DNA, Gravity, and Other Trivialities

Here is Part I of the Cambridge trip, which covers everything except Emmanuel College and Kings' College.

The University of Cambridge was founded in 1209 when riots at Oxford caused some refugee students to flee to Cambridge, then a major river port and trading town. They set up shop there, and the rest is 800-year-old-history. There are now 31 colleges in Cambridge, all under the umbrella of University of Cambridge. As we only had one day there, our tour guide was only able to take us to a few.

I'll open up with a few street scenes of Cambridge, to give you all a feel for the place:



And, of course, the other main road, the River Cam (hence Cam-bridge), where punting is a popular hobby:



Here is a photo of Mathematical Bridge and one of the buildings of Queens' College. Queens' College was commissioned by Queen Margaret of Anjou, wife of Henry VI--the one who originally commissioned Kings' College down the road. This particular building was built in the mid-15th century.



Corpus Christi College boasts the oldest college building in Cambridge, built in the mid-1300s. The dorms originally slept eight to a room. Now they sleep one to a room. Mmm...cozy.



This, ladies and gentlemen, is a descendant of the apple tree that clonked Sir Isaac Newton on the head, leading to the discovery of gravity.



And here is the Eagle, the most famous pub in Cambridge. It is here that Watson and Crick, having just discovered DNA at Cavendish Laboratory down the road, came to celebrate. They walked in, ordered drinks, and loudly whispered, "We have discovered the secret of life!" So the patrons at the Eagle knew about DNA before the article was published in any science journal; they knew about it before most of the world's leading scientists did. Their response? Everyone just rolled their eyes and kept on drinking. Nerds.