sworn in before the POTUS anyway? Probably because the presidential inauguration is the main event. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2006, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-know-about-grover-clevelands-nonconsecutive-ness/352861/40 "2006-04-18T19:31:16Z")
When I think of **Grover Cleveland** I think immediately of **Bathtubs**. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-know-about-grover-clevelands-nonconsecutive-ness/352861.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-people-know-about-grover-clevelands-nonconsecutive-ness/352861.md?page=3)