Each Friday, we curate and share a handful of the week’s top stories about campus and the surrounding community — from the quirky to the academic and everything in between. You’ll also get the latest installment of our column “Ask Flamingle HQ,” which takes a look into campus quirks, traditions, and history. In short, the Flamingle lets you revel in everything you love about the UW.

So, why the Flamingle? Excellent question! On the morning of September 4, 1979, students trudging up Bascom Hill to their morning classes wiped the sleep from their eyes to see the entire hill turned pink. The Pail & Shovel Party, led by legendary jokesters James Mallon ’79 and Leon Varjian x’83, “planted” 1,008 plastic pink flamingos on the Bascom lawn as a victory stunt after winning the student government elections. The flamingo stunt did more than give UW–Madison a reputation of “inspired goofiness.” It also solidified the bird as a campus and Madison icon: in 2009, the plastic pink flamingo became the official city bird.

Here at the Wisconsin Alumni Association® (WAA), we believe in helping all alumni stay tapped into the inspired goofiness of UW–Madison. So come on. Flamingle with us.

Have a question, comment, or anything else you’d like to share with Flamingle HQ? Send us a message!