David Blaine (born
David Blaine White; April 4, 1973) is an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
illusionistMagic is a performing art that entertains an audience by creating illusions of seemingly impossible or supernatural feats, using purely natural means...
and endurance artist. He is best known for his high-profile feats of endurance, and has made his name as a performer of street and close-up magic. He has set and broken several world records. Theatre owner James Nederlander as well as
The New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded in 1851 and published in New York City. The largest metropolitan newspaper in the United States, "The Gray Lady"—named for its staid appearance and style—is regarded as a national newspaper of record...
have referred to Blaine as a modern day Houdini. He has also been called a "Houdini wanna-be" by the New York Daily News.
Early life
Blaine was born David Blaine White in Brooklyn, New York and is of
Puerto RicanPuerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is a self-governing unincorporated territory of the United States located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of the Virgin Islands...
descent on his father's side. His mother, Patrice Maureen White (1946–1995), was a school teacher living in New York, and his father William Perez was a Vietnam veteran. When he was four years old, he saw a
magicianA magician is a person skilled in the mysterious and hidden art of magic, the ability to attain objectives, acquire knowledge, or perform works of wonder using supernatural or nonrational means....
performing
magicMagic may refer to:* Magic , the use of supernatural methods to manipulate natural forces, such as witchcraft* Magic , the art of appearing to perform supernatural feats using sleight of hand or other methods-Science and mathematics:...
on the subway. This sparked an interest in Blaine. He was raised by his single mother and attended many schools in
BrooklynBrooklyn is one of the five boroughs of New York City, located southwest of Queens on the western tip of Long Island. An independent city until its consolidation with New York in 1898, Brooklyn is New York City's most populous borough, with 2.5 million residents, and second largest in area...
. When he was ten years old, his mother married John Bukalo and they moved to
Little Falls, New JerseyLittle Falls is a Township in Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the township population was 10,855....
, where he attended
Passaic Valley Regional High SchoolPassaic Valley Regional High School is the name of both a public high school in Little Falls, NJ, and the school district for three communities in Passaic County, New Jersey: Little Falls , Totowa and Woodland Park .As of the 2006-07...
. He has a half-brother named Michael James Bukalo. When Blaine was a teen, he frequently traveled to
ManhattanManhattan is one of the five boroughs of New York City, located primarily on Manhattan Island at the mouth of the Hudson River.New York County, which has the same boundaries as the Borough of Manhattan , is the most densely populated county in the United States, with a 2008 population of 1,634,795...
,
New YorkNew York is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous. The state is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
to pursue
actingActing is the work of an actor or actress, which is a person in theatre, television, film, or any other storytelling medium who tells the story by portraying a character and, usually, speaking or singing the written text or play...
. He attended acting school and has appeared in some television commercials and daytime dramas. When he was 17 years old, Blaine moved to
ManhattanManhattan is one of the five boroughs of New York City, located primarily on Manhattan Island at the mouth of the Hudson River.New York County, which has the same boundaries as the Borough of Manhattan , is the most densely populated county in the United States, with a 2008 population of 1,634,795...
,
New YorkNew York is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous. The state is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
.
Street Magic and Magic Man
On May 19, 1997, Blaine's first television special,
David Blaine: Street Magic aired on the
ABCThe American Broadcasting Company is an American television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. It first broadcast on television in 1948...
network. According to
The New York Daily News, “Blaine can lay claim to his own brand of wizardry. The magic he offers in tonight’s show operates on an uncommonly personal level.” When asked about his performance style, David explained, “I'd like to bring magic back to the place it used to be 100 years ago.”'
Time Magazine commented, "his deceptively low-key, ultracool manner leaves spectators more amazed than if he'd razzle-dazzled."
The New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded in 1851 and published in New York City. The largest metropolitan newspaper in the United States, "The Gray Lady"—named for its staid appearance and style—is regarded as a national newspaper of record...
wrote, “He's taken a craft that's been around for hundreds of years and done something unique and fresh with it."
In
Magic Man, Blaine is shown traveling across the country, entertaining unsuspecting pedestrians in
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
, Atlantic City, Dallas, San Francisco,
ComptonCompton is a city in southern Los Angeles County, California, United States, south-southeast of downtown Los Angeles. The city was incorporated in 1889. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 93,493....
