In popular culture [ edit] In the media and fiction, plastic flamingos
Flamingo
Flamingos or flamingoes are a type of wading bird in the family Phoenicopteridae, the only bird family in the order Phoenicopteriformes. Four flamingo species are distributed throughout the Americas, including the Caribbean, and two species are native to Africa, Asia, and Europe.
Pink Flamingos
Notorious Baltimore criminal and underground figure Divine goes up against a sleazy married couple who make a passionate attempt to humiliate her and seize her tabloid-given title as "The Filthiest Person Alive".
What does it mean when someone puts pink flamingos in your yard?
A lot of the time, pink flamingos in the RV community don't actually mean anything. They're just a fun, quirky decoration. Other times, people might carry over the tradition of having flamingos in their yard for their birthday, by showcasing some flamingos in celebration.
Do flamingos represent swinging?
According to the Sun, flamingos symbolize swinging, with partner swappers placing plastic replicas of the bird in their front yards to let others know they're up for a good time.
Why are plastic flamingos a thing?
It has a surprising natural history. The pink flamingo is just about 60 years old. Yes, the plastic lawn ornament was actually created by someone; designer Don Featherstone to be exact, during his second year on the job at Union Products.
What do flamingos mean in RV community?
In culture For a small plastic lawn ornament there are a lot of rumors and legends surrounding the pink flamingo. One of those is that the people who put them on their lawn are swingers. This carries over to RV parks where you'll see the decorations outside of campers.
Where did plastic Pink Flamingos come from?
First designed in 1957, the fake birds are natives not of Florida but of Leominster, Massachusetts, which bills itself as the Plastics Capital of the World. At a nearby art school, sculptor Don Featherstone was hired by the plastics company Union Products, where his second assignment was to sculpt a pink flamingo.
Are Pink Flamingos anti HOA?
Homeowners Associations across America still hold biases against plastic pink flamingos and other lawn ornaments. These HOAs ban all plastic flamingos and other lawn ornaments, and fine homeowners who don't follow their regulations.
Who invented the plastic pink flamingo?
Donald FeatherstoneThe flamingo ornament was one of hundreds of items that Donald Featherstone made for the Union Products plastics company. If you've got a plastic pink flamingo on your lawn, give it a pat on the back. The man who designed the lawn art, Donald Featherstone, has died. He was 79.
What do upside down pineapples mean in the RV world?
So, What Does An Upside Down Pineapple Mean? On a cruise ship, the secret symbol of an upside-down pineapple is regularly used as a code for swinging or “wife-swapping”. In most cases, an illustrated and upside-down pineapple is fixed to the cabin door of a guest interested in swinging and partner swapping.
When were plastic flamingos popular?
Featherstone's duck and flamingo ornaments sold in pairs for US$2.76, and were advertised as “Plastics for the Lawn.” They became simultaneously popular and derided in the late 1950s and remain a recognizable species of American material culture.
Are there more plastic flamingos than real flamingos?
There are more fake flamingos in the world than real ones There are just under two million flamingos in the wild, whereas their kitschy plastic cousins, produced on a mass scale since 1957, number well into the millions.
When was the first plastic lawn flamingo sold?
He designed the pink flamingo based on photographs in National Geographic Magazine. Sold in pairs, they went on sale in 1958 for $2.76. The Sears catalogue carried them, with the instructions, “Place in garden, lawn, to beautify landscape.
What is a pink flamingo?
Store-bought sculptures, accent pieces, and other decorative pieces make our outdoor spaces shine. Pink flamingos are a common ornament in American backyards. Since their 1950s origins, their meaning has evolved from a joyful symbol of kitsch to a symbol of low-class humor, and slowly into what is today a fun charity project known as flocking.
How long have pink flamingos been around?
Pink flamingos have evolved continuously since their inception into what is currently a fun engagement for the community. After more than 50 years of enduring, the pink flamingo has earned a spot on the American icon list and has even been added to the National Museum catalog.
What is a flamingo invasion?
Over recent years, pranksters, fundraisers, and charities have set up flamingo “invasions,” or flocking of plastic flamingos. Regularly, in the darkness, an organization sets up a flock of flamingos in the yards of homes or businesses with a sign accompanying the flock. The sign explains the placing of the flock for charitable reasons and identifies the charities as well.
What does the flock sign mean?
The sign explains the placing of the flock for charitable reasons and identifies the charities as well. Flocking victims can then pay a fee to have the flock removed, select the next victim, and the flock can then descend on another yard.
What was the flamingo theme in the 1980s?
By the early 1980s, the flamingo theme was an actual decorating theme . Enthusiasts enjoyed drinks from flamingo glasses, ate from flamingo plates, and enjoyed their evenings by the light of flamingo-shaped candles.
How to draw attention to flamingos?
The attention a large batch of flamingos in a small space brings is immense. Their notoriety, however, can be amped up by decorating them to further draw attention to your cause. The decorations can go as far as your creativity: you could choose to add outfits, paint silly faces, or form patterns in the flocking.
What is the importance of flocking?
An important feature that comes with flocking is that at the bottom of the flocking sign, a gentle suggestion is included that if the victim is not in a position to donate at the time, they can have the flock removed at no charge. This allows flocking to maintain its fun reputation while respect ing others .
What is pink flamingos?
Pink Flamingos is actually about drag queens and some say it may be one of the most offensive pictures ever. But it celebrated the drag queen and became campy and symbolic as well as becoming huge in the gay community. Gay bars and drag shows embraced the icon such that it appeared on earrings, on shoes and in fashion of all sorts as sort ...
Why did the Pink Flamingos come back?
But in the 1970s they came back because of John Waters who directed the film Pink Flamingos. While the 1972 was not about the flamingos themselves, it did feature a trailer park and with two of the birds adorning a mobile home. Pink Flamingos is actually about drag queens and some say it may be one of the most offensive pictures ever.
Where were pink flamingos laced?
In 1979 in Madison, Wisconsin over 1,000 pink flamingos were laced on the lawn in front of the Dean’s office.
When did pink flamingos become popular?
By the mid 1980s the pink flamingo finally outsold the duck at Union Products, partially due to the popularity of the TV show Miami Vice. Pink and flamingos were big in the early 1980s and, thus, pink flamingos were once again a popular lawn ornament.
