1 00:00:04,120 --> 00:00:06,320 Speaker 1: Hey, and welcome to the Short Stuff. I'm Josh, and 2 00:00:06,360 --> 00:00:09,600 Speaker 1: there's chalk, and this is short stuff, and we're talking 3 00:00:09,600 --> 00:00:13,200 Speaker 1: at long last about a topic that has been on 4 00:00:13,240 --> 00:00:15,840 Speaker 1: my list for short Stuffs since basically the first time 5 00:00:15,840 --> 00:00:19,400 Speaker 1: we came up with short Stuffs, which is pink plastic 6 00:00:19,760 --> 00:00:23,840 Speaker 1: lawn flamingos, one of the all time great pieces of 7 00:00:23,920 --> 00:00:28,200 Speaker 1: yard art anyone's ever come up with. Do you own them? No, 8 00:00:28,640 --> 00:00:32,920 Speaker 1: I'm not mean. Okay, you're not mean. Oh you'll you'll see. 9 00:00:33,159 --> 00:00:36,080 Speaker 1: I'll describe why I think owning a pink flamingo is 10 00:00:36,159 --> 00:00:41,040 Speaker 1: kind of mean. Interesting, all right, Okay, you're gonna do 11 00:00:41,080 --> 00:00:42,479 Speaker 1: that after the break. Is it going to be a 12 00:00:42,479 --> 00:00:44,199 Speaker 1: setup for a teaser? Yeah, maybe that will be a 13 00:00:44,240 --> 00:00:46,199 Speaker 1: set up. Let's tell them first about the origin of 14 00:00:46,240 --> 00:00:48,199 Speaker 1: these things. Everybody knows what we're talking about, right, Like 15 00:00:48,240 --> 00:00:51,280 Speaker 1: the plastic pink flamingos that people had on their lawns, 16 00:00:51,400 --> 00:00:55,320 Speaker 1: especially in the fifties and maybe the sixties. Um. Nowadays 17 00:00:55,320 --> 00:01:00,360 Speaker 1: they're super kitchy and campy. Um, but plastic lawn flamingos, 18 00:01:00,800 --> 00:01:03,600 Speaker 1: that's right. They were created by a man named Don Featherstone, 19 00:01:04,240 --> 00:01:07,680 Speaker 1: who was a sculptor who was hired by Union Products 20 00:01:08,319 --> 00:01:12,160 Speaker 1: from uh Leo, Minster Mass or however they pronounced it. 21 00:01:12,200 --> 00:01:17,000 Speaker 1: They're sure there's some strange pronunciation for that. And they 22 00:01:17,000 --> 00:01:19,640 Speaker 1: are the cap plastics capital of the world. And he 23 00:01:19,680 --> 00:01:23,039 Speaker 1: created the very first one as his second work assignment 24 00:01:23,080 --> 00:01:26,560 Speaker 1: in ninety seven. Yeah, Union Union Products had two d 25 00:01:27,280 --> 00:01:30,440 Speaker 1: um flamingos and they also had ducks, and his first 26 00:01:30,440 --> 00:01:33,280 Speaker 1: assignment was to turn the ducks from two D into 27 00:01:33,319 --> 00:01:36,360 Speaker 1: three D. And the ducks were the long, long time 28 00:01:36,560 --> 00:01:40,600 Speaker 1: biggest seller. It was called duck and ducklings, and people 29 00:01:40,600 --> 00:01:42,840 Speaker 1: would put plastic ducks like on their yard as if 30 00:01:42,840 --> 00:01:45,800 Speaker 1: they were just hanging out in their grass. Yeah, so 31 00:01:45,959 --> 00:01:50,760 Speaker 1: Featherstone created the flamingos. They cost about two seventy six 32 00:01:51,240 --> 00:01:53,880 Speaker 1: for two of them because you gotta Solomon pairs. I 33 00:01:53,920 --> 00:01:56,240 Speaker 1: think they're still sold in pairs. Yeah, you gotta have 34 00:01:56,240 --> 00:01:58,000 Speaker 1: a little buddy, you don't just have one. And that's 35 00:01:58,040 --> 00:02:01,480 Speaker 1: by the way, that's about day. Yeah. So it's a 36 00:02:01,480 --> 00:02:03,520 Speaker 1: pretty good deal today because they're what like fifteen or 37 00:02:03,560 --> 00:02:10,119 Speaker 1: sixteen bucks now. So apparently they came about because this 38 00:02:10,200 --> 00:02:14,320 Speaker 1: was the beginnings of sort of the cookie cutter subdivision revolution, 39 00:02:14,960 --> 00:02:17,799 Speaker 1: and you know, if you wanted to put something in 40 00:02:17,880 --> 00:02:19,799 Speaker 1: your yard and make yourself stand out from your neighbor. 