Pole sitting

"Flagpole sitter" redirects here. For the Harvey Danger song, see Flagpole Sitta. For the starter in a race, see pole position.

Pole sitting is the practice of sitting on top of a pole (such as a flagpole) for extended lengths of time, generally used as a test of endurance. A small platform is typically placed at the top of the pole for the sitter. Led by the stunt actor and former sailor Alvin "Shipwreck" Kelly, flagpole sitting was a fad in the mid-to-late 1920s, but mostly died out after the start of the Great Depression.

History and 1920s fad

Pole sitting is related to the ancient ascetic discipline of stylitism, or column-sitting. St. Simeon Stylites the Elder (c. 388–459) of Antioch (now Turkey) was a column-sitter who sat on a small platform on a column for 37 years.[1]

Flagpole sitting was a fad in the mid-to-late 1920s. The fad was begun by stunt actor and former sailor[2] Alvin "Shipwreck" Kelly, who sat on a flagpole, either on a dare by a friend[3] or as a publicity stunt.[2] Shipwreck's initial 1924 sit lasted 13 hours and 13 minutes. It soon became a fad with other contestants setting records of 12, 17 and 21 days. In 1929, Shipwreck decided to reclaim the title. He sat on a flagpole for 49 days in Atlantic City, New Jersey, setting a new record.[4] The following year, 1930, his record was broken by Bill Penfield in Strawberry Point, Iowa who sat on a flagpole for 51 days and 20 hours, until a thunderstorm forced him down. Flagpole sitting in the 1920s was a major part of the decade. For the most part, pole sitting died out after 1929, with the onset of the Depression.[5]

Post-1930 incidents and records

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Catholic Encyclopedia: St. Simeon Stylites the Elder". Newadvent.org. 1912-02-01. Retrieved 2009-10-17.
  2. 1 2 Baker, Danny. "Shipwreck for ever in pole position." The Times (United Kingdom) 21 Aug. 2002: Newspaper Source Plus. Web. 22 Dec. 2011.
  3. ↑ Long, Mark A., and Jim Fee. Bad Fads. Toronto: ECW, 2002. p. 17 Ebrary. Web. 22 Dec. 2011.
  4. ↑ "Atlantic City's Historic Steel Pier at Trump Taj Mahal Hits the Auction Block on August 25th." PR Newswire US. 29 June 2011: Regional Business News. Web. 22 Dec. 2011.
  5. ↑ Flagpole Sitting - The Bad Fads Museum at the Wayback Machine (archived October 4, 2007)
  6. ↑ Dixie Blandy Papers, Special Collections and Archives, Wright State University
  7. ↑ Goodson, Mike. "Pole-sittin' Peggy". The Gadsden Times. Retrieved 12 April 2012.
  8. ↑ "They Run For Office And Lose—Again And Again | Washington Bureau". Mgwashington.com. 2008-05-02. Archived from the original on July 14, 2011. Retrieved 2011-05-20.
  9. ↑ "The most unusual name on the 2008 ballot". Bay Buzz. 2008-06-26. Archived from the original on January 16, 2010. Retrieved 2011-05-20.
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