History of the mascots at UW

Remember orientation? Friendly faces surround you in your orientation leaders and fellow students. Though one face — one that’s not quite human — is present with you too, joining in the festivities. Your faculty mascot, the pride and joy of the students and staff alike, could never be absent at such a time. Fluffy, humorous, and lovable, that’s what the mascots are, but can you imagine that there’s more to the mascot than meets the eye?

Tool – Engineering

In 1967, EngSoc president Jim Pike, wanted an engineering mascot when he came upon the idea of a 60-inch straight pipe wrench from the Ridge Tool Company, an American manufacturing company. The Ridge Tool Company agreed to donate the tool on the condition that it would be named “The Ridgid Tool” and kept its orange colour. The tool was chrome plated by the students shortly after being picked up. Around 1990, the word Ridgid was removed from the mascot’s name, becoming simply “The Tool.” Maya Baboolal, the current president of EngSoc, spoke about how other universities often referred to UW engineers as plumbers because of their mascot. “They used that term to kind of make us feel less than, but we took it as a term of endearment,” she said. “[Plumbers] definitely use wrenches quite a bit, and I think that would [play] into the joke of ‘yeah, we’re the plumbers, but we’re proud of it.’” 

The tool even has its own guard, being called the Tool Bearers, with not much more information being known about these Tool Bearers. 

The tool, much like the other mascots, has its own history of kidnappings.  The tool was kidnapped sometime in the 1970s, during a pub crawl organized by the graduating committee. The second time, in 1982, the University of Toronto (UofT) was up to nothing good. The engineering students were enjoying themselves at a Welcome Back Stag in January 1982. The tool made an appearance at the stag to show the pride of the UW engineering students. While the tool was to be transported back to UW, UofT engineering students took advantage of the chance to steal the tool from the Tool Bearer tasked with its safe return. The tool was kept by UofT until March 1982 when the UW students pleaded for the return of the tool because of the upcoming Iron Ring ceremony. UofT students agreed to return the tool, but they were not going to let the prank end without a spectacular grand finale. The tool made its way back to the UW campus, safe and sound, albeit encased in cement within an oil drum and branded with “U of T” on it. At least it was back in one piece, even if that piece was several times larger and you couldn’t even tell what was inside. 

Baboolal described the importance of the tool within the engineering society: “Traditions are meant to adapt, so all the changes that we’ve talked about, all the things that have changed with the tool, are just a matter of trying to a work with the times and really continue to make this mascot a good representation of our society.” 

Pink Tie – Math

Pinky the pink tie saw its origins with one man, Professor Ralph Stanton, who was known for adding a bit of flair to his outfits with a unique tie, his signature one being pink. Quite the foundational figure in the math faculty himself, Stanton is the one who turned math into its own faculty, began integrating computers into the classroom, and spearheaded co-op programs for applied mathematics and computer science. In his honor, an 85-foot pink tie was positioned on the Mathematics & Computing Building when it opened in 1968. 

So long as the tie was out and about, it was not safe as there were some mischievous students who had plans to kidnap the tie. Elisabetta Paiano, a social media and digital communications officer for the math faculty, would tell the story of how the Tie Guard came to be. The tie would be nabbed by some students, saved by the math students, stolen again, and saved again. It was then that UW mathematics graduate Marco Koechli, titled the Pink Tie Preservationist, would establish a special protection for the pink tie called the Tie Guard. This was a 24-hour watch for the tie to ensure that it would be safe from being kidnapped. 

But that’s not all — did you know that the pink tie is married? Paiano remarked, “We did [recently] find his wedding certificate in which he married Fuschia the Tie in September of 2000.” Pinkie was wedded to the mysterious Fuschia Tie on Sept. 21, 2000 at Niagara Casino, with Ralph Stanton as the officiant for their ceremony. Who is this Fuschia Tie, you might ask?  For now, Fuschia is just a concept. But it seems we will be wishing these ties a happy 25th wedding anniversary next year! 

Big Banana – Environment

It was orientation day somewhere in the 1970s. A student, only known under the alias Goatball, was making his way to the meeting spot for environment’s orientation when a peculiar sight caught his eye. A lone banana costume lay inside of a dumpster, the origins of how it came to be amongst the trash unknown. But upon seeing that costume, Goatball had an idea. What better way to spice up orientation than by dressing as a banana? So Goatball was off to his orientation, clad in the banana costume, to make some lasting memories and brighten up the day. The mascot, named Big Banana, was unexpected, but caught on with the environment faculty, still standing to this day as their symbol. 

Harry Cheung, the student under the costume from May to September 2022, spoke about how it is not just the costume that makes someone the Big Banana. “I guess just have an approachable personality, really being able to step up, having those kinds of communication and leadership skills and just really being able to mesh and flow with a lot of different people,” he said. “Being a Big Banana means being able to meet those kinds of perspectives and really being able to mesh and vibe.” 

Back in the 70s, it must have been a real shock, but quite humorous to see a banana at orientation. Even to this day, the feeling is still there. “If you’re a first year student coming onto campus, you likely don’t know anyone, and suddenly during orientation activities you just see someone in a giant banana costume walking around. I think that in itself is a really funny and memorable experience,” Cheung pondered. 

Porcellino – Arts

Il Porcellino’s origins date back to Italy in 1634, which was home to a fountain that people would toss their coins into, rubbing the boar’s nose for good luck. Pietro Tacca, an Italian sculptor, was behind the statue, having been inspired by a marble boar from the Hellenistic age. Since then, many replicas have been made of Il Porcellino, who now resides in the Museo Bardini in Florence. 

In 1978, a replica Porcellino statue was gifted to the Faculty of Mathematics Descartes Foundation, a society for outstanding mathematics and computer science teachers, by Henry Crapo, a professor in the department of pure mathematics. He quickly became a mascot for the arts faculty, having been placed in the foyer of the Modern Languages Building. He was supposed to have a fountain, but due to lack of funding, this was not possible. Nevertheless, the myth of Porcellino’s snout containing good luck is still believed to this day. 

In 1991, Porcellino would become the unfortunate victim of a kidnapping, where he was made to look like a dog instead of a boar. This was not the only time this happened, either. Under the cover of night in June 2022, Porcellino was nabbed right off his pedestal outside of Modern Languages for the second time. Being 700 pounds, it really does make you wonder how in the world these kidnappings were carried out. But Porcellino did not make it far this time, as the perpetrators decided to leave him right outside of Engineering 5. Porcellino made his return to the outside of Modern Languages in late September 2022, where he has remained since. 

Aussie – Health

The faculty of health used to be called the faculty of applied health sciences until 2021. Their student society was called AHSUM and the members of AHSUM decided to call themselves ‘AHSSIES,’ as explained by Rochelle DeSouza, student relations officer. Since the introduction of the AHSUM student society in 1995, the Aussie hasn’t changed much, having always been a kangaroo. Even as the name for the faculty changed, the AHSSIE title and mascot stuck. The first iteration of the costume is believed to be from 2009, with an updated costume being introduced in 2018. This is the AHSSIE we see today.  

Cobalt – Science

Cobalt was introduced to the science faculty in 2022, making his official debut in September of that year. Ben Smith, a student engagement officer for the science undergraduate office, explained that the name Cobalt comes from the color blue, but also the name of an Ontario town. Being a mining town, Cobalt was at the forefront of a major silver boom during the early 1900s. But before there was Cobalt, there was Arriba the Amoeba. Arriba the Amoeba was retired as the science mascot in 2019, and the next three years were spent developing the new mascot, Cobalt.