, and the
Mojave DesertThe Mojave Desert , , locally referred to as the High Desert, occupies a significant portion of southeastern California and smaller parts of central California, southern Nevada, southwestern Utah and northwestern Arizona, in the United States...
recorded by a small crew with handheld cameras. Jon Racherbaumer commented, "Make no mistake about it, the focus of this show, boys and girls, is
not Blaine. It is really about theatrical proxemics; about the show-within-a-show and the spontaneous, visceral reactions of people being astonished."
USA TodayUSA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth...
calls David “The hottest name in magic right now”.
Buried Alive
On April 5 1999, Blaine was entombed in an underground plastic box underneath a 3-ton water-filled tank for seven days across from
Trump PlaceRiverside South is an apartment complex originated by Donald Trump and six civic partners on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, in New York City.The $3 billion project on a site between 59th Street and 72nd...
on 68th St. and Riverside Drive. According to
CNNCable News Network, almost always referred to by its initialism CNN, is an U.S. cable news network founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first network to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television network in the United States...
, "Blaine's only communication to the outside world was by a hand buzzer, which could have alerted an around-the-clock emergency crew standing by."
BBC NewsBBC News, formerly BBC News and Current Affairs, is the department within the British Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the corporation's news-gathering and production of news programmes on BBC television, radio and online....
reported that the cramped plastic coffin offered six inches (152 mm) of headroom and two inches on each side. During the endurance stunt Blaine ate nothing and drank only two to three tablespoons of water a day. An estimated 75,000 people visited the site, including Marie Blood,
Harry HoudiniHarry Houdini was a Hungarian American magician and escapologist, stunt performer, actor and film producer...
's niece, who said, "My uncle did some amazing things, but he could not have done this."
On the final day of the stunt, April 12, hundreds of news teams were stationed at the site for the coffin-opening. A team of construction workers removed a portion of the of gravel surrounding the six-foot deep coffin before a crane lifted the water tank. Blaine emerged and told the crowd "I saw something very prophetic ... a vision of every race, every religion, every age group banding together, and that made all this worthwhile." Reiterating Marie Blood's remarks,
BBC NewsBBC News, formerly BBC News and Current Affairs, is the department within the British Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the corporation's news-gathering and production of news programmes on BBC television, radio and online....
stated, "The 26-year-old magician has outdone his hero, Harry Houdini, who had planned a similar feat but died in 1926 before he could perform it." During the preparation of the stunt, Jonathan Demme told
Time Out New York, “He’s the most exciting thing in America ... And I’m not just talking entertainment.”
Frozen in Time
On November 27, 2000, Blaine began a stunt called "Frozen in Time," which was covered on a TV special. Blaine stood encased in a massive block of ice located in
Times SquareTimes Square is a major intersection in Manhattan, a borough of New York City, at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue and stretching from West 42nd to West 47th Streets...
,
New YorkNew York is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous. The state is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. He was lightly dressed and seen to be shivering even before the blocks of ice were sealed around him. A tube supplied him with air and water while his urine was removed with another tube. He was encased in the box of ice for 63 hours, 42 minutes and 15 seconds before being removed with chain saws. The ice was transparent and resting on an elevated platform to show that he was actually inside the ice the entire time.
CNNCable News Network, almost always referred to by its initialism CNN, is an U.S. cable news network founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first network to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television network in the United States...
confirmed that "thousands of people braved the pouring rain Wednesday night to catch a glimpse of Blaine as workers cut away at the ice." He was removed from the ice in an obviously dazed and disoriented state, wrapped in blankets and taken to the hospital immediately because doctors feared he might be going into shock.
The New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded in 1851 and published in New York City. The largest metropolitan newspaper in the United States, "The Gray Lady"—named for its staid appearance and style—is regarded as a national newspaper of record...
reported, "The magician who emerged from the increasingly unstable ice box seemed a shadow of the confident, robust, shirtless fellow who entered two days before." Blaine said in the documentary follow-up to this feat that it took "a month" before he was able to walk again and that he had no plans to ever again attempt a stunt of this difficulty.
This illusion was questioned on Breaking the Magician's Code, shown on
myNetworkTVMyNetworkTV is a television broadcast syndication service in the United States, owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a division of News Corporation...
on May 21, 2008. The masked magician showed how it could be performed as an illusion with two magicians taking turns in the block of ice.
Vertigo
On May 22, 2002, a
craneA crane is a lifting machine, generally equipped with a winder , wire ropes or chains and sheaves, that can be used both to lift and lower materials and to move them horizontally. It uses one or more simple machines to create mechanical advantage and thus move loads beyond the normal capability of...
lifted Blaine onto a 100-foot (30 m) high and 22-inch (0.56 m) wide pillar in
Bryant ParkBryant Park is a 9.603 acre privately-managed public park located in the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is bounded by Fifth Avenue, Sixth Avenue, 40th Street and 42nd Street in Midtown Manhattan. The central building of the New York Public Library is in the park...
