Plebes (freshman) from class of 2015, scale the Herndon Monument, a 21 foot high grease covered obelisk, to swap a plebe cap for one of a midshipman, at the U.S. Naval Academy, in Annapolis, M.d., Tuesday, May 21, 2012. The obelisk is covered with more than 200 pounds of lard, making it difficult to climb. This tradition is designed to illustrate the merits of teamwork. It took roughly 2 hours and 10 minutes for the rising sophomores to complete the challenge, creating a human pyramid that enabled them to replace the plebe Dixie cup head cover which had been taped securely to the obelisk by thoughtful upperclassmen.
