A new species of mould was discovered in 1997 in the orange kitchen on the second floor, which was subsequently named Mucor hawthornicius. Since its discovery, the mould has been tended to each year by the biology students living in the student accommodation part of the building, as well as any other students who have undergone bonsai training.
Every year, on Valentines day, a trail of custard creams can be seen leading from the entrance of the building to the door to the roof. If followed, the trail will take you out on to the top of the building, where you will receive seven custard creams and half a gingerbread man. This annual tradition has become known as 'creaming', although it has not yet taken place.
In the past, a student from the Hawthorns claimed to have discovered a portal to Narnia, although this has never been confirmed. A more widely accepted belief is that the student confused Narnia with Middle Earth, which has been reported several times since the Narnia incident.
Another fable commonly talked about in the Hawthorns is the'anti-gravity room'. This was discovered during a drunken adventure on November 29th, 2012. It is casually referred to as the Elgar Room, after the student who discovered it, Ben Elgar. Other versions of the fable say that Ben built the room in what was a bathroom on the third floor; a remarkable feat, considering the bathroom was in use at the time.
The Hawthorns was used as the set for the film 'The Lion King', unfortunately, none of the scenes were used in the final cut, as the directors thought the film would be better animated, and based in the Kalahari rather than in the Clifton area of Bristol.
When there is a full moon, a ghost can be seen stalking the corridors of the first floor, who's name is Gary. He looks suspiciously like a Henry Hoover with a mop on the top. Gary is known to comfort anyone in the building suffering from the 'Five Week Blues' by singing to them in the style of Louis Armstrong.
A number of rules are enforced on weekends and on every other Wednesday. These are:
- Opposites are banned, or are they?
- Sunday dinner is banned, but only if metaphorical
- ResNet is placed on a pogo-stick, rendering the building's Wifi intermittent. However if this task is not carried out by sunset on a Friday, Gary the Ghost will leave, rendering the whole building feeling both blue and hazy, until he returns on Monday at 9.15.
