August 2007

Building trivia

Question: Upon groundbreaking in 1950, how many stories tall was the Mayo Memorial Building to be?

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Answer: Twenty-two stories. Unfortunately, due to increased costs for building materials during the Korean War and the lack of additional state funding, the building plans went under several revisions during construction. The final result was the fourteen-story building dedicated on October 21 & 22, 1954. See the architectural rendition of the proposed building below.

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Drinking, smoking & graduating

img0034.jpgWhat does your yearbook say about you? A former University of Minnesota yearbook The Gopher approached the sentimentality surrounding graduation and the passing on of traditions in a less than serious manner.

For example, below are a few selections describing students in the School of Dentistry from 1908.

Name: Colie
Occupation: Answering roll call
Drink: Hops

Name: Mitt
Occupation: Collecting matches
Drink: Hoods Sarsaparilla

Name: Sandy
Occupation: Forgetting
Drink: Hot Scotch

The College of Pharmacy students graduating that same year did not fare much better.

Dretchko, A. L. So little is known concerning him that perhaps the less said about him the better.

Earl, Fred, W. Fred cares about as much for Botany as bacteria for a dead clam.

Erchenbrack, Earl S. His September modesty is now a thing of the past. Why, he even learned how to smoke!

Similar remarks (and more) are available on today’s students’ Facebook or MySpace pages. The difference is today’s employers are more likely to stumble across the comments via Google.