,
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
. Although he was not harnessed to the pillar, there were two retractable handles on either side of him to grasp in the event of harsh weather. The
Evening StandardThe London Evening Standard is a free local daily newspaper, published in tabloid format in London, England. It is the dominant regional evening paper for London and the southeast of England, with coverage of national and international news and a strong emphasis on City of London finance...
s James Langton wrote, "He was battered by high winds and unusually cold May weather during his first night and would have been killed or seriously injured if he had fallen." He remained on the pillar for exactly 35 hours. The New YorkerThe New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry published by Condé Nast Publications...
’s Adam Gopnik wrote, “David Blaine, standing up there, is actually as good a magical metaphor for the moment as Houdini, fighting his way out of the straitjacket of immigrant identity toward prosperity, was for his." With his legs weak from standing atop the pillar for so long, he ended the feat by jumping down onto a landing platform made out of a 12-foot (3.7 m) high pile of cardboard boxes and suffered a mild concussion.
Mysterious Stranger
On October 29 2002,
Random HouseRandom House, Inc. is the world's largest English-language general trade book publisher. It has been owned since 1998 by the large German private media corporation Bertelsmann and has become the umbrella brand for Bertelsmann book publishing...
published David Blaine's
Mysterious Stranger: A Book of MagicMysterious Stranger: A Book of Magic by street magician David Blaine was published on October 29, 2002 by Random House. Part autobiography, part history, and part armchair treasure hunt, the book also includes instructions on how to perform basic card tricks and illusions.In his chapter, Discovery...
. Part
autobiographyAn autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
, part history of magic, and part armchair treasure hunt, the book also includes instructions on how to perform card tricks and illusions. Editing director, Bruce Tracy, explains “David Blaine is the most exciting and creative magician since Houdini, and now, readers have the opportunity to enjoy Blaine's unique book about magic, and they can participate by testing their own ability to discover and interpret clues.”
The treasure hunt, Blaine's
$100,000 ChallengeBlaine's $100,000 Challenge is an armchair treasure hunt hidden throughout the pages of Mysterious Stranger: A Book of Magic by street magician David Blaine....
, was devised by
game designerA game designer is a person who designs gameplay, conceiving and designing the rules and structures of a game. It is essentially the game equivalent to a screenwriter. The term applies to the designer of any game, whether a video game or tabletop games such as board games or card games...
Cliff JohnsonCliff Johnson is an American game designer, best known for the early computer puzzle games The Fool's Errand and 3 in Three . Both games were notable for unique visual puzzles and a metapuzzle structure.- Biography :...
, creator of
The Fool's ErrandThe Fool's Errand is a 1987 computer game by Cliff Johnson. It is a meta-puzzle game with storytelling, visual puzzles and a cryptic treasure map...
, and solved by Sherri Skanesthumb|88px|right|Sherri SkanesSherri Skanes is an American treasure hunter, artist, and semi-retired school teacher in Ventura, California. On March 20, 2004, she solved magician David Blaine's $100,000 Challenge, as published in his book Mysterious Stranger: A Book of Magic.Skanes, who tested and...
on March 20 2004, 16 months after the book's publication.
Above the Below
On September 5, 2003, Blaine began his 44-day endurance stunt sealed inside a transparent
PlexiglasPoly poly is a transparent thermoplastic. Chemically, it is the synthetic polymer of methyl methacrylate...
case suspended 30 feet (9 m) in the air next to Potters Fields Park on the south bank of the
River ThamesThe River Thames is a major river flowing through southern England. While best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows through several other towns and cities, including Oxford, Reading and Windsor....
, the area between
City HallA city hall or town hall is the chief administrative building of a city or town's administration and usually houses the city or town council, its associated departments and their employees...
and
Tower BridgeTower Bridge is a combined bascule and suspension bridge in London, England, over the River Thames. It is close to the Tower of London, which gives it its name...
in
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
. The case, measuring by by , had a
webcamA webcam is a video capture device connected to a computer or computer network, often using a USB port or, if connected to a network, ethernet or Wi-Fi....
installed so that viewers could observe his progress. During the 44-day period, Blaine went without any food or nutrients and survived on just 4.5 liters of water per day.
The endurance stunt became the subject of much media attention.
