The Man Who Became Famous For Sitting On Flag Poles

Publish date: 2024-05-17

Staying on top of a flagpole for hours at a time is an incredible feat, but how was Alvin Kelly able to do it for days? For nourishment, he limited his intake to purely liquids, such as coffee and broth, which were sent up to him from below using a bucket and some sort of pulley system (via Blurred Bylines). He smoked cigarettes and didn't sleep. Instead, he took short naps throughout the stunt. He learned to take naps standing upright, and he hooked his thumbs into holes on the pole. When his body started to lean in a different direction, he felt pain in his thumbs, which would jolt him from his nap so he could adjust back to an upright position. Kelly used ropes as stirrups to keep his balance and prevent him from falling from the pole.

Another big question is, how did he relieve himself? In a book titled "American Pop: Popular Culture by Decade," it is stated that Kelly used a hidden tube that ran from the top of the pole to a repository at the bottom in order to go to the bathroom. Reporters and photographers in cities he visited were there to watch, and he was often photographed doing mundane things, such as reading the newspaper, brushing his teeth, or shaving.

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