Katy Herman / BuzzFeed

Like the rest of the world, my life was forever changed a few summers back when Taylor Swift flaunted her impressive array of pool-float wildlife at her Fourth of July party. I knew I had to have one. I've always been partial to flamingos over swans, perhaps because I'm far more quirky than elegant. Although I pined for a pool flamingo to call my own, I didn't actually acquire one until last summer, when I found this one for TWENTY DOLLARS on Amazon (I've seen some that cost over $100). It was love at first sight. But the real entertainment value came from breaking her out with my friends. One of my besties took one look and dubbed her "Janice," and that was it: Janice became the queen of my Instagram. By the end of the summer, she had an entire backstory (don't ask her about her on-again-off-again relationship with the floaty alligator, it's a sore subject).

While those are really the important things, she also holds water (lol) in the quality department. To get to the pool we have to cross a very narrow bridge, and Janice was too large to fit in the car when fully inflated. So on several occasions, my friends held her by the face from the passenger seat with her neck out the window and her butt in the air as I slowly drove over the bridge. I was laughing harder than I ever have in my entire life, but it's no joke how impressed I was with how well she withstood our ridiculousness all summer. I can't wait to see her again this year. —Katy Herman

Get it from Amazon for $21.99.