From Wikipedia:

“Flagpole sitting was a fad in the mid-to-late 1920s. The fad was begun by stunt actor and former sailor Alvin “Shipwreck” Kelly, who sat on a flagpole, either on a dare by a friend[3] or as a publicity stunt. Shipwreck’s initial 1924 sit lasted 13 hours and 13 minutes. It soon became a fad with other contestants setting records of 12, 17 and 21 days. In 1929, Shipwreck decided to reclaim the title. He sat on a flagpole for 49 days in Atlantic City, New Jersey, setting a new record. The following year, 1930, his record was broken by Bill Penfield in Strawberry Point, Iowa who sat on a flagpole for 51 days and 20 hours, until a thunderstorm forced him down. Flagpole sitting in the 1920s was a major part of the decade. For the most part, pole sitting died out after 1929, with the onset of the Depression.”

This tells us some very interesting things:

1) There wasn’t a lot going on in the 1920’s.
2) There was a period of time in which Iowa went 51 whole days without a thunderstorm, yet it was warm enough to sit on a pole outside.*
3) Gibbons are about 90 years behind the fads.

* I am presuming that if the pole were inside, he wouldn’t have needed to stop sitting on it.