Fun facts about UVic!

In late October and early November, we asked you to send us your favourite "fun fact" or interesting statistic about UVic. Unusual things are part of what makes the campus distinctive.

Thanks to everyone who submitted tidbits of "telling trivia," and congratulations to Sarah Warder (UVic Libraries), our winner of the $100 UVic Bookstore gift card, courtesy of the UVic Bookstore and University Communications + Marketing.

Top 10 fun facts

Here are some of the great submissions we received from UVic faculty and staff:

• Out of this world: UVic has its own asteroid! "150145 UVic" was discovered in 1996 by David Balam and named in UVic’s honour in 2007. UVic is BC’s first university to have an asteroid named after it.
• Military milestones: The “huts” on campus are on the Registry of Historic Places of Canada due to their military history. They were originally built by the Canadian military during World War II and are the last remaining buildings of the Gordon Head barracks.
• Lookin' good: Facilities Management applies over 17,000 square metres of paint each year.
• Sustainability in action: Between 1996 and 2012, the percentage of UVic community members driving to campus (single occupancy vehicles) decreased from 57.5 to 39.8 per cent.
• Building history: Sedgewick Building looks so much like Saunders because it was initially only meant to live in its current location in the north-west corner of the ring temporarily. The plan was to bring trucks in to pick it up piece by piece (the reason it’s raised off the ground) and move it to the north-east corner of campus beside Saunders. However, the occupants liked the location so much they fought to keep it there.
• A big thank-you: In 2013-14, UVic benefited from $2 million in planned gifts received from generous donors who left a legacy to help our students receive an outstanding education.
• Print double-sided: According to PaperCut (the software that tracks printer usage in campus computer labs and libraries), UVic printers have printed 54.9 trees worth of paper since 2010.
• Busy buses: 19 bus routes come to UVic from 11 different places (Downtown, Uptown, Esquimalt, Royal Oak, Fairfield, Gordon Head, Cardboro Bay, Colwood, Langford, View Royal, Swartz Bay).
• Research technology: UVic is home to a Scanning Transmission Electron Holography Microscope (STEHM) that can produce the best resolution of any microscope in the entire world.
• A thirsty department: The math department drinks more cooler water than any other department on campus, with 26 jugs delivered biweekly.

Thanks again to everyone who participated in the contest!