41 00:02:19,880 --> 00:02:22,000 Speaker 1: Pink flamingo was a fine way to do so. Yeah, 42 00:02:22,000 --> 00:02:25,400 Speaker 1: and the pink flamingo was um was chosen to be 43 00:02:25,440 --> 00:02:29,400 Speaker 1: like the second one because that pink and everything Caribbean 44 00:02:29,440 --> 00:02:32,160 Speaker 1: was super in, like Tiki culture was kind of big 45 00:02:32,200 --> 00:02:34,680 Speaker 1: around that time, and it was a smash hit, Like 46 00:02:34,760 --> 00:02:40,000 Speaker 1: people started buying them by the boatloads. Um the moment 47 00:02:40,080 --> 00:02:42,600 Speaker 1: they hit the market, it just was perfectly time. It 48 00:02:42,680 --> 00:02:45,040 Speaker 1: was exactly what everybody was looking for. And they were 49 00:02:45,040 --> 00:02:48,359 Speaker 1: still you know, twenty five bucks isn't you know, free, 50 00:02:48,400 --> 00:02:50,840 Speaker 1: but they were. They were affordable but basically everybody who 51 00:02:50,840 --> 00:02:53,040 Speaker 1: could afford them, and so they became this kind of 52 00:02:53,120 --> 00:02:58,520 Speaker 1: emblem of suburban working class culture. Like that was a 53 00:02:58,600 --> 00:03:03,960 Speaker 1: certain group of popowle prized pink flamingo lawn ornaments and 54 00:03:04,000 --> 00:03:08,119 Speaker 1: put them on their yards. Non ironically, that's very important, right, 55 00:03:08,400 --> 00:03:11,320 Speaker 1: which is a very big reason why in the nineteen 56 00:03:11,440 --> 00:03:15,200 Speaker 1: sixties there was a backlash against them. Like so many 57 00:03:15,240 --> 00:03:18,400 Speaker 1: things in the nineteen fifties that mom and Dad loved, 58 00:03:19,200 --> 00:03:22,239 Speaker 1: the sixties came along and the hippie said, I'm done 59 00:03:22,320 --> 00:03:26,440 Speaker 1: with that. Screw your conformity. I'm not gonna play your games. 60 00:03:26,440 --> 00:03:32,400 Speaker 1: I'm counterculture baby, and those lawn gnomes and flamingos are terrible. 61 00:03:32,480 --> 00:03:34,760 Speaker 1: Get them out of here. But then, of course the 62 00:03:34,800 --> 00:03:37,839 Speaker 1: seventies roll back around and they're like, hey man, who 63 00:03:37,840 --> 00:03:40,160 Speaker 1: cares those things are cool, Let's bring them back. But 64 00:03:40,280 --> 00:03:43,360 Speaker 1: the reason that they were cool, and the whole reason 65 00:03:43,360 --> 00:03:45,560 Speaker 1: they came back, you can make a really strong case 66 00:03:46,000 --> 00:03:51,040 Speaker 1: is because of a single American director out of Baltimore, 67 00:03:51,120 --> 00:03:56,520 Speaker 1: Maryland named John Waters that here is basically single handedly 68 00:03:56,560 --> 00:04:00,800 Speaker 1: responsible for bringing back the pink Flamingo. But the key 69 00:04:00,880 --> 00:04:04,600 Speaker 1: differences that when he brought the Pink Flamingo back, he 70 00:04:04,720 --> 00:04:07,880 Speaker 1: brought it back and ran it through a completely different 71 00:04:08,680 --> 00:04:12,480 Speaker 1: paradigm so that it came out the other end totally schlocky, 72 00:04:12,520 --> 00:04:16,200 Speaker 1: totally campy, and lost every bit of earnestness and was 73 00:04:16,360 --> 00:04:19,719 Speaker 1: completely saddled with irony from that point on because he 74 00:04:19,839 --> 00:04:24,120 Speaker 1: created a movie in nineteen seventy two known Round the 75 00:04:24,120 --> 00:04:26,599 Speaker 1: World is one of the most offensive movies ever made 76 00:04:26,880 --> 00:04:32,080 Speaker 1: that he called pink flamingos. That's right, And uh, I 77 00:04:32,080 --> 00:04:34,720 Speaker 1: guess before we take that break to find out why 78 00:04:34,760 --> 00:04:37,920 Speaker 1: they're mean, why you feel they're mean, we should mention 79 00:04:37,960 --> 00:04:41,640 Speaker 1: that John Waters, who just called Roger Waters and did 80 00:04:41,640 --> 00:04:45,200 Speaker 1: a retake, I feel like I should point out uh 81 00:04:45,440 --> 00:04:48,679 Speaker 1: gay icon in the USA. And so as a result, 82 00:04:48,800 --> 00:04:53,240 Speaker 1: gay bars started using pink flamingos mascots and you could 83 00:04:53,279 --> 00:04:56,400 Speaker 1: find uh at drag shows. You could find them on 84 00:04:56,839 --> 00:05:00,839 Speaker 1: earrings of performers and on their high heels. Uh. And 85 00:05:00,920 --> 00:05:03,520 Speaker 1: then you know, it kind of became sort of this 86 00:05:03,839 --> 00:05:08,400 Speaker 1: uh a symbol for for gay America. In the seventies 87 00:05:08,440 --> 00:05:12,799 Speaker 1: in the United States, High High High Camp, High Camp. 88 00:05:13,560 --> 00:05:15,960 Speaker 1: All right, let's take a break. We will take that break. Yeah, 89 00:05:15,960 --> 00:05:18,000 Speaker 1: I think that's a good idea. All Right, We're gonna 90 00:05:18,040 --> 00:05:20,000 Speaker 1: follow up with a little bit more right after this. 91 00:05:33,360 --> 00:05:36,640 Speaker 1: If you want to know, then you're in luck. Just 92 00:05:37,000 --> 00:05:47,920 Speaker 1: listen up to Chuck Shoon. Okay. So when when John 93 00:05:47,920 --> 00:05:51,960 Speaker 1: Waters like breathed a second life into pink flamingos, pink 94 00:05:52,040 --> 00:05:55,720 Speaker 1: lawn flamingo ornaments, UM, when they came back, they were 95 00:05:55,760 --> 00:05:58,200 Speaker 1: they were brought back, like you said, uh, in the 96 00:05:58,400 --> 00:06:00,839 Speaker 1: gay community big time. But then they also kind of 97 00:06:00,880 --> 00:06:04,599 Speaker 1: spread out further and further into um, the larger community 98 00:06:04,640 --> 00:06:08,279 Speaker 1: in America, UH and became kind of part and parcel 99 00:06:08,360 --> 00:06:12,560 Speaker 1: with UM. Pranksterism like they were. They were frequently put 100 00:06:12,600 --> 00:06:15,920 Speaker 1: on people's lawn as prank basically like what person could 101 00:06:15,920 --> 00:06:19,760 Speaker 1: possibly want lawn pink lawn flamingos, Right, so if we 102 00:06:19,800 --> 00:06:22,080 Speaker 1: put them on somebody's law, and it's a hysterical prank 103 00:06:22,560 --> 00:06:26,320 Speaker 1: um but also in in some way, And I think 104 00:06:26,320 --> 00:06:28,640 Speaker 1: a lot of people didn't realize that they were necessarily 105 00:06:28,640 --> 00:06:31,800 Speaker 1: doing this, but it was part of the whole second 106 00:06:31,920 --> 00:06:37,720 Speaker 1: life of it was mocking the people who originally enjoyed 107 00:06:37,960 --> 00:06:42,800 Speaker 1: pink lawn flamingos earnestly and mocking their taste. And that 108 00:06:42,920 --> 00:06:45,320 