The Friday Five: Five Fun Facts about the University of Wisconsin

1. Degrees Galore

One in every 790 living Americans has at least one degree from UW-Madison.

Diploma by cc- https://www.flickr.com/photos/hmocopymonkey/https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/ — A diploma by Our Lady of Disgrace/ CC BY 2.0

2. This Is Why We Are the Dairy State

All of the vitamin D production in the world started in UW–Madison, and this started the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation. This is also what started the use of vitamin D in milk.

Got milk cup by https://www.flickr.com/photos/edonahue/ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/ — “Got Milk? Mug” by Ed Donahue/ CC BY 2.0

3. Looking Back

Marching band members started wearing their caps backward after a Badger win in the 1920s to symbolize looking back at their victory.

Marching band by https://www.flickr.com/photos/dvdmerwe/ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/ — Marching band by Danie van der Merwe/ CC BY 2.0

4. Wait, That’s It?

Annual tuition in 1900 was $20. With that money you could buy two movie tickets, popcorn, AND a soda.

$20 bill by https://www.flickr.com/photos/sbwoodside/ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/ — $20 bill by S Woodside / CC BY 2.0

5. Stadiums, What Are They Good For?

Camp Randall Stadium was used as a training ground during the Civil War, and over 70,000 soldiers were trained there. It was given to the US government by the Wisconsin State Agricultural Society.