Fun facts
Trivia for Cougars everywhere:
- "Far Side" cartoon creator Gary Larsen is an alumnus.
- The May 18 eruption of Mt. St. Helens in 1980 covered Pullman and the WSU campus covered in a half inch of volacanic ash.
- Sundance, a stuffed Alaska brown bear, was donated to the WSU Conner Museum in 2006 by Annette Hanson (Education '73) in honor of her late husband, Mark (Zoology '73, Education '75).
- Former WSU quarterback Mark Rypien led the Washington Redskins to victory in Super Bowl XXVI and was named MVP of the game.
- WSU's participation rate for Intramural sports is one of the highest in the nation.
- In 1994, the U.S. Postal Service issued a stamp honoring alumnus Edward R. Murrow (Speech, 1930). First issues were cancelled in Pullman.
- Cable 8 News is one of only a few student-run nightly newscasts in the nation.
- Electric typewriters are available in Media Materials/Reserve in Terrell Library, in the Brain Education Library, and in Instructional Support Services.
- The University opened its doors in 1892 as the Washington Agricultural College and School of Science with a total of 59 students.
- Summa Cum Laude indicates a grade point between 3.9 and 4.0 at graduation.
- Magna Cum Laude indicates a grade point between 3.7 and 3.89 at graduation.
- Only three Cougar athlete jerseys have ever been retired, two in football and one in baseball: quarterback Jack Thompson (#14), center Mel Hein (#7), and shortstop Charles “Bobo” Brayton (also #14).
- Washington State College (which later became WSU) played in the very first Rose Bowl contest in 1916. The Cougars won, 14 to 0.
- Thompson Hall is the oldest major building on campus. It opened in 1894 and received an extensive facelift in the late 1990s.