Speaker 1: is why I think pink flamingos are kind of mean 109 00:06:45,440 --> 00:06:49,039 Speaker 1: these days. Oh so you think if you put a 110 00:06:49,080 --> 00:06:55,119 Speaker 1: flamingo up it's uh, sort of a hipster ironic making 111 00:06:55,160 --> 00:06:57,320 Speaker 1: fun of it kind of thing. Yeah, so do you remember, 112 00:06:57,360 --> 00:07:00,320 Speaker 1: you know, how mom jeans are back? Sure, I could 113 00:07:00,320 --> 00:07:02,360 Speaker 1: not find this article. I searched all over forth, but 114 00:07:02,400 --> 00:07:05,640 Speaker 1: I read this article, which is basically account of somebody 115 00:07:05,640 --> 00:07:09,000 Speaker 1: in the fashion industry who was there when mom jeans 116 00:07:09,080 --> 00:07:11,440 Speaker 1: were brought back, and they were brought back in this 117 00:07:11,480 --> 00:07:16,200 Speaker 1: really mean spirited way among like little twenty something wave 118 00:07:16,560 --> 00:07:19,480 Speaker 1: models who basically wanted to rub it in the faces 119 00:07:19,520 --> 00:07:22,760 Speaker 1: of moms, um how good they looked, even in their 120 00:07:22,880 --> 00:07:26,160 Speaker 1: frumpy mom jeans, and that's how mom jeans came back. 121 00:07:26,440 --> 00:07:30,000 Speaker 1: That to me is basically the same principle behind bringing 122 00:07:30,040 --> 00:07:33,280 Speaker 1: back the pink flamingos. It's it's it's the way that 123 00:07:33,360 --> 00:07:36,600 Speaker 1: John Waters put is that they become loaded objects, classics, 124 00:07:36,680 --> 00:07:39,040 Speaker 1: tools of the well to do, mocking the taste of 125 00:07:39,040 --> 00:07:41,680 Speaker 1: the less fortunate, and that he says that the real 126 00:07:41,800 --> 00:07:45,120 Speaker 1: plastic flamingo is in a sense extinct. You can't have 127 00:07:45,160 --> 00:07:48,760 Speaker 1: anything that innocent anymore. So I realized I'm being a 128 00:07:48,800 --> 00:07:51,360 Speaker 1: little high blown and high falutant about this whole thing, 129 00:07:51,400 --> 00:07:54,120 Speaker 1: But I just found it really fascinating that the idea 130 00:07:54,200 --> 00:07:57,360 Speaker 1: that it is has this certain level of mockery. That 131 00:07:57,400 --> 00:07:59,840 Speaker 1: you're mocking the taste of people who ever thought they 132 00:08:00,000 --> 00:08:02,240 Speaker 1: those things were neat and enjoyed them on there, you know, 133 00:08:02,280 --> 00:08:05,040 Speaker 1: at face value. Sure, and I think both of us 134 00:08:05,040 --> 00:08:11,480 Speaker 1: are kind of anti uh ironic, you know, flaunting ironically. Yeah, 135 00:08:11,600 --> 00:08:13,720 Speaker 1: at the same time though, sometimes we've just just gotta 136 00:08:13,760 --> 00:08:16,480 Speaker 1: mellow out. Well, that's true too. I mean we're not 137 00:08:16,560 --> 00:08:22,080 Speaker 1: upset about this or anything, right, Uh, are you mad? No? Okay, 138 00:08:22,200 --> 00:08:24,800 Speaker 1: I'm just kidding. It's all good. Uh So, a few 139 00:08:24,800 --> 00:08:27,320 Speaker 1: more things about the flamingos, though, a couple of neat things. 140 00:08:28,000 --> 00:08:32,440 Speaker 1: In nine, if you are familiar with Madison, Wisconsin and 141 00:08:32,440 --> 00:08:36,120 Speaker 1: the university there, they planted over a thousand of these 142 00:08:36,600 --> 00:08:39,440 Speaker 1: in the grass of in front of the dean's office. 