Selects: Flagpole Sitting: A Real Fad

Josh and Chuck dive into the strange and enduring phenomenon of flagpole sitting, a peculiar fad that swept across America in the 1920s. What began as a publicity stunt quickly escalated into an extreme endurance contest, captivating the public and pushing the limits of human stamina.

The Genesis of a Craze: Shipwreck Kelly

The story of flagpole sitting begins with a man named Alvin "Shipwreck" Kelly. In January 1924, in Hollywood, California, Kelly climbed a flagpole as part of a movie promotion and sat there for a remarkable 13 hours and 13 minutes. This seemingly simple act, as Josh and Chuck explain, was enough to ignite a national craze. Kelly, born Aloysius Anthony Kelly in Hell's Kitchen, New York City, had a difficult start to life, losing both parents early on. He developed a penchant for climbing tall structures from a young age, a skill that would later define his celebrity. His nickname, "Shipwreck," came from his exaggerated claims of surviving 32 shipwrecks at sea, though records suggest he was not even on the Titanic despite his assertions. Chuck notes that Kelly's self-promotion was legendary; he was a master at attracting media attention, often giving multiple, conflicting stories about his life to different reporters. His boxing career, for instance, earned him the moniker due to his frequent state of being "adrift and ready to sink."