What Was Flagpole Sitting? A Dirt Nap City Dead End

Flagpole sitting is exactly what it sounds like: a person climbing on top of a towering pole, usually in the middle of a city, and testing their endurance by sitting atop it for as long as their body holds up. It began in Hollywood in January 1924, when a former sailor, boxer, steelworker, and stuntman named Alvin “Shipwreck” Kelly was hired by a local theater to sit on a pole outside of the building for as long as possible to drum up publicity for a new movie.
But why did this fad come into fashion? What's the longest time spent on a flagpole? And how did they go to the bathroom? In this episode, Kelly and Alex explore the trend of flagpole sitting in the 1920's and beyond.

Transcript

Kelly: 0:06

Hey everybody, welcome to another episode of dirt nap dirt nap city dead end where we talk about things that used more some still exist. Some are completely gone. And I'm that the one I'm going to talk about if it's not already should be.

Alex: 0:29

I like these. I like these. These are fun.

Kelly: 0:32

Let's go back to I'd say around 1924 their man. His had been a sailor, but probably not a very good one shipwreck. And he started a fad that kind of went on for died out in every place except the Netherlands still exists actually. But everywhere else it's not really a big thing. to ever sit atop a flagpole. You've heard of flagpole

Alex: 1:19

Oh man, I hear it's one of those things you hear about

Kelly: 1:23

Yeah, exactly. Exactly. Alvin shipwreck Kelly. Not to here. Your host. He set the very first record of flagpole movie theater as a promotion for the movie theater. attention. He was hired by the movie theater owners so maybe it. Guess how long the first flagpole sit was?

Alex: 1:49

So first of all, I want to know what it is you climb sit Yep. You just put your butt on where the top of the

Kelly: 1:59

No, no, they they put a chair there put it there. I there's actually a flat surface that's erected on the harnesses so that you don't fall out but this was the have been a lot cruder for this one.

Alex: 2:16

Right so you're balancing a chair. are you hard? No,

Kelly: 2:23

there's nothing difficult about it other than of it but but actually, you're literally just sitting there slightly bigger than your your

Alex: 2:32

if you're scared of heights, it might be Yeah, but David Blaine stuff where it's dangerous.

Kelly: 2:39

Oh no, no, this is literally flagpole sitting. first time does this to promote this movie theater in think he sat up there? And keep in mind that this was the maybe they didn't have a platform? Maybe he did sit on

Alex: 2:58

That would change my answer, though. I don't know.

Kelly: 3:03

13 hours and 13 minutes and then what he got bored. probably had to pee right? 13 hours and 13 minutes at a top movie theater. Well, this desert for

Alex: 3:18

a promotional deal, like voting a movie or some.

Kelly: 3:23

I don't know if it was a specific movie or if it was theater to get more people to come to the theater. And it hold of it. Remember, this is 1924. So you know, this was people started copycatting it and doing it in other cities flagpoles to try and get attention on things. So three actually shattered the record at the time. So after he did copycats emerged and outdid him, you know, did longer and again in 1927. Went from 13 hours to guess how long?

Alex: 4:12

Now I'm gonna say over a day, eight days. Now we're don't even want to know what happened when they had to pee.

Kelly: 4:22

That well. And then and then it went back and forth. days. And then 49 days Kelly kept battling with all these. challenge him break his record, and then he would go

Alex: 4:38

they literally wouldn't get down or would they take wouldn't get down for 49 days.

Kelly: 4:44

Yeah, so So a guy named Penfield went 51 days in Iowa, front of 20,000 onlookers like how to people all around him, cornfield or something. And

Alex: 4:57

then like you say, so and then what it's like The

Kelly: 5:02

so So first of all, an answer to your question about know, shipwreck Kelly was was interviewed a lot of times said to have had a tube that went from his body down the he also smoked a lot of cigarettes. He drank a lot of hoist it up to him. That seems to be they weren't drones at up the stuff. But he would start he started charging watch this. Yeah, yeah. If you wanted to get up close and see And at one point, they estimated he was making $100 flagpole.

Alex: 5:49

You go and you look at him and then you go, yep,

Kelly: 5:55

Don't think one person you know, you had to have lots right?

Alex: 5:59

I mean, then But then you go, how long are we going Like there's no risk that he might fall off? Well,

Kelly: 6:06

they didn't have TV. They didn't have the internet. was going on. I

Alex: 6:10

think this wasn't Eugenius time though. This was him. But he had to wait for him to come around to your

Kelly: 6:19

Yeah, yeah. Well, well, so you and I have been to New spent 80 hours at the Jong Hotel on Canal Street in 1928. for 100 hours but was blown down by severe weather and had 1927

Alex: 6:43

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, you glossed over. Somebody weather was a UK. How tall are these flagpoles?

