Q 01/05

What everyday item did homeless Americans of the Great Depression sleep under and nickname a 'Hoover blanket'?

A) Flour sacks

B) Old newspapers

C) Army greatcoats

D) Canvas sails

Answer · why

B) Old newspapers

Old newspapers were the 'Hoover blanket' of the 1930s, layered over people sleeping rough. The joke pinned the hardship on the president, exactly as t...

Q 02/05

In Depression-era slang, a 'Hoover flag' was which sign of being broke, shown off by turning it inside out?

A) A worn-out sock

B) A patched coat lining

C) A threadbare glove

D) An empty pocket

Answer · why

D) An empty pocket

An empty pocket pulled out for all to see was a 'Hoover flag', flown to show there was nothing in it. Hoover's critics coined a string of such jabs as...

Q 03/05

Which Mississippi River city had America's largest Hooverville, with districts named Happyland and Merryland?

A) St. Louis

B) Memphis

C) New Orleans

D) Minneapolis

Answer · why

A) St. Louis

St. Louis had the country's biggest Hooverville, home to several thousand people on the riverbank. It flooded three times, and each time the residents...

Q 04/05

New York's best-known Hooverville, nicknamed 'Hoover Valley', filled a drained reservoir in which Manhattan landmark?

A) Morningside Park

B) Battery Park

C) Central Park

D) Fort Tryon Park

Answer · why

C) Central Park

Central Park housed 'Hoover Valley' in the dry bed of its old Croton reservoir. Once the squatters had gone, the site was planted with grass and becam...

Q 05/05

Which general, later famous in the Pacific, led the troops that drove the Bonus Army out of its Hooverville?

A) Jonathan Wainwright

B) Douglas MacArthur

C) John J. Pershing

D) Omar Bradley

Answer · why

B) Douglas MacArthur

Douglas MacArthur sent infantry, cavalry and tanks against the veterans, whose shelters burned. The Army had been called in after a clash with police ...