Fleming House is currently being renovated and empty, rendering the cannon unattended at the time of theft. Copying a 20 year old Mudd prank hardly wins any points for creativity. Caltech apart from Fleming has historically held little affection for the cannon, and hence would be expected to ignore, if not support its disappearance.

Its original heist in fall, 1972 required a great deal of research into its history and original design, and countless hours of restoration work before it could be safely moved. The San Marino police were not supportive, hence stealth and speed were of the essence until the nearly 70 students manning the towing ropes got it safely across the Pasadena city line. From there the 3 mile transport to campus was fairly uneventful, thanks to careful advance planning. "Fleming uber alles." Stay tuned.

These comments crack me up. What a bunch of nerds. Needless to say, these nerds are among the most brilliant people alive - but nevertheless, they often are socially inept - but at the same time... what clever fun!

Theron is accurate on all counts, despite being a Lloydie. It might be noteworthy to comment that Caltech students are so innately convinced (often appropriately) of their superiority that it doesn't occur to them that there's a rivalry going with MIT (where enrollment is 5 times higher, and hence less exclusive) or at Harvey Mudd (which few Teachers had heard of before the Fleming Cannon heist). Caltech students have fierce feuds between houses (e.g., Flems were traditionally, and somewhat sarcastically, labeled as "jocks") and save their deepest derision for the graduate students, who often under perform the undergrads in courses that both groups attend.

Perhaps the most embarrassing part of this news story is the bikini picture above. Are there really girls at MIT?

In 1973 I was in 8th grade at the Southwestern Acadamy in San Marino, California. That spring the cannon that was centerpiece of the school was "stolen" by a group of Caltech students. In the dead of the night the students dragged the cannon the mile up the road to Caltech. The school had started off as a military acadamy in the 1920s. Every evening they fired the cannon when they retired the flags. This practice was stopped in the early sixties as the neighbors started complaining. By the early seventies the school wanting to distance itself from the military image wanted to get rid of the cannon. That year was the first year they went coed, my sister Robin, was the first girl admitted, and the only one that first year.

As a graduate of Caltech (BS 87, Math) who was a student during the first heist of the Fleming Cannon, I'd like to make some comments.

1) The cannon does not belong to Caltech. It belongs to Fleming House, one of the seven undergraduate residence houses at Caltech. Many undergraduates not affiliated with Fleming House have no affinity for the cannon. I lived in Lloyd House, across the Olive Walk from Fleming House, and the cannon pointed directly at the apartment of the Resident Associate. Even though the Flems (residents of Fleming House, intended to be homophonic with "phlegms") use blanks when firing the cannon, we still didn't appreciate them firing it in our direction.

2) Fleming House is known for their sense of elitism. This is the same house whose seniors wear red cap and gown to graduation -- everyone else wears black. Each house has their own color Flemings is red. This is the same house that disturbs Physics 1 lectures by setting up a large wooden sign (when I say large, it's the size of a basketball scoreboard found on the wall in a municipal gym) with the house name on it at the back of the lecture hall and serving pizza to its freshmen taking the course. Fleming House is known to be the house most resembling a frat house and this is not meant to be a favorable comparison.

3) Caltech security is well known for their ineptitude -- when I was there, students made fun of them all the time. When Harvey Mudd College stole the cannon twenty years ago, they also fooled security with official-looking papers. One of the security guys was quoted as telling the Harvey Mudd students that they had to check, since people try to steal the cannon all the time.

4) The 1986 heist took place during Spring Break, when very few students were around. Not impressive.

5) Reaction in 1986 was mixed, owing to the fact that it's the Fleming Cannon, and residents of other houses are more than happy to see Fleming be a victim. A fellow Lloydie (resident of Lloyd House) told me that when he saw them taking the cannon away, his thought was "Good riddance!" (suitably edited for publication). Members of Page House, Fleming Houses archest rival, drove out to the Harvey Mudd campus and actually congratulated the pranksters for taking the cannon. Unsurprisingly, the Harvey Mudd students couldn't fathom why students from Caltech were congratulating them on taking the cannon. But it's not the Caltech Cannon, notwithstanding the plaque created by the MIT students -- it's the Fleming Cannon.

Great news, so nice to hear about good old fashioned fun. Much of the news about young people is negative, this was a joy to hear.

This is so cool.