Assignment 0

Here's one that might blow your mind:

Carnegie Mellon has what's often called "the most painted object in the world" — The Fence.

Originally built in 1923 as nothing more than a wooden fence meant to block foot traffic, it turned into a tradition when students started painting it with messages and artwork. The rule? You can only paint it at night, and with brushes (no spray paint). If your student group wants to keep its message up, you have to physically guard The Fence overnight — every single night — or someone else can take it.

Over time, layer after layer of paint built up until the fence collapsed in 1993 under its own weight of decades' worth of paint. CMU replaced it with a steel-core version, and students just kept going. The layers of paint today are measured in inches thick, and it's estimated that if you cut through it, you'd see a geological core-sample–like record of campus history.

Do you want me to tell you about some of the wildest things people have painted or done while guarding The Fence?