The GuardianThe Guardian is a British daily newspaper owned by the Guardian Media Group. Founded in 1821, it is unique among major British newspapers in being owned by a foundation .The Guardian Weekly, which circulates worldwide, provides a compact digest of four newspapers...
wrote, "Blaine has created one of the most eloquent and telling visual images of our time." The TimesThe Times is a daily national newspaper published in the United Kingdom since 1785 when it was known as The Daily Universal Register....
reported that "1,614 articles in the British press have made reference to the exploit." U.S. President
George W. BushGeorge Walker Bush was the 43rd President of the United States from 2001 to 2009 and the 46th Governor of Texas from 1995 to 2000....
referred to Blaine’s stunt in a speech at the Whitehall Palace in London, saying “The last noted American to visit London stayed in a glass box dangling over the Thames. A few might have been happy to provide similar arrangements for me.”
While the majority of visitors were supportive, a minority were more mischievous or hostile towards the endurance artist. The Times
reported that eggs, lemons, sausages, bacon, water bottles, beer cans, paint-filled balloons and golf balls had all been thrown at the box. The Evening StandardThe London Evening Standard is a free local daily newspaper, published in tabloid format in London, England. It is the dominant regional evening paper for London and the southeast of England, with coverage of national and international news and a strong emphasis on City of London finance...
reported that one man was arrested for attempting to cut the water supply to Blaine's box. According to BBC News, a hamburger was flown up to the box by a remote-controlled helicopter as a taunt.
On September 25, BBC News reported that Blaine announced via webcam that he was feeling the taste of pear drops on his tongue. Dr. Adam Carey, who performed a medical examination of Blaine before he entered the box, said that the taste was produced by
ketonesKetone bodies are three water-soluble compounds that are produced as by-products when fatty acids are broken down for energy in the liver and kidney. They are used as a source of energy in the heart and brain. In the brain, they are a vital source of energy during fasting...
produced by the body burning fatty acids, which are themselves produced from
fatFats consist of a wide group of compounds that are generally soluble in organic solvents and largely insoluble in water. Chemically, fats are generally triesters of glycerol and fatty acids. Fats may be either solid or liquid at normal room temperature, depending on their structure and composition...
reserves via
glycerolGlycerol is an organic compound, also commonly called glycerin or glycerine. It is a colorless, odorless, viscous liquid that is widely used in pharmaceutical formulations. Glycerol has three hydrophilic hydroxyl groups that are responsible for its solubility in water and its hygroscopic nature. ...
.
Blaine emerged on schedule on October 19, murmuring "I love you all!" and was quickly hospitalized. The New England Journal of Medicine published a paper that documented his 44 day fast and stated that his
re-feedingRefeeding syndrome is a syndrome consisting of metabolic disturbances that occur as a result of reinstitution of nutrition to patients who are starved or severely malnourished. Renourishment is the process of avoiding refeeding syndrome...
was perhaps the most dangerous part of the stunt. The study reported, “He lost 24.5 kg (25 percent of his original body weight), and his
body mass indexThe body mass index , or Quetelet index, is a controversial statistical measurement which compares a person's weight and height. Though it does not actually measure the percentage of body fat, it may be a useful tool to estimate a healthy body weight based on how tall a person is...
dropped from 29.0 to 21.6. His appearance and body-mass index after his fast would not by themselves have alerted us to the risks of refeeding. Despite cautious management, he had
hypophosphatemiaHypophosphatemia is an electrolyte disturbance in which there is an abnormally low level of phosphate in the blood. The condition has many causes, but is most commonly seen when malnourished patients are given large amounts of carbohydrates, which creates a high phosphorus demand by cells,...
and fluid retention, important elements of the refeeding syndrome.” The event was filmed by cult director, and close friend of Blaine,
Harmony KorineHarmony Korine is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and author....
.
Drowned Alive
On May 1, 2006, Blaine was submerged in an diameter, water-filled sphere (
isotonicThe term isotonic may refer to;* Isotonic for the term associated with muscle contraction* An isotone in nuclear physics* Isotonic solutions, solutions that have equal osmotic pressure, such as the isotonic environment in cell biology...
saline, 0.9% salt) in front of the Lincoln Center in
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
for a planned seven days and seven nights, using tubes for air and nutrition. During the stunt, doctors witnessed skin breakdown at the hands and feet, and liver failure. The New York Times' Kenneth Silverman wrote "his feat of endurance brought a diverse crowd of thousands of New Yorkers together, renewing for a while the city's waning spirit of democratic community."
