Quirky education
Which famous university was once the U.S. capital?
Image: Kelly Sikkema
American universities and colleges are among the most renowned in the world, but this doesn’t mean they haven’t developed their own quirks and oddities throughout their history . From legalizing pirates to displaying deceptive statues, these institutions remind us that they are populated by ordinary humans, no matter how smart and talented they may be. Here are some fun facts about prestigious American colleges you might not know about.
1
An official pirate license
If being a pirate was your childhood dream, it's more attainable than you think. The main obstacle? Getting into MIT. Once you’re in, you can get your official pirate license —parchment certificate included— provided that you complete four physical education courses in pistol, archery, sailing, and fencing. However, the school has stated that this certificate does not give a license to engage in piracy or any pirate activities.
2
The lethal library
If you’re a bibliophile attending Yale University, be aware that your love for books might get you killed while on campus. To protect its manuscripts and rare specimens, the Yale Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library is equipped with a fire safety device that, instead of sprinkling water, sucks all the oxygen out of the building . The official stance is that this device is not lethal for humans, but that remains unproven.
3
The Olympian factory
American colleges and universities are known for their rigorous athletic programs, but no one does it like Stanford. Did you know that since 1908, there has been a medalist who attended Stanford in every Summer Olympic Games? With a grand total of 335 medals (162 gold, 93 silver, and 80 bronze), if Stanford were a country of its own, it would rank in the top 20.
4
The deceiving statue
Visitors of Harvard University have most likely come across the famous John Harvard statue on campus. However, this statue is so deceptive that it is dubbed ‘the statue of three lies’. What are these lies? The inscription reads "John Harvard. Founder. 1638". Harvard University, founded in 1636, not 1638. It owes its name to its first benefactor, John Harvard. It was not founded by him, but by the authorities of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Additionally, the man represented in the sculpture is not John Harvard, but a student chosen as a model because there were no surviving portraits of Harvard.
5
The inventors of the open curriculum
The open curriculum has been adopted by many institutions nationwide, but Brown University was the blueprint. During the 1950s, they developed the first interdisciplinary courses to avoid stifling intellectual curiosity. By the 1960s, Brown students pushed for the elimination of the standard general education requirements altogether, an initiative that was resisted but eventually implemented by the administration.
6
The college that was the capital of the U.S.
Before Washington, D.C., was established as the capital of the U.S., several places were temporary capitals, including Philadelphia, New York, and Princeton University in Princeton, NJ. From June to November 1783, the Continental Congress gathered in the college library in Nassau Hall, which made the place the de facto capital of the nation . Among other historical events, the library was where Congress received in 1783 the news of the signing of the Treaty of Paris, which effectively ended the American Revolutionary War.
7
The inclusion pioneers
The desegregation of education was a key element in the fight for civil rights, and Oberlin College, in Ohio, was a pioneer. In 1835, the college made history by enrolling Black students, decades before other major institutions . Besides this, Oberlin was the first to enroll women in 1833 and to admit them to bachelor's degree programs in 1837.
8
Unable to swim? Unable to graduate
Up until recently, students at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill had to fulfill a strange requirement in order to graduate. They had to pass a mandatory swimming test , consisting of diving in the deep end, swimming 50 yards, and treading water or floating for 5 minutes. During WWII, the university was used as a training center, and the swimming test was mandatory for recruits. Eventually, this requirement became extensive for all students and was not abolished until 2006.
9
Computer science pioneers
A modern university offering a computer science program is nothing strange, unless they’re doing it a mere two decades after the invention of the first modern electronic computer. In 1962, Purdue University in Indiana was the first to establish a department of computer sciences , pioneering academic research in the field. More than 50 years later, Purdue University remains one of the leaders in computer science research.
10
The largest student body
Other institutions might boast about being the oldest or the most sought-after university, but Arizona State University leads the rankings when it comes to enrollment . With nearly 80,000 in-person students across the Phoenix metropolitan area campuses and nearly the same number of online attendees, it surpasses all American institutions in terms of student body size. In comparison, Deep Springs College, in California, sits at the opposite end of the spectrum, with a student body restricted to 26 undergraduates.
