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International students researching their prospective universities oftentimes stumble across facts that are unbelievable. For those of you who hold a deep admiration for historical facts about universities in the world, we’ve put together some of the most interesting facts on world famous universities.
1. A Princeton University flag was once planted on the Moon.
Interesting facts about universities: Princeton graduate Charles “Pete” Conrad was the third man to walk on the moon in November of 1969, and the first man to carry a Princeton flag on its surface.
2. Malcolm X, Mahatma Gandhi and Muhammad Ali gave speeches at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), one of the most famous universities in the world.
Interesting facts about universities: In November of 1931, Mahatma Gandhi gave a speech at the university’s Old Theatre. Malcolm X delivered a speech on 18th February 1965 and in October of 1971 boxing legend Muhammed Ali gave a speech to an audience of LSE students about boxing, Black Power and politics.
3. Yale was the first university in the US to have a mascot.
Interesting facts about universities: Check out Handsome Dan, the cutest bulldog you’ll ever see.
4. MIT students can become fully qualified pirates.
Any student at MIT, one of the most famous universities who completes archery, fencing, sailing and pistol (or rifle) classes is eligible to receive a pirate’s license.
5. A Stanford student has won a medal at every Olympics since 1908.
6. The famous statue of John Harvard at Harvard is actually of someone else.
No one actually knew what John Harvard looked like so when it was time for Daniel Chester French to make the statue. He used a friend’s likeness instead.
7. The University of Chicago holds the largest scavenger hunt in the world every year.
This scavenger hunt is an annual four-day event. It includes cryptograms, competitions, build challenges, a 3-course meal, and a 2,000-mile (3,200 km) road trip.
8. Three-quarters of Princeton alumni marry someone else who went to Princeton.
9. Yale’s rare book library could literally kill you.
Yale University, one of the most famous universities has such an incredible library that it has taken extraordinary lengths to look after it. In the event of a fire, the library will fill with a lethal, fire-suppressing gas after 30 seconds. Air is also removed from the library as part of the process, meaning you’ll suffocate to death if you decide to ignore the alarms and carry on working.
10. 92 kilometres of bookshelves at Harvard University.
Harvard University, one of the most famous universities has 79 libraries and 92 kilometres of shelves across ten levels. The main and largest library is known as the Widener Memorial Library. This is one of the most interesting facts on world famous universities.
11. Kansas State University professor’s diet experiment.
In order to prove to his students that calorie counting is the most important part of losing weight, not nutritional content, a Kansas State University professor ate only Twinkies, Oreos, and Doritos.
12. Getting an A but at what cost.
A student from Princeton University, one of the most famous universities in the world successfully designed a nuclear bomb for a term paper. He got an A on the paper, but the FBI took it.
13. There is a library bell at Oxford University, one of the most famous universities in the world that hasn’t stopped ringing for more than 175 years.
14. Iran has the highest female to male ratio in universities among all sovereign nations.
More than 70% of students in engineering and pure sciences are women.
15. The University of Virginia offers a class in Computer Security which is formally called “Defense Against the Dark Arts”.
Stay tuned for more interesting facts on world famous universities.
