it to campus at night thought they were stealing it. It took months of paint stripping and other work to restore it to operational status. The Caltech administration ordered its return in 1975, but negotiations began for an official transfer of the cannon back to Caltech in 1980, and in 1981 it was returned on a permanent basis to the Caltech campus. The cannon was stolen by Harvey Mudd students in 1986 (as detailed in this article). At the demands of both college administrations, the cannon was returned to Fleming House approximately 8 weeks after the prank. It was rumored that Harvey Mudd would attempt to steal the cannon again in 2006 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their original theft; however, the cannon disappeared on March 28, a day before the anniversary, only to show up at MIT, just in time for Campus Preview Weekend, during which many rising freshmen visit MIT. A (seemingly fake) moving company by the name of Howe & Ser Moving Co. has taken credit. (The name is a double pun: When substituting "and" for the ampersand, it reads "how we answer", while substituting the Latin et for the ampersand gives "Howitzer".) Displayed prominently in front of MIT's Green Building, the Fleming cannon sported a giant, gold-plated MIT class ring around its barrel. A day after the prank was disclosed, Fleming's members began planning a recovery operation on the night of April 7. They immediately sent twenty-three members to Boston to retrieve their cannon. The Flems were greeted at MIT by a group of students and police who watched as the cannon was loaded into a truck. Afterward, a friendly barbecue celebrated the event. Notable Flems George O. Abell (Astronomy, 1951) – Astronomer, Professor of Astronomy at the University of California, Los Angeles Ronald H. Willens (Physics, 1953) – researcher at Bell Labs, entrepreneur Benjamin M. Rosen (Electrical Engineering, 1954) – venture capitalist, founder of Sevin Rosen Funds, former chair of Compaq William Robert Graham (Physics, 1959) – deputy administrator and acting administrator of NASA, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Jay Obernolte (Engineering and Applied Science, 1992) – Video game developer and politician Jeffery M. Mendez (Chemistry, 1999) – Caltech Lecturer in Chemistry Ryan Patterson (Physics, 2000) – Caltech Professor of Physics Ricketts House Ricketts House was funded by and named for mining engineer L. D. Ricketts. Members of