Connect trivia: Three truths and a lie about CWRU

In Monday’s edition of The Daily, we asked participants to choose which of the following statements was false:

• Two CWRU alumni are mentioned in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame;
• Ellen DeGeneres performed a free comedy show on campus for students;
• A CWRU professor discovered a three million-year-old hominin skeleton; and
• The Cleveland Browns used to practice in North Residential Village

The correct answer—the false statement—was the first option: Two CWRU alumni are mentioned in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The other three statements are all true. While CWRU has collaborated with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in many capacities, including lecture series, research and miscellaneous events, no CWRU alumni are mentioned in its exhibits, at least not at present. Only 18 respondents correctly spotted that this statement was untrue. At least 29 percent of respondents—the number who chose this answer—will be surprised to learn that Ellen DeGeneres did perform a comedy show on campus in 1987; it was a part of CWRU’s Comedy Night in Thwing Center. Tickets were free for students and just $2 for all others. CWRU professor and paleoanthropologist C. Donald Johnson discovered the 3.2 million-year-old hominin skeleton better known as Lucy in 1974. A casting of Lucy is still on display in the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, which might be why it was the least popular answer. Lastly, the Cleveland Browns practiced on the original Finnegan Field, which was located where DiSanto Field and Nobby’s Ballpark in North Residential Village are today. The team practiced there until the late 1970s. This was the statement thought by most to be false, as 39 percent chose it.