At MIT, 2014 was rich in innovation, discovery — and fun. Accordingly, the Institute’s Twitter followers — currently numbering more than 172,000 — responded enthusiastically to updates from MIT and from its many alumni and affiliates. Stories about campus life — from Commencement to President L. Rafael Reif’s #IceBucketChallenge to the student-built roller coaster that greeted incoming freshmen in August — added extra flavor to the year’s 140-character musings.
Among the 20 most popular individual tweets from @MIT this year were updates on the robotic cheetah developed by MIT researchers; a next-generation spacesuit from MIT aerospace engineers; and Tetris-shaped tater tots in the Stratton Student Center (Building W20). Here are our top tweets of 2014, measured in retweets and favorites, in chronological order:
We love π
HAPPY PI DAY 3.141592653589793238462643383279502884197169399375... pic.twitter.com/xulu1e6ile
— MIT (@MIT) March 14, 2014
Happy birthday, MIT!
Happy birthday, MIT! The Institute was founded April 10, 1861 by William Barton Rogers. #tbt http://t.co/3ZM3tXExzk pic.twitter.com/vh4iFrDqIP
— MIT (@MIT) April 10, 2014
An intriguing hypothesis from MIT Professor Max Tegmark
"Consciousness is a state of matter." http://t.co/YGHcMVOuDK pic.twitter.com/7J0idaTK3Z
— MIT (@MIT) April 28, 2014
Flying car developed by MIT alumni takes a giant leap
Flying car by @MITAeroAstro spinoff @Terrafugia moves from science fiction to reality. http://t.co/JaQwTaM073 pic.twitter.com/howplhAUDj
— MIT (@MIT) May 1, 2014
MIT researchers simulate the universe since the Big Bang
Amazing Time-Lapse Video Shows Evolution of #Universe Like Never Before http://t.co/raztbzRMzx in @spacedotcom pic.twitter.com/c6iYuusIK5
— MIT (@MIT) May 12, 2014
Congratulating Jeopardy! champion Julia Collins MEng ’10
MIT alum @JeopardyJulia now trails only @kenjennings for all-time #Jeopardy! wins. http://t.co/OOLsQMESE3 pic.twitter.com/O3PlsjjVdY
— MIT (@MIT) May 31, 2014
Looking forward to wireless charging technology on Tesla’s birthday
Happy b-day Nikola #Tesla! Startup @WiTricity is bringing his ideas on wireless power to life: http://t.co/fKcaekiOms pic.twitter.com/8k2yHg03RY
— MIT (@MIT) July 10, 2014
Tetris-shaped tater tots debut at MIT
Seen at the Student Center this afternoon: Tetris hash browns! #onlyatMIT pic.twitter.com/u2ct08oP0s
— MIT (@MIT) July 16, 2014
How to slice the perfect Möbius bagel
Predicting an earthquake near Istanbul
Researchers at @eapsMIT say a large earthquake may occur 5 miles from Istanbul. http://t.co/pIJd3T4tTd pic.twitter.com/GigAewlnQc
— MIT (@MIT) September 11, 2014
Robo-cheetah loses its leash
MIT's robotic cheetah can now run and jump untethered. Watch: http://t.co/ozNGqSsHqT pic.twitter.com/RqQ0yuEN3u
— MIT (@MIT) September 16, 2014
Will we go to Mars in these?
Spacesuit from @MITAeroAstro shrink-wraps to astronauts’ bodies. http://t.co/GmFtNjLrWS #spacetravel pic.twitter.com/UAkfMq3PFu
— MIT (@MIT) September 18, 2014
Top spot in the QS World University Rankings
Have you heard? MIT named the best university in the world for 2014/15 http://t.co/efXysUEOC5 pic.twitter.com/B05GgQwizz
— MIT (@MIT) September 20, 2014
A “new” Asimov essay in MIT Technology Review
"How do people get new ideas?" Unearthed Isaac Asimov essay on #creativity: http://t.co/nlIJSKEe56 in @techreview pic.twitter.com/9Ac9XAd3Gf
— MIT (@MIT) October 21, 2014
Happy #MoleDay!
October 23rd is the day we celebrate Avogadro's constant, 6.02 x 10^23. Happy #MoleDay! pic.twitter.com/hDfpI0Yaqx
— MIT (@MIT) October 23, 2014
Cheering on an historic #CometLanding
Placing a robot on the surface of a comet is an incredible feat of engineering. Congrats, @ESA_Rosetta! #CometLanding pic.twitter.com/de4dNJGsmT
— MIT (@MIT) November 12, 2014
Exploring a landmark publication with MIT’s OpenCourseWare
"On the Origin of Species" debuted 155 yrs ago today! Brush up on Darwin with @MITOCW: http://t.co/Lw7fpaKflU pic.twitter.com/JIxnxftsvo
— MIT (@MIT) November 24, 2014
We can all be thankful for puzzles
What are you thankful for this #Thanksgiving? http://t.co/3sKhVA78Jd @FrankWilczek pic.twitter.com/3UUm7Nln53
— MIT (@MIT) November 27, 2014
Working together with #OneMIT
"The world's most challenging problems cannot be solved by one discipline alone!" http://t.co/vKp4ri7oZZ #oneMIT pic.twitter.com/E5WfTfmmq1
— MIT (@MIT) December 15, 2014
Mapping connections through language
Maps detail cultural connections between speakers of different languages http://t.co/ZogVKpcJXL pic.twitter.com/NhTQJsSXeo
— MIT (@MIT) December 21, 2014
