The screws will melt and probably start a fire with the wood they are screwed into. The pole might get hot too from the current that goes through the fasteners but most of the heat would be in the screws and the fasteners and dissipate before it reaches the pole. Hardly any current will flow through the pole itself.
A car battery would do shit all. Dry skin potential point is like 65V.
I highly doubt the electricity would flow to the pole itself at all if you connect both contacts to the top
The screws will melt and probably start a fire with the wood they are screwed into. The pole might get hot too from the current that goes through the fasteners but most of the heat would be in the screws and the fasteners and dissipate before it reaches the pole. Hardly any current will flow through the pole itself.
Theoretically, the building is ground and you only need to connect one cable.
But I’m with you, use AC.