Editing Skull and Bones (section)

== Symbols and traditions ==
The society's badge is gold and consists of a skull that is supported by crossed bones, with the number 322 on the lower jaw.<ref name=":2" /> Its members worshipped Eulogia, a fictional goddess of eloquence.<ref name=":4">{{cite news |last=Stephey |first=M. J. |date=February 23, 2009 |title=A Brief History of the Skull & Bones Society |newspaper=Time |url=http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1881172,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090226150130/http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1881172,00.html |archive-date=February 26, 2009}}</ref>

The number "322" appears in Skull and Bones' insignia and is widely reported to be significant as the year of Greek orator [[Demosthenes]]' death.<ref name="hevesi" /><ref name="atlantic-robbins">{{cite web |author=Robbins, Alexandra |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2000/05/george-w-knight-of-eulogia/304686/ |title=George W., Knight of Eulogia |work=[[The Atlantic Monthly]] |date=May 2000 |access-date=November 5, 2017}}</ref><ref name="Richards" /> A letter between early society members in Yale's archives<ref>{{cite web |url=http://images.library.yale.edu/madid/oneItem.aspx?id=1772730 |title=Letter from a member of Skull and Bones Society to another member |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=March 23, 1860 |website=Yale Manuscripts & Archives Digital Images Database |publisher=[[Yale University Library]] |access-date=November 5, 2017}}</ref> suggests that 322 is a reference to the year 322 BC and that members measure dates from this year instead of using [[anno domini]]. In 322 BC, the [[Lamian War]] ended with the death of Demosthenes, and Athenians were made to dissolve their government and establish a plutocratic system in its stead, whereby only those possessing 2,000 drachmas or more could remain citizens. Documents in the Tomb have purportedly been found dated to "Anno-Demostheni."<ref>{{cite book |author=Stevens, Albert C. |title=Cyclopedia of Fraternities: A Compilation of Existing Authentic Information and the Results of Original Investigation as to the Origin, Derivation, Founders, Development, Aims, Emblems, Character, and Personnel of More Than Six Hundred Secret Societies in the United States |publisher=E. B. Treat and Company |year=1907 |page=340 |oclc=2570157}}</ref>

One legend is that the number represents "founded in '32, 2nd corps", referring to a first [[German Student Corps|Corps]] in an unknown German university.<ref name="Robbins">Robbins, Alexandra. ''Secrets of the Tomb: Skull and Bones, the Ivy League, and the Hidden Paths of Power''. Back Bay Books, 2003.</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://images.library.yale.edu/madid/oneItem.aspx?id=1780610 |title=German postcard included in a Skull and Bones photograph album originally owned by Chester Wolcott Lyman, BA 1882 |year=1882 |publisher=Yale University Library Manuscripts and Archives |trans-title=Photograph albums of the Skull and Bones Society}}</ref> Another possible reference of 322 is the Freemasonic Lodge of Virtue and Silence no. 322, in Suffolk, UK, signaling a fraternal but unspoken sponsorship between the two "secret society" organizations, regarding which silence is considered virtuous. Lodge 322 was founded in 1811,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Provincial Grand Lodge of Suffolk - Lodge of Virtue and Silence 332 |url=https://www.suffolkpgl.org.uk/about/lodge-groups/group-9-hadleigh-area/hadleigh/228-lodge-of-virtue-and-silence-332 |access-date=2024-02-14 |website=www.suffolkpgl.org.uk}}</ref> 21 years before the creation of the Skull and Bones association in 1832.

===Crooking===
{{See also|Geronimo#Alleged theft of Geronimo's skull}}
Skull and Bones has a reputation for stealing keepsakes from other Yale societies or campus buildings; society members reportedly call the practice "crooking" and strive to outdo each other's "crooks".<ref name="Mark2006">{{cite journal |first1=Kathrin Day |last1=Lassila |first2=Mark Alden |last2=Branch |year=2006 |title=Whose skull and bones? |url=http://archives.yalealumnimagazine.com/images/issues/2006/05/Yale_Alumn_Magazine.pdf |journal=Yale Alumni Magazine |pages=20–22}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Landrigan |first=Leslie |date=2018-09-17 |title=Skull and Bones, or 7 Fast Facts About Yale's Secret Society |url=https://newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/skull-and-bones-or-7-fast-facts-about-yales-secret-society/ |access-date=2023-07-01 |website=New England Historical Society |language=en-US}}</ref> The society has been accused of possessing the stolen skulls of [[Martin Van Buren]], [[Geronimo]], and [[Pancho Villa]].<ref name="greenburg">{{cite web |last=Greenburg |first=Zach O. |date=January 23, 2004 |title=Bones may have Pancho Villa skull |url=http://www.yaleherald.com/article.php?Article=2801 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081220084748/http://www.yaleherald.com/article.php?Article=2801 |archive-date=December 20, 2008 |access-date=November 5, 2011 |work=[[The Yale Herald]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Citro |first=Joseph A. |url=https://archive.org/details/weirdnewenglandw00jose/page/270 |title=Weird New England |publisher=Sterling Publishing Company, Inc. |year=2005 |isbn=1-4027-3330-5 |edition=illustrated |pages=[https://archive.org/details/weirdnewenglandw00jose/page/270 270–71]}}</ref><ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> In January 2010, Christie's canceled a planned auction for  a human skull with links to Skull and Bones.<ref name=":3" /><ref>{{cite news |title=Christie's drops human skull from auction |date=January 22, 2010 |url=http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/01/22/new.york.skull.auction/index.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100122202428/http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/01/22/new.york.skull.auction/index.html |archive-date=January 22, 2010}}</ref>[[File:Skull and Bones Kingsley.jpg|thumb|The tomb before the addition of a second wing]]
[[File:Yale Skull and Bones facade from angle.JPG|thumb|A 2009 view of the tomb from across High Street]]