It’s hard to stump 4-year-old Eli Ford. Even talk show host Ellen DeGeneres couldn't baffle him.
Eli has been in the spotlight recently after word got out about his uncanny ability to remember the names of all presidents, vice presidents and most of the first ladies.
The Paulding County youngster easily answered questions from DeGeneres on her show earlier this month. He got another chance Wednesday at the Georgia Capitol when Sen. Bill Hamrick, R-Carrollton, recognized the whiz kid with a resolution noting his abilities.
His next turn in the limelight will be a trip to Washington and a tour of the White House led by Congressman Phil Gingrey, R-Ga. DeGeneres offered Eli and his parents, Brandon and Stephanie Ford, the trip after he finished his segment on her show.
“Of course he’d love to meet President Obama,” his mother said. “He’s so passionate about this.”
The Fords said their son enjoyed the trip to California and showing DeGeneres what he knows. Wearing a suit, striped tie and sneakers, Eli appeared unfazed as he clicked his feet together after each question.
DeGeneres quizzed Eli on presidential trivia and asked him to identify pictures of presidents from Rutherford B. Hayes to Barrack Obama. William Henry Harrison was the ninth president and Chester A. Arthur was the 21st, he answered correctly. The name of George Washington’s dog was Sweet Lips. William Howard Taft was the president who got stuck in the White House bath tub.
“Why was that?” DeGeneres asked.
“He was really big,” he replied.
Eli started spouting presidential trivia as a 2-year-old after his grandmother gave him a table place mat decorated with pictures of presidents. Before long, he knew the name and number of each president from No. 1 to No. 44.
“His dad and I thought it was funny at first,” Stephanie Ford said. “We didn't press him, but he kept asking questions.”
The boy, who turned 4 two weeks after the Sept.1 cut off for pre-school, attends a mother’s morning out program at County Line United Methodist Church in Acworth. He also has a younger sister Tessa.
His mother said her son gets his information from books she reads to him and from the History Channel’s series on the presidents. He’s also visited the Hall of Presidents at the Booth Museum in Cartersville six times. Many of his Christmas presents this year were games and books with a presidential theme.
“When he plays hide-and-seek, he names the presidents instead of counting,” his mother said. “It’s easy to forget he’s only 4.”
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