Blorgchiving: A History of the Ratty (the important parts)

1950 — Sharpe Refectory opens. In 1952, the lunch and dinner meals are carried to table by student waiters, and dinner music plays every other night. Seriously!

1952 — A new “chit” system promises to put an end to free-loading at the Ratty, until the invention of the backpack later that year.

1964 — The Ratty re-instates a coat-and-tie dress code. No riots ensue.

1985 — More than three-quarters of Refectory respondents said they prefer Classic Coke, but the Ratty “reports minimal carping” when it switches to New Coke, The Herald reports. No riots ensue.

1986 — Executive Editor and no-guff-taker David Lavallee ’87 writes a guide to navigating the Ratty efficiently. His “Lavallee line” — calling for two napkins, three glasses, and “pointed assaults from the rear” on the toaster bar — today serves as the model for conscientious ’Factory fans.

2010 — The Ratty replaces its cereal canisters. Cups do not fit underneath. Riots ensue.

Bonus Ratty Trivia: It’s true, it’s connected to the fraternities by tunnels.

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