143 00:08:40,160 --> 00:08:43,480 Speaker 1: And then many years later, I think they paid homage 144 00:08:43,520 --> 00:08:47,040 Speaker 1: to that. In two thousand nine, in honor of this 145 00:08:47,120 --> 00:08:50,400 Speaker 1: prank in the city town council named the pink Flamingo 146 00:08:50,440 --> 00:08:53,880 Speaker 1: the official bird of Madison. That's right. So the seventies 147 00:08:53,920 --> 00:08:56,320 Speaker 1: were huge for the pink Flamingo, but the eighties were 148 00:08:56,400 --> 00:08:59,360 Speaker 1: even huger. For the first time ever in the history 149 00:08:59,360 --> 00:09:02,520 Speaker 1: of Union pro ducks, I think in five, six or seven, 150 00:09:03,080 --> 00:09:07,240 Speaker 1: the pink Flamingo out sold the duck with ducklings um 151 00:09:07,320 --> 00:09:10,320 Speaker 1: lawn ornament. And some people say, well, it was just 152 00:09:10,400 --> 00:09:12,520 Speaker 1: it was the thirtieth anniversary of the pink Flamingo, so 153 00:09:12,640 --> 00:09:14,600 Speaker 1: it was getting more pressed and it had this revival. 154 00:09:14,840 --> 00:09:16,679 Speaker 1: Other people say, no, no, no, it had nothing to 155 00:09:16,679 --> 00:09:20,240 Speaker 1: do the thirtieth anniversary. It was the popularity of Miami 156 00:09:20,400 --> 00:09:23,959 Speaker 1: vice that brought pink flamingos back. But again brought them 157 00:09:23,960 --> 00:09:27,040 Speaker 1: back in this way that like people weren't really enjoying 158 00:09:27,120 --> 00:09:29,760 Speaker 1: them at face value. There was something kind of campy 159 00:09:29,880 --> 00:09:32,480 Speaker 1: or funny about having the pink flamingo in the front yard. 160 00:09:33,360 --> 00:09:35,600 Speaker 1: Well here at our zoo in Atlanta, that one of 161 00:09:35,640 --> 00:09:37,560 Speaker 1: the very first things that you see when you walk 162 00:09:37,640 --> 00:09:41,400 Speaker 1: in are the flamingos standing there on one leg. And 163 00:09:41,440 --> 00:09:44,079 Speaker 1: I think we should do a full episode on flamingos 164 00:09:44,080 --> 00:09:47,839 Speaker 1: at some point, because a really neat and my daughter 165 00:09:47,880 --> 00:09:49,640 Speaker 1: was so taken with them. We ended up getting her 166 00:09:50,280 --> 00:09:54,840 Speaker 1: a large flamingo painting for her bedroom that was like 167 00:09:55,000 --> 00:09:59,040 Speaker 1: twenty bucks at a flea market. And she's enjoying it earnestly, 168 00:09:59,160 --> 00:10:01,760 Speaker 1: isn't she. Now she loves it. That's great. So then 169 00:10:01,760 --> 00:10:05,080 Speaker 1: all of her who are mocking it, who are mocking 170 00:10:05,080 --> 00:10:11,240 Speaker 1: pink flamingos, you're mocking Chuck's daughter directly think about that. Uh. 171 00:10:11,280 --> 00:10:15,200 Speaker 1: And there's this other cool thing that I hadn't heard of. Um, 172 00:10:15,240 --> 00:10:19,120 Speaker 1: it's sort of like a chain letter that gets passed around. 173 00:10:19,360 --> 00:10:21,920 Speaker 1: So here's how it works. What you do is you're 174 00:10:21,920 --> 00:10:24,360 Speaker 1: trying to raise money for a charity and have a 175 00:10:24,360 --> 00:10:27,320 Speaker 1: little fun while you're doing it. So at night instead 176 00:10:27,360 --> 00:10:31,319 Speaker 1: of like teeping somebody's yard. You will set up flamingos 177 00:10:31,360 --> 00:10:34,040 Speaker 1: in the yard of a house or a business, and 178 00:10:34,080 --> 00:10:37,160 Speaker 1: there's a sign that says, this flock has been placed 179 00:10:37,200 --> 00:10:42,000 Speaker 1: here for this charity. Uh, and a dollar will come 180 