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Human Endurance Contest
A human endurance contest is an event in which people complete mentally or physically grueling tasks for an extended period of time. The contests are exploitative entertainment events which began during the Great Depression in the 1920s-1930s as a means to earn income. Examples include dance marathon or walk-a-thons, pole sitting, marathon swimming, ice sitting, burial artists and other forms of early endurance art. Origins Almost any activity could be transformed into some type of endurance contest, as long as it was done for an extended period of time. The contests ranged from activities like dancing, swimming, and rocking-chair-sitting, to oddities such as sitting on a flagpole or in a tree. Golden Age They provided contestants and spectators food, shelter and the opportunity to earn cash prizes at a time when many people needed a free meal. Decline In the early 1930s, the public began to grow weary of the endurance contests that had devolved into unimaginative, an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and business failures around the world. The economic contagion began in 1929 in the United States, the largest economy in the world, with the devastating Wall Street stock market crash of October 1929 often considered the beginning of the Depression. Among the countries with the most unemployed were the U.S., the United Kingdom, and Weimar Republic, Germany. The Depression was preceded by a period of industrial growth and social development known as the "Roaring Twenties". Much of the profit generated by the boom was invested in speculation, such as on the stock market, contributing to growing Wealth inequality in the United States, wealth inequality. Banks were subject to laissez-faire, minimal regulation, resulting in loose lending and wides ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Burial Artist
Premature burial, also known as live burial, burial alive, or vivisepulture, means to be buried while still alive. Animals or humans may be buried alive accidentally on the mistaken assumption that they are dead, or intentionally as a form of torture, murder, or execution. It may also occur with the consent of the victim as a part of a stunt, with the intention to escape. Taphophobia, the fear of being buried alive, is reported to be among the most common phobias. Physiology Premature burial can lead to death through the following: asphyxiation, dehydration, starvation, or (in cold climates) hypothermia. A person trapped with fresh air to breathe can last a considerable time and burial has been used as a very cruel method of execution (as in cases of Vestal Virgins who violated the oath of celibacy), lasting sufficiently long for the victim to comprehend and imagine every stage of what is happening (being trapped in total darkness with very limited or no movement) and to ex ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Competitive Dance
Competitive dance is a popular, widespread sport in which competitors perform dances in any of several permitted dance styles—such as acro, ballet, contemporary, jazz, hip-hop, lyrical, modern, musical theatre, tap, and improv—before a common group of judges. This is in contrast with other activities that involve competition among dancers based on purpose, or specific dance styles or genres, such as pom squad and dancesport (competitive ballroom dance). The competitive dance industry largely consists of ''competition production companies''—also sometimes called ''dance competition companies and dance competition lines''—that conduct regional competitions at stops along their annual, nationwide tours. Dancers who compete at these regional competitions are students ranging in age from approximately five to eighteen years old. After competing regionally, qualifying routines and studios go on to compete nationally towards the end of their season. Dance schools (often r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1920s Fads And Trends
Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number) * One of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (1987 film), a 1987 science fiction film * '' 19-Nineteen'', a 2009 South Korean film * '' Diciannove'', a 2024 Italian drama film informally referred to as "Nineteen" in some sources Science * Potassium, an alkali metal * 19 Fortuna, an asteroid Music * 19 (band), a Japanese pop music duo Albums * ''19'' (Adele album), 2008 * ''19'', a 2003 album by Alsou * ''19'', a 2006 album by Evan Yo * ''19'', a 2018 album by MHD * ''19'', one half of the double album '' 63/19'' by Kool A.D. * ''Number Nineteen'', a 1971 album by American jazz pianist Mal Waldron * ''XIX'' (EP), a 2019 EP by 1the9 Songs * "19" (song), a 1985 song by British musician Paul Hardcastle * "Stone in Focus", officially "#19", a composition by Aphex Twin * "Nineteen", a song from the 1992 album ''Refugee'' by Bad4Good * "Nineteen", a song from the 200 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pole Sitting
Pole sitting is the practice of sitting on top of a pole (such as a flagpole) 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 (–459) of Antioch (now Turkey) was a column-sitter who allegedly 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 as a publicity stunt. Shipwreck's initi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marathon Swimming
Marathon swimming is a class of open water swimming defined by long distances, with being the unofficially held minimum distance. Routes are typically geographically based or buoy based. Geographical routes include crossings of channels and lakes, circumnavigations of islands, and stretches of coast lines or rivers. Buoy-routes are mainly found in competition events. Perhaps the most famous route in marathon swimming crosses the English Channel, first accomplished in 1875 by Captain Matthew Webb in 21h:45m. The first woman to complete the crossing was Gertrude Ederle 14h:39m in 1926 as a 19 year old, thereby setting a new fastest known time by 1h:54m by employing the crawl stroke technique. Finish times for routes are highly dependent on environmental conditions and cultural context. Environmental factors include water temperature, tides, surface currents, and wind-chop. Cultural factors include swim direction, allowed equipment and swimmer assistance. These may ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Endurance Art
