Due to Mother Nature losing her battle to the expansion of luxury condos, this series will be archived on July 31, 2020.
~~~~~ The cache is not at the posted coordinates ~~~~~
What’s the puzzle? Each cache page requires you to solve for the true north coordinates. Some of the caches contain a hint to find the Pink Finale. You need to complete both ribbons before attempting the Pink Finale.
Ribbon 1: GC65RYJ Pink #1: The Pink Panther, GC65T4R Pink #2: Pink – the singer, GC65T6Y Pink #3: Pretty in Pink, GC65T80 Pink #4: Pink ribbon, GC65T90 Pink #5: Pink flamingo – the plastic bird, GC65TJR Pink #6: Pink – All about pink
Pink #5: Pink flamingo – the plastic bird
Don Featherstone, a sculptor, was hired by Leominster, Mass.-based Union Products to make three-dimensional lawn ornaments. He created the first pink flamingo lawn ornament in 1957. The blushing birds cost $2.76 a pair and were an immediate hit in working-class subdivisions from coast to coast.
The 1960s were a rally against all things “un-natural.” This forced stores selling garden décor to drop the flamingos in favor of natural yard décor. By 1970, even Sears had stopped selling the pink flamingo, but a new trend was beginning. The pink flamingo had become so un-cool, it was cool again. In 1979, students from the University of Wisconsin-Madison planted 1008 of the two-legged creatures in the grass in front of the dean’s office, earning them—and the bird—a place in Wisconsin’s State Historical Society.
By the 1980s, the pink flamingo had become art. In 1987, the governor of Massachusetts proclaimed the plastic bird “an essential contribution to American folk art.” In 1998, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles began to sell plastic pink flamingos in its bookstore for $19 a set.
In 2009, in honor of the students’ 1979 prank, the Madison, Wisconsin, city council named the plastic pink flamingo the official bird of the city. And the esteemed lawn ornament lives on in Americana infamy, they're even included in the Smithsonian's collection. The birds currently go for about $16 a set online.
In 1979, how many flamingoes were planted on the dean’s office lawn by students attending the university?
a) 108 (.180)
b) 1008 (.171)
c) 1088 (.154)
N 37° 4.XXX W 76° 27.290
Congratulations to steve-n-kim on a well deserved FTF!
This geocache series won a Bronze - Outstanding Cache Series/Geo-Art Hidey Award at the 10th Annual Milestones Meet-n-Greet & Hidey Awards.