The Gravitational Pull of Sol Golomb

Among his many talents, Sol Golomb starred as a recruiter for what would become the USC Viterbi School of Engineering. Sol was the architect of USC’s famous communications faculty in the 1960s, said Professor Robert Scholtz. Added Professor Sandy Sawchuk: Sol made the advancement of USC his personal goal.

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Thus Spake Sol
The wit and wisdom of Sol Golomb

On giving a litany of health concerns during a doctor’s visit:
“An organ recital.”

On Zohrab Kaprielian (former USC provost, executive vice president and USC engineering dean):
“At one point, after I had been a while at USC, there were four levels of administration between me and the president of the university, and all of them were Zohrab Kaprielian.”

On euphemisms:
“American ‘bathroom’ is a euphemism that often confuses foreigners, since many a ‘bathroom’ contains no bathtub. Russian has ‘noozhnik,’ meaning a place of necessity.”

On getting older: “I’m an oxygenerian.”

On the antiquity of the dreidel:
“Dear Rabbi Dov, As I mentioned to you a few days ago, the dreidel is actually an ancient toy, but I may be one of the very few people who know this, and I discovered it by accident.”

On noticing his daughter wearing mismatched shoes at an event where
he was receiving an important award:

“Don’t worry, you have a pair just like it at home.”