Throughout the years, ISU students and faculty have been passing along legends. Ranging from highly visible places to top-secret projects, Iowa State is rich in folklore — and true stories.Farwell Brown, a 1934 graduate with a bachelor of science in agricultural economics, said the legend of the zodiac has been around for years.One of the first things new students are told when they arrive on campus is that they should never walk across the zodiac in the entrance of the Memorial Union because they will fail their next test.A lesser known part of the legend is the antidote — by tossing a coin into the Fountain of Four Seasons, the act will be nullified.”I did not pay any attention to it. To the best of my knowledge I never failed a test,” Brown said.The zodiac was designed in 1928 by W. T. Proudfoot, architect of the Memorial Union, with the symbols made of a raised, soft bronze to be worn down over time by the foot traffic of students.However, students as well as faculty avoid stepping on the zodiac for fear of their academic safety.”I’ve been involved with this campus for almost 30 years and I have never stepped on it, nor will I,” said Barbara Mack, associate professor of journalism and mass communication.The Memorial Union isn’t the only place on campus to have myths. Central campus’s design has also become the subject of a legend.When central campus was being laid out, President Adonijah Welch supposedly walked around campus tossing potatoes from a sack, and where a potato landed a tree was planted.”There is absolutely no truth to this,” said John Anderson, associate director of University Relations.Many students also may be curious why classes start 10 minutes after the hour in the afternoons. The tradition extends to 1891 when the Hub was the campus station for Dinkey, the trolley that shuttled students from campus to downtown Ames.The trolley was in service until 1907 when Dinkey was replaced by an electric trolley, which operated from 1907 to 1927.Since Dinkey would arrive at the hour in the afternoons, it caused the university to schedule classes to start 10 minutes after.A rumor about Iowa State’s involvement in developing products for the Manhattan Project during World War II is actually true, said Warren Madden, vice president for Business and Finance.”Ames Labs produced the uranium in a wooden building,” he said.The building was located west of the Dairy Industries building, and personnel working on the project were housed in the Collegiate Press Building, which is where Hamilton Hall now stands today, Madden said.