8 Fun Facts About Stanford University

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Stanford is just amazing in every way. It is the academic home of 22 live Nobel Laureates, five Pulitzer Prize winners, and three Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients. Right as you step into Stanford, you will be able to feel a different level of smarts, a city full of young ambitious students working hard to build their careers. However, with all this seriousness comes a need for some fun and exciting things to do in Stanford. So let’s lighten up the mood with these fun facts about Stanford.

1. Fountain Hopping

Stanford/UC has a very long history behind it. It was founded as the Leland Stanford Junior University back in 1885 by Jane and Leland Stanford in memory of their child who died at the very young age of 15. They had a lingering desire to create a place where other people’s children could thrive and bloom, to receive the finest education possible in one of the state’s best private colleges. Putting their wealth to use, they created the school, little did they know it would grow to become one of the world’s most prestigious universities.

With such a long past, come interesting traditions and practices. It is one of the Stanford fun facts that the university has a history with Fountain Hopping. It is as straightforward as the name suggests, students hop in every fountain found around the campus of Stanford. This is an activity practiced by most freshmen during the New Student Orientation and Admit Weekend. A splashing introduction to their new lives at one of the most incredible campuses in California. 

2. The Stanford Mascot

If you thought life as a student at Stanford would be nothing but studying and learning, that is only half the truth. The university is home to a multitude of fun activities and traditions for students to partake in, and to remember to enjoy their youth even through all the academic requirements. The Stanford Mascot is an ideal example of the playful moments you can find in this outstanding college town. The unofficial name of the mascot is the Stanford Tree, and as the responsibility of the Tree is in high demand, the process of choosing a student is quite intricate indeed.  The Mascot’s theme changes every year, as the tree costume is recreated every year with different touches added to it.

3. Founders of Google

There are a lot of famous Stanford alumni that have revolutionized specific aspects of our daily lives, and Larry Page and Sergey Brin are two of them. As the co-founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin have affected how we navigate the internet, what was otherwise left for the libraries and physical books, can now be found digitally. We now have access to an infinite amount of knowledge, whether it be in the form of a smartphone, computer, or any digital device, Google has become a vital part of our modern lives. Page and Brin received the Marconi Prize for their extraordinary feats in the field of online communication Stanford alumni are a testament to the outstanding education students receive in this university.

4. Legally Blonde

When we watched Legally Blonde, we all felt a little intimidated by the environment that the law students were in. One of the most fun facts about Stanford University is that Amanda Brown wrote the Legally Blonde novel; it was based on the law students she observed on campus when she was studying at the university herself. It is an interesting take on how life at the campus of Stanford takes place. 

5. The Stanford Red Barn

Another Stanford fact is that before becoming the world-renowned prestigious school of today, Stanford was called “The Farm.” Why the Farm? Well, only because it was formerly a great racehorse breeding farm. The Victorian Red Barn, constructed between 1878 and 1880 as the Stock Farm's training stable, is one of the two structures that have survived. 

After a tumultuous life, the Red Barn was renovated with the return of Stanford University’s management. It was reopened as the Stanford Red Equestrian Center in 2006. The center is also open to the public, $10 for the general public and $5 for students and children under 11.

6. Outstanding Athletes of Stanford

Did you know that Stanford students have won medals in every Olympic game since 1908? The sports teams at Stanford have produced some amazing athletes, upholding the reputation of their school and inspiring future generations to achieve just as many feats. 

Stanford athletes have earned a total of 244 medals, 129 of them being gold. And during the 2008 Beijing games, collected more Olympic medals than any other university in the United States. This is quite an achievement and one that has certainly not been overlooked by the world.

7. The Hidden Tunnel System 

Stanford being as old as it is, it comes as no surprise that there might be things left over from the late 19th century. The underground tunnel system is among them, built way back in 1881. The subterranean system was to take the saturated steam and pump it to over 200 campuses and medical center buildings. This means the tunnels are connected to all campuses, and today has been turned into a sort of dare challenge among the student body. 

While it is not recommended to go down venturing into these underground tunnels, some students still decide it is worth the danger and brave the eerie underground system.

8. Stanford Alumni 

Stanford is one of the most researched universities in the world. This is to be expected, as most of the students that graduate from the university return to it for more advanced studies and research. Stanford University produces some of the most well-seasoned graduates in the world. An estimation has been made, stating that alumni have created 39,000 companies since the 1930s. Fun fact, if you were to collect all these companies and create an independent country with them, it would constitute the world’s 10th largest economy. Some of the most successful companies include Nike, Gap, Yahoo! And Instagram.