Why do they do this to me?

Sitting in an executive meeting last week, one of the members asked another member if anyone had ever stumped him (he writes a newspaper article where people send in questions and he finds answers for them). He said "yes" and that he had one about "what is the name of Lincoln's chair that he sits on at the Lincoln Memorial?" and that he hadn't been able to find an answer.

Oh man, you know that doomed me to hours of Googling this weekend looking for the answer and so I have now come up with this quiz for you about the LM to see how much you know...

1. How many steps from the Mall floor to the top of the LM?

2. What is carved into the front of the seat of Lincoln?

3. What letters do his hands make (deaf alphabet)?

4. Who carved it?

5. What is written on the 36 pillars surrounding the monument?

Yeah, easy questions I'm sure but #2 I find the most interesting. The artist carved fasces, or Roman beating sticks tied into a bundle, for the front of the seat. I guess that is appropriate as Abe violated the Constitution more than any other president including forcing people to vote or holding Congress hostage until they passed a bill. So on a day to honor him I think we should all wear top hats, grow beards, and offer to buy a whole race of people and send them off to another country to ease tensions between the North and the South. (You know they actually offered this option to Jefferson Davis but it fell through because a) the South thought $800 per person was too cheap and b) Frederick Douglas opposed the proposal on the grounds they were Americans too. Fortunately the proposal fell through but unfortunately it would take another 100 years for full rights to be obtained.)

I hope you all had a fine Presidents' Day!