Imtiaq & The Diorama
This was a picture taken by one of my teammates at the competition of me at our group's table with the diorama next to me.
Behind mine, you can see the project of the group that won first place, a styrofoam Taj Mahal. Their project deserved the spot since it was quite nuanced along with being custom made to beat me, and by this point I had accepted my fate of getting second place.
However, little did Imtiaq in this picture know, one group that had not arrived yet, plotted the most dubious plan to outdo him. They decided to recreate the Great Wall of China, it wasn't painted so it was just brown cardboard with bricks drawn on with sharpie. They didn't bother with detail or aesthetically pleasing factors at all, instead they just went for sheer size. My model looked tiny next to it, and keep in mind, my model is already like 2 feet wide.
I think it was like 5 feet wide and 2 feet tall. And even though visually it wasn't good, the teachers decided to give that team second place. The amount of salt that decision put on my wound was indescribable, but there was nothing I could have done other than come to terms with the defeat.
And that sums up the full back story behind this very peculiar event. While not the fondest memory, it certainly makes for an entertaining story.