Guys, can we take a second to appreciate what a delightful gem Old Joe is?
How much do you really know about him?
Let's be honest, Old Joe is a pretty trendy guy. In the past, Old Joe has appeared as red, green, blue and pink in support of cancer awareness, black history month, and celebrating the 2016 Olympics. As well as being stylish, he's also rather charitable.
Old Joe is named after and built to comemorate the university's first chancellor, Joseph Chamberlain. However, the Joseph Chamberlain tower was not going to be his original name. 'Poynting tower' was the first suggestion made, after one of the university's first professors, but I'm guessing they didn't think that would catch on as well among students. Also, imagine the catastrophe of trying to fit it onto a snapchat filter.
Old Joe's inspirational presence seems to have captured the hearts of many. He is said to be the inspiration for J.R.R Tolkein's Eye of Sauron in Lord of the rings, as well as inspiring others across the pond on the production of 'Monsters University.' It's believed the campus clock tower was an amalgamation of the University of California Berkley tower and Old Joe. They even nailed his everpresent chime.
Old Joe also currently holds the title of 'World's tallest free standing clock tower', coming in at 325 feet high.
The original design is based on the Siena town hall clock tower in Italy which was built in the 1300's.
Old Joe is also about to turn 110 next year, although his specific birthday is unknown.
He's a jolly good fellow, and nobody can deny; we all love Old Joe, he's the crowning jewel of our uni. Whether it's using his tall physique as a marker when we're lost or his muscial chime ringing in our ears as we skip to lectures, I'm sure he'll continue to be a staple of life at the University of Birmingham.