Interesting Facts about Yale

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Most people realize that Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, is an American institution, an educational icon, and one of the oldest universities In the United States.  However, aside from being one of the most renowned universities in the States, what is usually known as a dignified educational institution has had some quirky and unusual happenings around its campus over the years.

Bladderball

Bladderball was a tradition on the Yale campus between 1954 and 1982, revived again in 2009 and 2011.  On the Saturday before Yale-Dartmouth games, a 6-foot inflatable ball is rolled through the campus with various teams fighting to possess it.  In the 1960s, the bladderball actually left the confines of the campus onto the city streets (just out of reach of the police) to the house of Yale’s current president.

For good luck – rub a foot!

Tradition states that if a student rubs the foot of the statue of Theodore Dwight Woolsey, president of Yale from 1846 through 1871, they will have good luck.  While the origins of this tradition are unknown, the toe on the statue is clearly quite worn and golden from years of students taking advantage of some possible good luck.

The Yale Daily is old news – really old news!

The Yale Daily is a paper printed 5 days a week for Yale University.  Printing began on January 28, 1878 and has continued since.  This paper is actually the oldest college daily newspaper still extant.

The first U.S. University for the last degree.

Yale University’s Graduate School of Arts and Sciences was the first school in the United States to ever award a Doctorate in Philosophy, the PhD.  This even took place in 1861.

Don’t tell – it’s a secret!

Yale University is home to a renowned secret society, the Skull and Bones, nicknamed “Bones” with its members being haled as “Bonesmen”.  There remains a great deal of mystery surrounding this society and its members, including how a secret society can remain so well known!

While Yale University remains a quite respectable and sought-after institution, some of its traditions betray that it can also be a fun and interesting one!