8.6 Ivy League Jokes: Yale

8.6 Ivy League Jokes: Yale

At this time of year, when waiting for admission decisions may be getting some of you down, we could all use some perspective on the terrifying odds against admission to the Ivy League.We need jokes.Athena Mentor will now introduce you to the some of the more ridiculous aspects of the Ivy League. Okay, they may not be screamingly funny, but we hope that a moment of laughter, or at least a little smile, will help you put things in perspective.In honor of the Athena Mentor student who just won admission to Yale in the Early Action round, we will begin with the number one university in Connecticut.

Yale

What is the name of the distinguished mascot of Yale University?

The answer is . . .

Handsome Dan

Fun facts about Handsome Dan

Wikipedia relates the distinguished line of English bulldogs who have held the post of Handsome Dan since the original was appointed in 1989.Why “Handsome Dan”? Wikipedia explains: “According to the Hartford Courant, 'In personal appearance, he seemed like a cross between an alligator and a horned frog, and he was called handsome by the metaphysicians under the law of compensation.'”In later years, “Handsome Dan was selected based on his ability to tolerate bands and children, negative reaction to the color crimson and to tigers (the symbols of rival schools Harvard and Princeton respectively).”Not every successor was a rousing success.

Handsome Dan III

1937–1938 (retired due to emotional instability).Handsome Dan III was a huge white dog who unfortunately exhibited morbid fear of crowds and had to be retired.Wikipedia documents the unfortunate careers of several others of “the highly inbred species, described traditionally by the British as ‘short legged, short jawed, short winded and short lived.’”

Laughing yet?

Please treat yourselves well in the coming weeks. Seriously: eat well, get enough sleep, and try to laugh since in a while.We hope that Handsome Dan has taken the edge off of your anxiety about Yale.Well, perhaps one of you cannot wait to hail the exalted representative of the greatest university in Connecticut.Dr. Marlena CorcoranFounder and CEOAuthor of Year by Year to College, on amazon.com, amazon.de and many national amazon sites