Fun Facts
Records broken. Fees revealed. Speeches that went viral, caused walkouts, or accidentally announced a foreign policy program that rebuilt Europe. Commencement addresses contain multitudes.
$1.5M
All-time record
The most ever paid for a commencement speech
Speaker fees at top universities have risen dramatically since the 1990s. Average at an Ivy League school today: $47,000.
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7×
Most speeches by one speaker
Seven schools. One very busy speaker.
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The answer
Oprah Winfrey
Harvard, Duke, Spelman, Howard, and three more — more than anyone else on record.
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12 min
The shortest address ever recorded
Three sentences. A standing ovation. Who gave it?
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The answer
E.L. Doctorow, Brandeis
Walked up, recommended three books, sat down. The faculty were baffled. The students loved it.
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84%
Speeches mentioning "the future"
Most common word in our archive. Runner-up?
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The runner-up
"Challenge" — 79%
Fastest rising since 2010: "resilience."
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The only speech that changed history
June 1947. Which school? Which official?
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The answer
George Marshall at Harvard, 1947
Announced the Marshall Plan — $13 billion to rebuild postwar Europe.
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2.1h
Longest speech on record
A 1973 address. What happened?
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What happened
He lost his notes
A Senator improvised for an hour and 50 minutes. Not invited back.
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0
Times "sunscreen" appeared before 1999
Then one song changed everything.
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The answer
Baz Luhrmann's "Sunscreen"
By 2005 it was in speeches at schools with no idea where the reference came from.
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Most-watched speeches on YouTube
Steve Jobs, Stanford '05
42M
J.K. Rowling, Harvard '08
31M
David Foster Wallace '05
24M
Barack Obama, Howard '16
17M