Fred Hutch Fun Facts

• Three Nobel laureates have made their prize-winning discoveries under the auspices of Fred Hutch:
  • Dr. E. Donnall Thomas (1990)
    Thomas forever changed cancer treatment when he pioneered bone marrow transplantation. His most powerful legacy: the number of lives saved worldwide every year thanks to his work.
  • Dr. Leland "Lee" Hartwell (2001)
    By identifying "checkpoint" genes that determine whether a cell is dividing normally, Hartwell provided important clues about cancer, which arises from uncontrolled cell growth. 
  • Dr. Linda Buck (2004)
    Buck did groundbreaking work on odorant receptors and the organization of the olfactory system - the network responsible for our sense of smell. 
• The Women's Health Initiative, headquartered at Fred Hutch, uncovered the risks of combined hormone therapy for postmenopausal women, preventing more than 20,000 cases of breast cancer per year in the US alone. 
• Fred Hutch was the first US cancer center to pledge commitment to CEO Action for Diversity &  Inclusion. The Fred Hutch DEI Core, in partnership with an executive council of senior leaders and an employee advisory group, leads the Hutch's efforts to build a fully inclusive and informed workforce.

UW Fun Facts

• Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast. It was formerly known as the "Territorial University of Washington" (1861-1889).
• The UW football team played its first collegiate opponent - Stanford - on December 29, 1893. The UW team lost 40-0 in front of 600 spectators in West Seattle. Thirty years later, Washington's team was good enough for its first Rose Bowl appearance, which ended in a tie against Navy (14-14).
• In 1981, Robb Weller ('72), a former UW yell leader, and Bill Bissell, the Husky Marching Band director, came up with the idea for the Wave. It caught on as a staple in sports stadiums worldwide.
• The process that brought us color television was invted by UW alumnus Willard Greer, a 1927 physics graduate.
• Husky Stadium has the record for having the loudest game in college football history: 130 decibels in 1992 against the Nebraska Cornhuskers.
• Bubble gum, vinyl, synthetic rubber, and the color TV tube were all invented at the UW.
• On February 26, 1970, students on the UW campus organized the "World's First Trash-In." They brought in trash from their homes and separated the paper, plastic, glass, and metal, then returned the trash to their owners with the request that they be reprocessed. The event brought attention to the waste associated with American life and propelled Seattle toward becoming a leader in recycling.

Seattle Children's Fun Facts

• In 1907, with the help of 23 female friends, Anna Clise established the first facility in the Pacific Northwest to treat children with inflammatory rheumatism, most of who would otherwise have been left to endure pain and disability throughout their lives. Her original vision still guides Seattle Children’s today.
• Seattle Children’s Research Institute is 1 of just 30 exclusively pediatric research institutes in the world.
• Seattle Children’s Research Institute: Building Cure houses a multimillion-dollar cell processing facility that places it among the few pediatric facilities that meet strict FDA requirements for manufacturing therapies.
• Seattle Children’s received FDA authorization to launch the first chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell clinical trial in the U.S. for children under 18 with the most common form of lupus.
• One of the nation's top five pediatric research centers, Seattle Children’s research is organized into eight centers, each specializing in an area of study.
• Seattle Children’s research has over 300 Principal Instigators, all who hold faculty positions at the University of Washington.

• There are more dogs and cats than children in Seattle, according to Census data.
• Seattle's annual rainfall is only about 37 inches - less than Boston, NYC, Philadelphia, or Houston.
• The Seattle ferry system is the largest in the country.
• Seattle set the record for the longest book domino chain.
• Seattle is the second most literate city in the country. 
• Seattleites buy the most sunglasses per capita than any other US city. 
• Pike Place Market is the longest continuously operating farmer's market in the US (and was originally started due to overpriced onions!).
• The Space Needle was originally sketched on a hotel napkin.
• Bruce Lee was a UW graduate and Seattle was his final home. 
• Washington has 157 miles of coastline and 3,026 miles of shoreline due to Puget Sound and its islands. (Combined, this exceeds the total coastline of Oregon and California put together.)