Interesting

From Ned Donovan's blog.

Since Britain abolished the slave trade in 1807 a tradition developed, the origin of which is slightly unclear, that any slave who touched the British flag would immediately be free and granted protection from future slavery by the King or Queen of the time. As flags can sometimes be quite high up, this legend evolved to allow someone to instead touch a flagpole and receive the same magic effect.

In countries where slavery was not abolished, escaped slaves or those who had been ill-treated by their owners would hear of this legend and find their way to the nearest British diplomatic post and its flag.

Having touched the flagpole, an official would then help the slave sign or put a thumbprint to a statement formalising a request for freedom.

....Trying to recapture a freed slave under British protection could lead to a diplomatic incident.

The touching of flagpoles went on well until the latter part of the 20th Century, with Britain issuing the last manumission certificate in 1964. In the year the Beatles released Twist and Shout and A Hard Day’s Night, the British Consulate in Muscat gave 13 slaves their freedom, while their counterparts in Dubai freed 16.

Also on the blog is this picture of people waiting to reach the summit of Mount Everest.