He concluded this event by attempting to hold his breath underwater to break the then-current world record of 8 minutes, 58 seconds held by
Tom SietasTom Sietas is a free diver who specializes in the "static apnea" event and the "dynamic apnea" event . Sietas started free diving in the year 2000...
for
static apneaStatic Apnea is AIDA International discipline in which the freediver holds his or her breath for as long as possible with his or her respiratory tracts immersed, his or her body either in the water or at the surface...
—holding one's breath without the aid of breathing 100% oxygen beforehand, although Blaine's attempt would not have qualified as static apnea under
AIDA InternationalThe International Association for Development of Apnea is the world wide rule and record-keeping body for competitive breath holding events . It aims to set standards for safety, comparability of Official World Record attempts and freedive education...
rules. Blaine also tried to free himself from handcuffs and chains put on him upon coming out after the week in the sphere. He seemed to have trouble escaping from the last of the handcuffs. Around the 7 minute mark, he showed some signs of distress. He was pulled up and out of the water by his support divers after 7 minutes and 8 seconds underwater—one minute and fifty seconds short of his goal. Although he did not take home the record for breath holding, he was called “an everyday hero for an everyday age,” by
The Boston GlobeThe Boston Globe is an American daily newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Globe has been owned by The New York Times Company since 1993. Its chief print rival is the Boston Herald....
, and The Washington PostThe Washington Post is the newspaper with the largest circulation in Washington, D.C. and is the city's oldest paper, founded in 1877. Being located in the nation's capital, it has a particular emphasis on national politics and international affairs...
stated, “Blaine represented an opportunity to see something unbelievable.”
Blaine did claim to succeed in setting a record for being fully submerged in water for more than seven days straight (177 hours), and has since broken the record for holding one's breath using oxygen beforehand (as permitted by the Guinness book of records).
Blaine underwent multiple short hospital visits after the stunt ended and has entered an agreement with doctors from
Yale UniversityYale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut, and a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States. Yale has produced many notable alumni, including five...
to monitor him in order to study the human physiological reaction to prolonged submersion.
In an interview on The Howard Stern Show
on Sirius satellite radioSirius Satellite Radio is a satellite radio service operating in the United States and Canada, owned by Sirius XM Radio. Headquartered in New York City, with smaller studios in Los Angeles and Memphis, Sirius was officially launched on July 1, 2002 and currently provides 69 streams of music and...
, Blaine spoke of the week-long fasting he did before the "drowning alive" stunt, to avoid having to be concerned with defecationDefecation is the final act of digestion by which organisms eliminate solid, semisolid or liquid waste material from the digestive tract via the anus. Humans usually defecate from three times a week, up to three times a day...
.
Revolution
On November 19 2006, Blaine announced his next stunt: he would be shackled to a rotating
gyroscopeA gyroscope is a device for measuring or maintaining orientation, based on the principles of angular momentum. A mechanical gyroscope is essentially a spinning wheel or disk whose axle is free to take any orientation...
. His goal was to escape from his shackles after the gyroscope had been spinning for 16 hours. The gyroscope was constantly spinning at a rate of eight revolutions per minute while hanging above an empty lot in
ManhattanManhattan is one of the five boroughs of New York City, located primarily on Manhattan Island at the mouth of the Hudson River.New York County, which has the same boundaries as the Borough of Manhattan , is the most densely populated county in the United States, with a 2008 population of 1,634,795...
near
Times SquareTimes Square is a major intersection in Manhattan, a borough of New York City, at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue and stretching from West 42nd to West 47th Streets...
.
The stunt began on November 21 2006, with Mr Blaine declaring, "This one's exciting for me. This one's a fun one."
52 hours later, without food or water, a dehydrated and weakened Blaine, landed on a wooden platform 30 feet below after jumping from the hanging gyroscope.
As a result of his success, Blaine led 100 children selected by The Salvation Army on a shopping spree at
TargetTarget Corporation, usually known simply as Target, is an American retailing company that was founded in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1902 as the Dayton Dry Goods Company. In 1962, the company opened its first Target store in nearby Roseville...
, after each child received a $500 gift certificate from the retailer. Blaine said the stunt was particularly important since The Salvation Army had provided him with clothing while he was growing up. "This challenge is close to my heart," Blaine said.
Guinness World Records
After failing to surpass the then-current record of unassisted
static apneaStatic Apnea is AIDA International discipline in which the freediver holds his or her breath for as long as possible with his or her respiratory tracts immersed, his or her body either in the water or at the surface...
in his previous attempt Drowned Alive
, Blaine appeared on the April 30, 2008 episode of The Oprah Winfrey ShowThe Oprah Winfrey Show is a United States syndicated talk show, hosted and produced by its namesake Oprah Winfrey, and is the highest-rated talk show in American television history...
