Explore the Other incidents about the Pranks of this artwork.
In March 1934 Harvard athletes were suspected in the disappearance of Yale's "ugly bulldog mascot", Handsome Dan.
The dog was recovered a few days later, though not before the Harvard Lampoon had photographed him licking John Harvard's boots,
which had been smeared with hamburger.
("Dog licks man", a Crimson headline read.)"Some years ago some students painted [the statue] crimson and our cops caught them red-handed", Deputy Chief of the Harvard University Police Jack W. Morse told The Harvard Crimson in 1984, adding "I've been waiting a long time to use that." 
(Crimson is Harvard's school color.)As the statue's hundredth anniversary approached, Harvard Lampoon president Conan O'Brien predicted that "we'll probably stuff it with cottage cheese, maybe also with some chives." 
"I think it’s creative but I wish students would direct their creative energies elsewhere," a Harvard maintenance official said in 2002.
John Harvard Harvard University Handsome Dan The Harvard Crimson school color crimson arch Harvard Crimson Crimson Yale Conan O'Brien Harvard Lampoon "Dog licks man"