Pole sitting

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A pole sitter in Amsterdam in 1979 Opschrift op het bord Record paalzitten 120 uur (oude record), Bestanddeelnr 930-3639.jpg
A pole sitter in Amsterdam in 1979

Pole sitting is the practice of sitting on top of a pole (such as a flagpole) 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.

Contents

History and 1920s fad

Pole sitting is predated by 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 36 years. [1]

14-year-old William Ruppert breaking the pole sitting record of 23 days, in 1929 Maryland youth breaks pole sitting record. William Ruppert, 14-year-old youth of Colgate, Maryland, as he appeared atop the flag pole in the yard of his home yesterday after breaking the LCCN2016889434.jpg
14-year-old William Ruppert breaking the pole sitting record of 23 days, in 1929

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.

For the most part, pole sitting was confined to the 1920s, ending with the onset of the Depression. [5]

Post-1930 incidents and records

Television

Film

In a dialog sequence early in the 1932 movie The Most Dangerous Game , the character Zaroff introduces the protagonist Bob to his guests as a celebrity, upon which Martin guesses (incorrectly) that Bob might be a flagpole sitter.

In 2004, Danish film Tid Til Forandring / What's Wrong With This Picture the pole-sitting competition is prominently featured as a part of the film with the main character Inge winning the contest by abandoning the sitting as the sole remaining participant when a dog resembling her own passes by. [14] [15]

See also

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References

  1. "Catholic Encyclopedia: St. Simeon Stylites the Elder". New Advent. 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. Archived from the original on October 4, 2007. Retrieved 2012-02-05.
  6. Cosgrove, Ben (June 1, 2014). "Behind the Picture: Love Atop a Flagpole". Time Magazine. Archived from the original on August 21, 2015.
  7. Goldstein, Richard (December 29, 2002). "Charley Lupica, 90, Dies; Fan Who Sat on Flagpole". New York Times . Retrieved May 11, 2023.
  8. "He viewed life from a flagpole". Chicago Tribune. May 6, 1974. p. I-1.
  9. Goodson, Mike. "Pole-sittin' Peggy". The Gadsden Times. Retrieved 12 April 2012.
  10. "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.
  11. "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.
  12. "What's My Line? - Audie Murphy (Jul 3, 1955)". 23 November 2013 via YouTube.
  13. "M*A*S*H: Season 5, Episode 22 script | Subs like Script". subslikescript.com.
  14. Svendsen, Lotte (2004-08-13), Tid til forandring (Drama), Claus Ryskjær, Helle Dolleris, Anne Sofie Espersen, Nordisk Film, retrieved 2024-04-28
  15. "Tid til forandring (2004)". danskefilm.dk. Retrieved 2024-04-28.