Buzz
The 1983 holiday classic, A Christmas Story, imparts some valuable lessons—namely, to be cautious around BB guns, mischievous mall elves, and frozen flagpoles. And of course, the infamous scene where a tongue sticks to a flagpole.
This was the very predicament little Flick (Scott Schwartz) faced when dared to perform a triple dog dare. Thankfully, the actor didn’t have to endure the freezing metal. According to CinemaBlend, a special suction device was used to create the illusion of his tongue being stuck, avoiding any painful consequences.
"They created a plastic cover that slid over the flagpole," Schwartz explained in an interview. "It had a small hole and a suction tube connected to a motor hidden in the snow, like a tiny vacuum cleaner. The hole, about the size of a pinky nail, made whatever you placed there—your tongue, finger, or anything—stick."
Flick could easily free his tongue by simply pulling it back, making the entire scene painless, aside from the freezing temperatures the young cast had to endure.
Occasionally, a child inspired by the movie will try the infamous tongue-freezing stunt and find themselves stuck, just like Flick. Schwartz often finds himself fielding questions from reporters about these copycat incidents.
“I get calls every year from reporters, 'Hey, we have a kid who got his tongue stuck to a pole. Can you give us a comment?'” Schwartz shared with Yahoo! in 2015. "I always tell them, 'Yeah, he's a schmuck.'"
Schwartz mentioned that A Christmas Story didn’t rely on any special effects or gimmicks designed to generate buzz, so its rise to fame as "an American iconic film" took many of the cast and crew by surprise.
This story has been updated for 2020.
