The word was finally getting out. By the third year, a much larger crowd attended and a large profit was made. Year 4: "Beyond Night of Decadence" - This was the first year that NOD was truly a toga party. Everyone on campus showed up and it was the major party of the year. Early history The Houston Press suggested the college began adopting a theme for each year's party in 1976. However, it is wrong. According to the founders, togas and minimal clothing was there at the beginning. It has been suggested that in the 1970s and 1980s, many of the themes were historical and/or apocalyptic in nature (e.g. The Fall of Rome, Caligula, Armageddon, Animal Farm, the Trojan War). Again, according to the founders, that is incorrect, at least for the first years. The founders were not going for historical or apocalyptic: The founders made a conscious decision to name the year's NOD with a nod to a movie title. By the 1990s the themes were generally sexual puns, often based on movie titles (e.g., James Bondage, Lust in Space). In the past, the university administration tried to shut down the party because of concerns about alcohol use and harassment due to NOD's sexual nature. For many years NOD's trademark was "Sparky", a giant phallus built of papier-mâché and suspended from the ceiling of the Commons. (Sparky's also became the nickname of Wiess's basement game room.) Often Sparky was aligned with a corresponding anatomical prop at the other end of the room; one year a motor was added to move Sparky back and forth during the party. In some years a second Sparky was constructed with internal tubing that delivered Everclear punch from an upstairs mixing area to a suitably shaped serving trough below. NOD themes References Which college comes out tops in Fun 101? DallasNews published Sept 21, 1991 College collage Alumni share insights with Sam Houston students Fort Worth Star-Telegram published January 10, 1994 Parties Rice University