Written by Will Lewis

The Obama Administration borrowed a tactic from history and fiction Wednesday and implemented the first ever virtual Big Block of Cheese Day.

The White House has employed dozens of staffers to answer questions online from people around the country. The program is associated with the Twitter signs #AsktheWH and #BigBlockOfCheeseDay, and will also span across Google+ and Facebook.

“President Obama has always been dedicated to the idea that the White House is truly ‘The People’s House’ and has worked to make 1600 Pennsylvania and his administration open and accessible,” Erin Lindsay said in a White House blog post.

Staffers ranging from White House Press Secretary Jay Carney to Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx will be answering questions live throughout the day.

The move comes in a series of transitions toward integrating the executive branch with social media. Over the past week, the Obama administration has attempted to make the State of the Union address a trending topic on both Twitter and Instagram. The administration has even begun using a “Social Hub” page where all the feeds from all White House accounts are compiled onto one page on the White House website.

The tactic, which was made popular by the ‘90s drama “The West Wing,” was first used by President Andrew Jackson in 1837. The late president brought in a 4 feet by 2 feet thick wheel of cheese into the White House and invited all citizens to join him and other high-ranking officials for a day of questions and mingling.

In “The West Wing,” fictional President Josiah Bartlett took a more idealistic approach towards the idea. Bartlett invited in leaders of organizations who would not normally have access to the prestigious presidential office.

Fact being just as strange as fiction, Bartlett, or fictional Bartlett’s twitter account, joined in on the questioning. He asked questions focusing on the Administration’s plans to fight inflations and the problem of rising inflation.