# Is there something in the ball-thinging at the top of an American Flagpole? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 2, 2001, 10:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-something-in-the-ball-thinging-at-the-top-of-an-american-flagpole/84947 "2001-10-02T10:31:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2001, 10:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-something-in-the-ball-thinging-at-the-top-of-an-american-flagpole/84947/1 "2001-10-02T10:31:58Z")
I am listening to a local radio station. A question came in that I have never heard of regarding the American Flag. This caller said an immigrant friend of his who was taking his test to pass his citizenship test told him that inside the ball (that the eagle sits/lands upon) atop the flag pole there are three items: 1. A bullet (to defend a flag) 2. A string (to retie it incase it falls) 3. A match ( to burn it if it touches the ground) No one on this morning program had ever heard this and frankly, neither had I. Does anyone have any further info on this? ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2001, 10:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-something-in-the-ball-thinging-at-the-top-of-an-american-flagpole/84947/2 "2001-10-02T10:46:43Z")
[http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=67660](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=67660) ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2001, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-something-in-the-ball-thinging-at-the-top-of-an-american-flagpole/84947/3 "2001-10-02T10:56:11Z")
Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Turbo\_Dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ce73a5/32.png) [@Turbo\_Dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turbo_Dog)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2001, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-something-in-the-ball-thinging-at-the-top-of-an-american-flagpole/84947/4 "2001-10-02T12:22:23Z")
According to the Army’s Center of Military History, there has never officially been anything inside any flagpole device or buried at the base, and they are not sure where the legends ever started. ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2001, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-something-in-the-ball-thinging-at-the-top-of-an-american-flagpole/84947/5 "2001-10-02T15:39:14Z")
Does anybody know what the ball-thing is called? ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2001, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-something-in-the-ball-thinging-at-the-top-of-an-american-flagpole/84947/6 "2001-10-02T15:40:47Z")
Err… I mean: Does anyone know the proper name of that ball-thing? ---
**Author:** ![xizor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xizor/32/102_2.png) [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2001, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-something-in-the-ball-thinging-at-the-top-of-an-american-flagpole/84947/7 "2001-10-02T15:42:24Z")
In the army, I was told the ball thing was called a truck. ---
**Author:** ![NotMrKnowItAll](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/6bbea6/32.png) [@NotMrKnowItAll](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NotMrKnowItAll)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2001, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-something-in-the-ball-thinging-at-the-top-of-an-american-flagpole/84947/8 "2001-10-02T15:46:17Z")
My MacMillan Visual Dictionary calls it a finial. ---
**Author:** ![Milton\_De\_La\_Warre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e480ec/32.png) [@Milton\_De\_La\_Warre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Milton_De_La_Warre)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2001, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-something-in-the-ball-thinging-at-the-top-of-an-american-flagpole/84947/9 "2001-10-02T16:01:39Z")
What a pervasive legend this contents-of-the-ball is. According to the retired Army dweeb who sits behind me, they asked this question about the legendary contents on the E-7 advancement exam. This is apparently an Army story, as no one in the Navy knows of it. Navy people also immediately (well, after they stop laughing) sieze on the obvious weaknesses of the story, like how you’re supposed to get to the top of the pole to get the stuff, why only one bullet or match, etc. I know for a fact that they don’t bury or otherwise conceal stuff on Navy bases’ flagpoles. If we were concerned with such things, we’d put Marines up on the poles. FYI, Maryland is the only state that I know of that mandates the design of the object for the top of its flagpole. While it is often mistaken for a Christian cross, it’s really a cross bottony from the “Crosslands” part of the flag (added officially in 1888). Why? It looks cool, and it’s different. ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2001, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-something-in-the-ball-thinging-at-the-top-of-an-american-flagpole/84947/10 "2001-10-02T16:05:07Z")
DDG’s post in the referenced thread indicates that the “truck” is the pulley assembly that the halyards run through. I believe that finial is correct for the ball or eagle device. ---
**Author:** ![cornflakes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@cornflakes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cornflakes)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2001, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-something-in-the-ball-thinging-at-the-top-of-an-american-flagpole/84947/11 "2001-10-02T19:32:38Z")
_Being old enough to sound like my father, allow me to say_: [You could look it up…](http://www.m-w.com) > [@](#): > > Main Entry: **fin·i·al** > Function: noun > 2 : a crowning ornament or detail (as a decorative knob) > > Main Entry (3): **truck** > Function: noun > 1 : a small wheel; specifically : a small strong wheel for a gun carriage > 2 : a small wooden cap at the top of a flagstaff or masthead usually having holes for reeving flag or signal halyards ---
**Author:** ![occ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8c91f0/32.png) [@occ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/occ)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2001, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-something-in-the-ball-thinging-at-the-top-of-an-american-flagpole/84947/12 "2001-10-02T21:50:55Z")
Some of the more ludicrous variations on this legend involve a military-spec rifle being buried at the base of the flagpole–yeah, so you can defend the flag once “They” overrun us. Methinks that if such a valuable item were hidden beneath a flag, it would be promptly stolen. Plus, why bury the thing in the dirt, especially on a military base? Why not just tell everyone “Hey, in case of invasion, don’t bother with the flagpole, go outfit yourself at the armory!”.