ANNAPOLIS, Md. — The U.S. Naval Academy’s Class of 2021 has capped its first year quite literally — and messily.
Each year, first-year students form a human pyramid around a 21-foot (6-meter) obelisk that has been greased with butter, shortening and oil. Other “plebes” then try to scramble to the top of the pyramid to replace an underclassman’s “Dixie cup” hat with an upperclassman’s hat.
News outlets report that this year’s class of more than 1,000 took two hours, nine minutes and 35 seconds to reach the Herndon Monument’s pinnacle — slightly faster than last year’s but still slower than average.
Legend dictates the one to cap the obelisk will be the first admiral of their class. In the tradition’s eight-decade history, that has yet to come true.
