Flagpole Sitting: A Real Fad

# Flagpole Sitting: America's Weirdest 1920s Fad

Stuff You Should Know dives into the bizarre history of flagpole sitting, one of the strangest endurance fads to ever sweep America in the 1920s. Starting with Shipwreck Kelly's legendary 13-hour sit in 1924, the episode traces how this ridiculous stunt became a full-blown national craze, with competitors eventually spending weeks perched on tiny platforms high above the ground. Along the way, Josh and Chuck explore the colorful characters drawn to this peculiar form of fame-seeking, the surprisingly dark economic desperation that fueled similar endurance challenges like dance marathons, and what it says about human nature that people will do absolutely anything to become temporarily famous.