The demise of the plastic pink flamingo is upon us. Conceived in 1957 by designer Don Featherstone for the Leominster, MA company, Union Products, the pink flamingo became a lawn ornament icon of the sixties and a symbol of the baby boomer generation.

Dotting the lawns of suburbanites everywhere, the flamingo became part of pop culture. Over the years its status fell and it began to represent the ultimate in tackiness. Recently it has experienced an upsurge in popularity, purchased as a prank to mark milestone birthdays. Many an unsuspecting 50-year-old has found a flock of 50 plastic flamingos inhabiting their front lawns.

The plastic pink flamingo will turn 50 next June but the company that makes the original pink flamingo will close its doors on November 1.

There’s a sheriff in Texas who has his own way to reduce the recidivism rate in his tiny jail. He simply can’t afford to have inmates coming for a return engagement, and so he has come up with his own solution to keeping his cramped jail quarters from overcrowding.

He makes them wear pink.

The walls are pink. The bars are pink. Even the sheets on the bunks are pink, and the inmates are dressed in pink jumpsuits and pink slippers. Sheriff Clint Low, of Mason, Texas says this has been very effective. No one wants to come back. Ever. Did I mention these were male prisoners?

According to the website Color Matters, the color pink suppresses anger and anxiety-ridden behavior among prisoners.

About dot com states that large amounts of the color pink create physical weakness in people.

While red connotes power and strength and sexuality, pink is the symbol of innocence and romance.

For the first time in my life, I understand the Red Hat Society. Pink is for little girls, a woman can wear red.