Endurance art is a kind of performance art involving some form of hardship, such as pain, solitude or exhaustion. Performances that focus on the passage of long periods of time are also known as durational art or durational performances. Human endurance contests were a fad of Depression-era United States from the 1920s-1930s. Writer Michael Fallon traces the genre of endurance art to the work of Chris Burden in California in the 1970s. Burden spent five days in a locker in '' Five Day Locker Piece'' (1971), had himself shot in '' Shoot'' (1971), and lived for 22 days in a bed in an art gallery in ''Bed Piece'' (1972). Other examples of endurance art include Tehching Hsieh's ''One Year Performance 1980–1981 (Time Clock Piece)'', in which for 12 months he punched a time clock every hour, and ''Art/Life One Year Performance 1983–1984 (Rope Piece)'', in which Hsieh and Linda Montano spent a year tied to each other by an eight-foot (2.4 m) rope.Andrew Taylor"Tehching Hsieh: The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dance Marathon
Dance marathons (or marathon dances) are events in which people dance or walk to music for an extended period of time. They started as dance contests in the 1920s and developed into human endurance contests, or exploitative entertainment events during the Great Depression in the 1930s. In the present day, dance marathons are commonly used as fundraisers. These modern marathons are usually 12–24 hours, a far cry from the 1,000-hour marathons of the 1930s. Origins According to Professor Carol Martin of New York University, the revival of the Olympic Games created a widespread interest in feats of strength, endurance contests, and world records that led to dance marathons. On February 18, 1923, Olie Finnerty and Edgar Van Ollefin set a record by dancing seven hours without stopping in Sunderland, England. Twelve days later, dance instructor Alma Cummings set a new record at the Audubon Ballroom in New York. She danced continuously for 27 hours with six different partners. Wi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The San Bernardino Sun
''The San Bernardino Sun'' is a paid daily newspaper in San Bernardino County, California, headquartered in the city of San Bernardino. Founded in 1894, it has significant circulation in neighboring Riverside County, and serves most of the Inland Empire in Southern California, with a circulation area spanning from the border of Los Angeles and Orange counties to the west, east to Yucaipa, north to the San Bernardino Mountain range and south to the Riverside County line. Its local competitor is ''The Press-Enterprise'' in Riverside. It publishes the annual PrepXtra high school football magazine with capsules and schedules for all schools in Pomona and San Bernardino valleys. It is part of the Southern California News Group family of local newspapers serving specific areas of Southern California. The Sun is owned by Digital First Media which is controlled by Alden Global Capital. History Times Mirror, owner of the ''Los Angeles Times'', bought the paper in 1964, but was ordered ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Pantagraph
''The Pantagraph'' is a daily newspaper that serves Bloomington–Normal, Illinois, along with 60 communities and eight counties in the Central Illinois area. Its headquarters are in Bloomington and it is owned by Lee Enterprises. The name is derived from the Greek words "panta" and "grapho," which has a combined meaning of "write all things." History Bloomington businessman Jesse W. Fell founded the newspaper on January 14, 1837, making it among the oldest still-operating businesses in McLean County, though the business lapsed during 1839-1845. W. O. Davis and his heirs owned the ''Pantagraph'' for many years until selling the paper to Chronicle Publishing Company in 1980. The paper was purchased by Pulitzer from Chronicle Publishing Company in 1999; Lee Enterprises bought Pulitzer in 2005. The paper was originally called ''The Bloomington Observer and McLean County Advocate''. Through the years, the newspaper went through several name changes, such as ''The Whig'', ''The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Olympic Games
The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-sport event, variety of competitions. The Olympic Games, Open (sport), open to both amateur and professional athletes, involves more than 200 teams, each team representing a sovereign state or territory. By default, the Games generally substitute for any world championships during the year in which they take place (however, each class usually maintains its own records). The Olympics are staged every four years. Since 1994 Winter Olympics, 1994, they have alternated between the Summer Olympic Games, Summer and Winter Olympics every two years during the four-year Olympiad. Their creation was inspired by the ancient Olympic Games, held in Olympia, Greece, from the 8th century BC to the 4th century AD. Baron Pierre de Coubertin founded the Int ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Endurance Art
Endurance art is a kind of performance art involving some form of hardship, such as pain, solitude or exhaustion. Performances that focus on the passage of long periods of time are also known as durational art or durational performances. Human endurance contests were a fad of Depression-era United States from the 1920s-1930s. Writer Michael Fallon traces the genre of endurance art to the work of Chris Burden in California in the 1970s. Burden spent five days in a locker in '' Five Day Locker Piece'' (1971), had himself shot in '' Shoot'' (1971), and lived for 22 days in a bed in an art gallery in ''Bed Piece'' (1972). Other examples of endurance art include Tehching Hsieh's ''One Year Performance 1980–1981 (Time Clock Piece)'', in which for 12 months he punched a time clock every hour, and ''Art/Life One Year Performance 1983–1984 (Rope Piece)'', in which Hsieh and Linda Montano spent a year tied to each other by an eight-foot (2.4 m) rope.Andrew Taylor"Tehching Hsieh: The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
