In 1997 someone lodged a large pumpkin on a spire at the top of a tower on a Cornell University building, 173 feet in the air. Nobody explained why this was done or even took credit for doing it, since the achievement jeopardized the health of students on the ground below, and there was fear of retribution.
The prank was discussed at length 20 years later in an NPR article, and recently updated at the Cornell Daily Sun. pic via
The NPR story gets at least one thing wrong - it wasn't students who wrote the text of the song, it was a staff member. It was performed by the Cornell Chorus (and Glee Club, I think), and filmed for the ABC evening news. I know, I was there, singing it. I have a copy of the words we sang somewhere (the proverbial "safe place" you can never find again), and didn't succeed in hunting it down online. But part of it was "hail, cucurbita maxima, hail, all hail, to thee!"
ReplyDeleteThe remains of the pumpkin (after its fall) were displayed in a plexiglass box in (I believe) the lobby of the administration building (Day Hall) for some time, but I have no idea where it is now.
Sandra
I loved playing such pranks in high school and college (not admitting anything later). They were less broadly known as "ratf**ks".
ReplyDeleteI pretty much covered all the stuff I could find about this great prank and found its deserved A+ rating in that much of the explanations and stories still leave a lot to the imagination.
If nothing else, the climb from wherever the hatch was to the top had to be done by one experienced and brave climber.
The more I think about that part of things, the more possible it seems that Kennedy may not have survived, leaving Reagan and Nixon with no choice but lifelong silence.
I live 80 miles s.e. of Ithaca, and have visited the town and university camupus several times. This is the first I've heard of this prank, and it's a hoot.
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