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Pole-sitting
Pole sitting is the practice of sitting on top of a pole (such as a flagpole) for extended lengths of time, generally used 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. 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. Flagpole sitting was a fad in the mid-to-late 1920s. The fad was begun by stunt actor and former sailorBaker, Danny. "Shipwreck for ever in pole position." ''The Times'' (United Kingdom) 21 Aug. 2002: ''Newspaper Source Plus.'' Web. 22 Dec. 2011. Alvin "Shipwreck" Kelly, who sat on a flagpole, either on a dare by a friend or ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alvin "Shipwreck" Kelly
Aloysius Anthony Kelly, popularly known as Alvin "Shipwreck" Kelly (May 11, 1893 ome accounts say 1885ref name="Toledo"> – October 11, 1952), was a pole sitter who achieved fame in the 1920s and 1930s, sitting for days at a time on elevated perches throughout the United States. Early life Kelly was born in Manhattan's Hell's Kitchen neighborhood. His mother died during childbirth and his father died before he was born. He ran away and went to sea at the age of 13, and changed his name to Alvin. In his early years he worked as a steelworker, steeplejack, high diver, boxer and movie double. He was also a licensed pilot who performed aerial stunts. He served as an ensign in the U.S. Naval Auxiliary Reserve during World War I, serving from May 1918 to September 1921. During the war he served on the USS ''Edgar F. Luckenbach''. Career According to one account, Kelly climbed his first pole at the age of seven, and at nine he performed a " human fly" trick, climbing up th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
What's My Line
''What's My Line?'' is a panel game show that originally ran in the United States on the CBS Television Network from 1950 to 1967, originally in black and white and later in color, with subsequent U.S. revivals. The game uses celebrity panelists to question contestants in order to determine their occupation, i.e. their "line of work". The majority of the contestants were from the general public. However, there was one weekly celebrity "mystery guest" for which the panelists were blindfolded. It is on the list of longest-running U.S. primetime network television game-shows. Originally moderated by John Charles Daly and most frequently with regular panelists Dorothy Kilgallen, Arlene Francis, and Bennett Cerf, ''What's My Line?'' won three Emmy Awards for "Best Quiz or Audience Participation Show" in 1952, 1953, and 1958 and the Golden Globe Awards for Best TV Show in 1962. Some nostalgia writers have used the adjective ''live'' to describe the series as it existed for 17 years ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phonebooth Stuffing
Five people in a telephone booth Phonebooth stuffing is a sporadic fad that involves a number of people consecutively entering a telephone booth until either the phonebooth can accommodate no more, or there are no more individuals available. Competition to beat prior records of numbers of people has been an aspect of the fad's popularity; however, that has decreased over the decades, in part because of the reduced prevalence of fully-enclosed booths. Spread The origins of the fad are unclear, but it was only one of several that had likely originated and become widespread in the post-World War II-years. By early 1959 the fad had spread to South Africa, Southern Rhodesia, Britain, Canada, and the United States. On March 20, 1959, students at the Durban, South Africa YMCA set a world record when 25 of them were able to squeeze at least the greater portions of their bodies into a standard upright phonebooth. The participants ranged in height from . Very little unoccupied volume re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Goldfish Swallowing
The act of swallowing live goldfish was a fad popularized in American colleges in the late 1930s. History Although it is not clear how the fad emerged, various people have made claims. A 1963 letter to ''The New York Times'' claimed that it was started by a man named Lothrop Withington Jr.—grandnephew of the noted genealogist Lothrop Withington—who was a freshman at Harvard University and did so to win a $10 bet as part of a bid to become class president. The stunt started a competition between multiple universities such as Penn, MIT, and Harvard in an attempt to surpass one another. Women also took part in the trend, as in April 1939 when Marie Hensen from the University of Missouri School of Journalism became the first woman widely known to partake in it. The activity even prompted the establishment of the International Goldfish Gulping Association (IGGA), which sought to determine and enforce competition standards. The last title on record went to Clark University's Joe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Panty Raid
A panty raid was an American 1950s and early 1960s college prank in which large groups of male students attempted to invade the living quarters of female students and steal their panties (undergarments) as the trophies of a successful raid. The term dates to February 1949. History Panty raids were the first college craze after World War II, following 1930s crazes of goldfish swallowing, and of recruiting so many students to crowd into a phone booth that not even one more could be recruited. The mock battles that ensued between male and female students echoed the riotous battles between freshmen and upperclassmen, which were an annual ritual at many colleges in the 20th century. The first documented incident occurred on February 25, 1949, at Augustana College, Rock Island, Illinois. Around 125 men entered the Woman's Building; the first party entered through heating tunnels beneath the building. Once inside, they unlocked the door for the remaining raiders to enter, locked th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Planking (fad)
