Flamingos...The Gnomes Still Have Nothing On Them

I was recently listening to an interview with writer and historian Jennifer Price, and I was interested to hear her say that the current ratio in the U.S. for lawn ornament flamingos to real ones is 700 to 1. Even so, the word is out that the lawn counterpart of our pink friend is now extinct...At least in its original glory: the Union Products Leominster, MA factory (they made urns & bird baths, too) manufacturing them shut down in November of last year. Ms. Price has penned a poignant eulogy here. Their coy (yet still screaming) likenesses dominated lawns in the latter half of the 20th century. They debuted in 1957, the magnum opus of a young designer named Don Featherstone, who lovingly lined up 500 members of his empire for a 40th anniversary celebration here.