Did you know?
100 years ago
January 30, 1907
The Carnegie Tech debate club held a meeting to discuss the 1908 presidential election. With a vote of nine “ayes” against 10 “nays”, President Roosevelt was given the recommendation to not run again for office. Looking at the history books, turns out he listened. What’s not in the history books, however, is that Roosevelt based his decision on the Carnegie Mellon debate club's vote.
50 years ago
January 15, 1957
While the idea of a smoking ban may rear its head in modern times, nothing could be further from the truth in 1957. In a Camel ad, Marguerite Higgins, foreign correspondent and Pulitzer Prize winner, is seen on an airplane puffing away. To her, “the most important thing in a cigarette is flavor." Nowadays, the most important thing in a cigarette is keeping it 30 feet away from a building.
25 years ago
January 26, 1982
The security office posted an article about the huge amount of lost electronics that had accumulated over the years. Apparently, every year the stash of found gadgets kept growing and growing. While the security office took this as a distressing situation, eventually a solution was discovered: make the Gates Building using scrap calculator parts. Well, that and a few million dollars.
10 years ago
January 27, 1997
Michael Sperger, a junior professional writing major, thought up the greatest idea in the history of Carnegie Mellon: He proposed cluster hammocks. Computing needs are taken care of in computing clusters, he argued, but the relaxation needs of the student populace were being ignored. Clusters would be equipped with hammocks, pillows, and alarm clocks. Ambient music would soothe those with aching minds. Unfortunately, this idea fell upon deaf ears, as the lazy are underrepresented due to their… well, laziness.
5 years ago
January 28, 2002
A group of students found a way to the top of Woodlawn Apartments. Atop the roof, they became bored and started throwing snowballs at pedestrians below. Some of them weren’t so happy about this and called the police to settle the issue. While they could have pressed a charge of aggravated snowball assault, the officers were lenient and simply issued the offenders a citation for trespassing.
1 year ago
February 6, 2006
Pittsburgh was burning! A riot ensued in Oakland following the “Stillers’ ” Super Bowl XL success. Vehicles were flipped over and set on fire, mobs of students dangled from lampposts bedecked in black and gold, and traffic signs were uprooted despite the extra police stationed to help control the area. Steeler fans didn’t have the opportunity to break out their terrible towels this weekend; as the Indianapolis Colts reigned victorious over the Chicago Bears. But, dang I missed seeing the intentionally ignited sofa and hordes of celebrating Carnegie Mellon students who were finally enticed out of their rooms for the infamous evening!