Planking (or the Lying Down Game) is an activity consisting of lying in a face down position, sometimes in an unusual or incongruous location. The palms of the hands are typically touching the sides of the body and the toes are typically touching the ground. Some players compete to find the most unusual and original location in which to play. The term planking refers to mimicking a wooden plank. Planking can include lying flat on a flat surface, or holding the body flat while it is supported in only some regions, with other parts of the body suspended. Many participants in planking have photographed the activity in unusual locations and have shared such pictures through social media. Planking gained popularity rapidly and eventually notoriety from early-mid 2011 before slowly phasing out in early 2012. History A planking-like activity, called ''face dancing'' by its participants, was initiated in 1984 in Edmonds, Washington in the US by Scott Amy and Joel Marshall. The two high ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stylite
A stylite ( grc, στυλίτης () 'pillar dweller', derived from () 'pillar' and syc, ܐܣܛܘܢܐ ()) or pillar-saint is a type of Christian ascetic who lives on pillars, preaching, fasting and praying. Stylites believe that the mortification of their bodies would help ensure the salvation of their souls. Stylites were common in the early days of the Byzantine Empire. The first known stylite was Simeon Stylites the Elder who climbed a pillar in Syria in 423 and remained there until his death 37 years later. Ascetic precedents Palladius of Galatia tells of Epidius, a hermit in Palestine who dwelt in a mountaintop cave for twenty-five years until his death. St. Gregory of Nazianzus speaks of a solitary who stood upright for many years together, absorbed in contemplation, without ever lying down. Theodoret claimed that he had seen a hermit who had passed ten years in a tub suspended in midair from poles. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tree Sitting
Tree sitting is a form of environmentalist civil disobedience in which a protester sits in a tree, usually on a small platform built for the purpose, to protect it from being cut down (speculating that loggers will not endanger human lives by cutting an occupied tree). Supporters usually provide the tree sitters with food and other supplies. About Tree sitting is a strategy that provides a high level of public attention since it is considered to be very dangerous and requires highly-skilled police officers to evict the sitters. Tree sitting is often used as a stalling tactic, to prevent the cutting of trees while lawyers fight in the courts to secure the long-term victories. Tree-sitting was once a children's pastime. In the early 1930s, when endurance contests raged across the U.S., it became a child's contest for kids to climb into their backyard trees and, serviced by siblings and local businesses, attempt to win prizes for the longest sit. Extractions Tree-sitters in trees ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Most Dangerous Game (1932 Film)
''The Most Dangerous Game'' is a 1932 American pre-Code horror film, directed by Ernest B. Schoedsack and Irving Pichel, starring Joel McCrea, Fay Wray and Leslie Banks. The movie is an adaptation of the 1924 short story of the same name by Richard Connell; it is the first film version of the story. The plot concerns a big game hunter who deliberately strands a group of luxury yacht passengers on a remote island where he can hunt them for sport. Plot In 1932, a luxury yacht is sailing through a channel off the north-eastern coast of South America. Among the passengers is big game hunter and author Robert "Bob" Rainsford. In discussing the sport with other passengers, Bob is asked if he would exchange places with the animals he hunts. After the yacht's owner disregards the captain's concerns about the channel lights not matching the charts, the ship runs aground, takes on water and explodes. Ultimately, Bob is the lone survivor, able to swim ashore to a small island ne ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of M*A*S*H Characters
This is a list of characters from the ''M*A*S*H'' franchise, covering the various fictional characters appearing in the novel '' MASH: A Novel About Three Army Doctors'' and its sequels, the 1970 film adaptation of the novel, and the television series ''M*A*S*H'', ''AfterMASH'', '' W*A*L*T*E*R'', and ''Trapper John, M.D.'' ''M*A*S*H'' is a popular media franchise revolving around the staff of the 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital as they attempt to maintain sanity during the harshness of the Korean War. Overview Main characters Hawkeye Pierce Captain Benjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Pierce (Jr. in the novel) was played by Donald Sutherland in the film. On television, Alan Alda played the Captain. Between long sessions of treating wounded patients, he is found making wisecracks, drinking heavily, carousing, womanizing, and pulling pranks on the people around him, especially Frank Burns and "Hot Lips" Houlihan. In the novel, he serves as a moral center and author's alte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Section 8 (military)
Section 8 was a category of discharge from the United States military, used for a service member judged mentally unfit for service. Section 8 was also often given to cross-dressers, gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people. History The term comes from Section VIII of the World War II–era United States Army Regulation 615–360, concerning the separation of enlisted men from military service. Section VIII provided for the discharge of men who were deemed mentally unfit for military service. The term "Section 8" eventually came to mean any service member given such a discharge, or behaving as if deserving such a discharge, as in the expression, "he's a Section 8". Section 8 discharges were often given to gay men, lesbians, bisexuals, cross-dressers, and transgender people, as they were deemed mentally unfit to serve in the military. A Section 8 discharge often made it difficult for people to find work in civilian life and did not allow for veterans benefits. Discharge u ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
