Out of This World
In 2001, two asteroids were named for UT faculty member Harry “Hap” McSween and former professor Dan Britt, both in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences. Asteroid 1981 EH41 was named 4395 DanBritt. It orbits the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter and is about the size of the Great Smoky Mountains. Asteroid 1981 EX6 was named 5223 McSween.
Before Smokey
For two years beginning in 1945, a cocker spaniel decked out in orange and white joined the football Vols on the bench. Dipper, who belonged to wingback W. S. “Monk” Fowler, was said to clap his ears. Like his owner, the canine was a Navy veteran—having ridden along with Fowler on Navy Air Corps flights. While the dog was called Dipper at home, he bore the name Volunteer while on the football field.
865 VOL
The area code for Knoxville has been changed twice in recent memory. Originally 615, the area code was changed to 423 in 1995 and then to its current 865 in 1999. These numbers were chosen specifically for the Knoxville area because the letters associated with those digits on the telephone keypad spell VOL.
Bonjour Amigos
In 1986 UT’s Center for Telecommunications and Video produced a series of 30 children’s television shows called Amigos that taught Spanish language and culture to children from kindergarten to second grade. The programs featured a six-foot-tall Spanish-speaking dog named Perro Pepe and a cafe owner who taught neighborhood children basic language and culture. The shows aired on PBS stations beginning in August 1990. Emmy Award-winning director Ozzie Alfonso (Sesame Street, 3-2-1 Contact) came from Manhattan to write and direct eight segments of the series. The center had previously completed a similar program of French language instruction called Bonjour.
Meet Me at the Money Wall
One of the most visited spots on campus from 1982 until 2012 was the Money Wall, a collection of ATMs located on the outside wall of the University Center parking garage. The first ATM was installed in this location in 1982, with the bank paying the cost of installation and a monthly payment to the university of $100. In spring 2012 the parking garage adjacent to the University Center was razed to allow construction of phase I of the new Student Union, and the ATMs were removed.
Ode to Tennessee
Just before the turn of the 20th century, the UT Alumni Association offered a $20 prize in gold to the person who submitted the best college song. Student Norman H. Pitman won with “Tennessee I Love Thee,” sung to the tune of “My Old Kentucky Home.” The chorus to the song says:
Tennessee, I love thee,
The Orange and the White;
Let us sing one song to the dear old U. of T.,
Where the lamp of learning’s gleaming thro’ the night.
Today Show Visits
UT beat out Ohio State, the University of South Florida, Syracuse, Brandeis, and Creighton in the 2012 College Challenge to have a Today show segment with Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb broadcast from campus. The show broadcast from the Ayres Hall lawn on October 1, with Gifford and Kotb dressed in orange and white and hundreds of similarly clad people on hand to welcome them. The show featured a variety of activities, including makeovers for some UT staff, an interview with country singer Kip Moore, a trivia competition between Gifford and Kotb and UT students, a sign contest, and a pretaped segment touring the campus, and sampling tailgate food.
Up in the Air
UT was one of the first institutions to offer aviation instruction under the Civilian Training Pilot Act in 1939. The College of Engineering, which guided the instruction, offered an accelerated eight-week course with 240 hours of ground school instruction and 40 hours of flight training at the municipal airport. By 1945 aviation offerings could be taken by UT students, high school graduates, college graduates who wanted professional training in aeronautics, or any person 21 or older. Its position in training civilians was a major factor in UT being asked to provide training to Army Air Corps cadets during World War II, which brought then-unknown writer Kurt Vonnegut to train at UT.
Read more interesting and quirky facts about UT’s history at volopedia.lib.utk.edu.