Kelly: 6:53

Standard flagpole height SMH offender flag

Alex: 6:58

is that 20 feet 50 feet 80 feet.

Kelly: 7:01

i Let's take it 25 feet probably

Alex: 7:04

Alright, so if you got blown off of one by severe

Kelly: 7:08

don't mean he fell. I mean, he had to climb down. force forced him to retire. Now in Kansas City. He did 146 That was more than six days. And the temperatures went down And so that was that was definitely a tough one in St. by doing 169 record that 169 continuous hours.

Alex: 7:39

And at this point, shipwreck Kelly is like, what eight hours as a joke. And now these people are doing this think he was proud of himself? Or was he mad that people kept

Kelly: 7:54

He was making money. He didn't care. He made the mean, I'm sure he shared it with whoever owned the have the flagpole rental. But yeah, he was getting famous. was often satirized in in the newspapers and magazines at Kelly was a pretty big deal. Back in the 20s. For free, I'm

Alex: 8:19

gonna start calling you that, by the way.

Kelly: 8:23

I'll take it, I'll take it if I can make 100 bucks an use rope stirrups to keep his feet balanced, and also had him from falling off. But he didn't sleep, he would just said he didn't really eat solid food. He mostly drank of cigarettes. And basically, you know, went went through a down to the ground. That's disgusting. Now, do you know flagpole Sitta and a pole sitter?

Alex: 9:00

Well, a pole sitter. I mean, in like, literal pole because in auto racing, you have a pole

Kelly: 9:12

sitter. Now. That's what I meant. That's what I position. Right, right. Right, right. Also in horse racing, know, best position to start from is right,

Alex: 9:24

right. Right. Right, right. It's the person who's

Kelly: 9:28

Yeah, you don't want to get those two confused,

Alex: 9:32

definitely not, especially if you have to put tube.

Kelly: 9:37

So so this did start in, you know, 1924 and it the 1930s. had about a 10 year run of popularity during the I guess so. I mean, you know, it's what people were doing. decade in The 40s 50s 60s 70s somebody would come and break current record of flagpole setting cities was set in current record. Don't Google it. I guess.

Alex: 10:21

It's one of those things that I don't care enough to days, 90 days, something like

Kelly: 10:28

that. 439 days, 11 hours and six minutes by three er D er, yep. And

Alex: 10:38

he wasted a year of his life up on a flagpole.

Kelly: 10:43

Not well, we're talking about him right now. He's

Alex: 10:46

David. So just so two podcasters can talk about him. wasted a year of his life.

Kelly: 10:54

Well, there's also there is actually in in the sport called politician, which means pole sitting. Now it's a happens is they actually sit on wooden poles with a little poles aren't flag poles. They're lower. And they're they do it in the wintertime when it's really cold and the whoever can sit in there on the flagpole are on the pole that's still done in the Netherlands today.

Alex: 11:33

Just doesn't seem like a spectator sport to me.

Kelly: 11:35

I think we should go to the Netherlands and go to the

Alex: 11:42

Man I can think of a lot more fun things to do in the doesn't seem like something. I want to watch it. Where's the Wow, man.

Kelly: 11:53

I mean, I think what you're doing is just drinking

Alex: 11:57

We're How long do you think you could sit on a pole? because what you'd be bored. Other things to do? I have to

Kelly: 12:07

Feel like I was wasting my time. Yeah, I would annoyed. It just it just anything. That's that sort of have my sleep like I do not do well without sleep. So I don't long enough to Miss Miss. You know, one night of sleep.

Alex: 12:28

Do you think you would fall if you fall asleep? Would

Kelly: 12:32

You know, here's Okay. Here's there's two weird going to tell you real quick is that the record for Paulson 92 hours compared to 400 and something days?

Alex: 12:45

Yeah, that must be a lot more difficult. I wonder how is involved? Are you really balancing up there? Are you which case then it's just like the world record for sitting

Kelly: 13:01

Well, I think there's probably a little bit of pictures of these people, there's not anything behind there. They're on a flat piece of wood. So this is always me is if you do you ever worry about falling out of your bed your bed was 25 feet in the air with no guardrails on the you had to go to sleep?

Alex: 13:27

Yeah, absolutely. I don't like heights. Isn't that

Kelly: 13:31

Because you can go to sleep confidently every night you're not going to fall out of bed. Yeah, but but if it would be like Oh, I'm gonna roll out for sure. Yeah,

Alex: 13:44

you ever see these pictures of these hammocks mountains? Yeah, just over 1000s of feet. Yeah, it gives

Kelly: 13:55

I'm gonna leave it with the 80s or 90s hit by the band song bowl certain it's called flagpole setup I have visions I was in the mind was clear the rocks in forget the currency and body and when I run it up the cycle