00:10:42,040 --> 00:10:45,320 Speaker 1: pick these things up for a dollar apiece that goes 181 00:10:45,360 --> 00:10:48,720 Speaker 1: to this charity, and then that gets passed onto another 182 00:10:48,840 --> 00:10:52,800 Speaker 1: yard like a chain letter, right, which is funny. Like 183 00:10:52,960 --> 00:10:56,120 Speaker 1: I gotta shout out Smithsonian Mental Floss and thought co 184 00:10:56,320 --> 00:10:58,040 Speaker 1: for helping us out with this. But I think in 185 00:10:58,120 --> 00:11:01,640 Speaker 1: the Mental Floss article, the author it's clearly much younger 186 00:11:01,679 --> 00:11:05,400 Speaker 1: than us because they say like old school chain letters 187 00:11:05,440 --> 00:11:09,240 Speaker 1: from the early two thousand, so they know they go 188 00:11:09,320 --> 00:11:11,960 Speaker 1: back a lot further than that. I just thought that 189 00:11:12,040 --> 00:11:14,520 Speaker 1: was very funny. Yeah, And I think the person like, 190 00:11:14,600 --> 00:11:17,040 Speaker 1: if someone put them in my yard, put like a 191 00:11:17,080 --> 00:11:20,439 Speaker 1: hundred flamingos for a charity, I would say, all right, 192 00:11:20,480 --> 00:11:22,840 Speaker 1: I'll pay the hundred bucks, and then now I get 193 00:11:22,880 --> 00:11:25,120 Speaker 1: to pick and I would send them straight to your house. 194 00:11:25,160 --> 00:11:27,520 Speaker 1: Of course, like an old school chain letter from the 195 00:11:28,679 --> 00:11:30,440 Speaker 1: I get to pick the next house and so on 196 00:11:30,480 --> 00:11:34,280 Speaker 1: and so on. Yep, Um, there's there. They're so they're 197 00:11:34,320 --> 00:11:36,680 Speaker 1: clearly still around you can still get them today, and 198 00:11:36,840 --> 00:11:39,280 Speaker 1: I guess from what I read they still make about 199 00:11:39,280 --> 00:11:41,760 Speaker 1: a thousand of them a day and use two hundred 200 00:11:41,800 --> 00:11:45,200 Speaker 1: and seventy million pounds of plastic to make pink plastic 201 00:11:45,400 --> 00:11:49,120 Speaker 1: lawn flamingos in the United States. M well booted that, 202 00:11:49,240 --> 00:11:52,800 Speaker 1: but gated the flamingos. There's also one last little tidbit, Chuck. 203 00:11:52,880 --> 00:11:56,920 Speaker 1: There's a rumor an urban legend who knows that if 204 00:11:56,960 --> 00:12:00,440 Speaker 1: you see somebody with a plastic pink lawnful mingo in 205 00:12:00,440 --> 00:12:05,800 Speaker 1: their front yard, it's a signal that they are swingers. Right, 206 00:12:06,280 --> 00:12:08,440 Speaker 1: But I think it's a good time to remember not 207 00:12:08,559 --> 00:12:11,640 Speaker 1: everyone with the pineapple in their grocery cart is looking 208 00:12:11,640 --> 00:12:14,320 Speaker 1: to hook up, and not every flamingo in the front 209 00:12:14,360 --> 00:12:17,800 Speaker 1: yard Mains' swinger hadn't heard the pineapple one. What if 210 00:12:17,840 --> 00:12:21,840 Speaker 1: somebody has a pineapple and a flamingo in their front yard. 211 00:12:22,120 --> 00:12:24,360 Speaker 1: Oh well, it's all like Donkey Kong. Here you go, 212 00:12:25,600 --> 00:12:28,440 Speaker 1: big big fish bowl with a few keys in there. 213 00:12:29,000 --> 00:12:33,680 Speaker 1: That's right. Well, that's it for short stuff, right, That's right? Okay, 214 00:12:33,679 --> 00:12:39,000 Speaker 1: Well then that means short stuff is out. Stuff you 215 00:12:39,000 --> 00:12:41,360 Speaker 1: should know. 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