, announcing that he would attempt to break the Guinness World Record for oxygen assisted
static apneaStatic Apnea is AIDA International discipline in which the freediver holds his or her breath for as long as possible with his or her respiratory tracts immersed, his or her body either in the water or at the surface...
set by Peter Colat of
SwitzerlandSwitzerland , officially the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 states named cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities...
on February 10, 2008.
Before entering his eighteen-hundred gallon water tank, Blaine spent 23 minutes inhaling pure oxygen, up to 30 minutes of "oxygen hyperventilation" is allowed under guidelines. His heart rate remained above one hundred beats per minute during much of the attempt, rising to one hundred and twenty-four bpm. in the fifteenth minute. A faster heart rate increases oxygen consumption leading to painful carbon dioxide buildup. In the final minute, his heart rate became erratic and he started rising from the bottom of the water-filled sphere; however, he kept his head submerged for a half minute longer than the previous record. Ultimately, Blaine held his breath for seventeen minutes four and a half seconds, surpassing Colat's previous mark of sixteen minutes thirty-two seconds. This was Blaine's first Guinness record and it stood for almost four and a half months, until surpassed by
Tom SietasTom Sietas is a free diver who specializes in the "static apnea" event and the "dynamic apnea" event . Sietas started free diving in the year 2000...
on September 19, 2008.
During the following interview, Blaine stated: "I really thought I was not going to make it," claiming that he did so by staying in a meditative state which was helped by the studio lights reflecting off of the sphere.
According to Blaine, besides the pressure of performing on television, the heart-rate monitor happened to be close enough to his ear so that he heard its beeping, and he had to keep his feet locked in holds at the bottom of the sphere — instead of just floating freely, as he did in the pool on Grand Cayman months earlier. Back then he said he was so relaxed he "wasn’t even there" during most of the breath-hold. But when he emerged from the sphere today, he told Oprah, "I was pretty much here the whole time."
Dive of Death
On September 18, 2008,
Donald TrumpDonald John Trump is an American business magnate, socialite, author and television personality. He is the Chairman and CEO of the Trump Organization, a US-based real-estate developer. Trump is also the founder of Trump Entertainment Resorts, which operates numerous casinos and hotels across the...
and Blaine held a press conference at the
Trump TowerTrump Tower is a 58-story skyscraper in New York City located at 725 Fifth Avenue, at the corner of 56th Street. The mixed-use tower was developed by Donald Trump and the Equitable Life Assurance Company...
in
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
to announce his latest feat, “The Upside Down Man.” Blaine was to hang upside down without a safety net for 60 hours above
Central ParkCentral Park is a large public, urban park that occupies over a square mile in the heart of Manhattan in New York City. It is host to approximately twenty-five million visitors each year...
’s
Wollman RinkWollman Skating Rink is a public ice rink in the southern part of Central Park, Manhattan, New York City. The rink was opened in 1949 with funds donated by Kate Wollman. Historically, the rink has been open for ice skating from October to April and in the summer seasons is transformed into a venue...
, with a predicted end for 10:45 p.m. on September 24. Reportedly, Blaine risked blindness and other maladies in the stunt. Trump has helped finance this and other Blaine events. Blaine hung over the Wollman Rink and interacted with fans by lowering himself upside down. At the press conference Blaine stated he had already gone without food for over a week, and will continue to do so throughout the act. In order to drink fluid and restore circulation he will pull himself up, although he will contend with muscle spasms and lack of sleep. Blaine began the stunt on Monday September 22, but was widely criticized when, only hours into the endurance challenge, he was seen by fans to be standing on a waiting crane platform, and not upside down, as expected. He reportedly would come down once an hour to receive a medical check, stretch and relieve himself.
When the "Dive of Death" took place, Blaine came down from the platform on a cable, and lightly touched the stage. He was then pulled back up into the air, and, in the words of the New York Daily News, "hung in the air like a sack of potatoes with a goofy grin on his face, occasionally kicking his legs as though he were running." The plan had been for Blaine to be pulled up into the air by helium balloons and disappear into the atmosphere. Blaine attributed the problem to changes in weather conditions that occurred after the stunt was delayed due to an address by
President BushGeorge Walker Bush was the 43rd President of the United States from 2001 to 2009 and the 46th Governor of Texas from 1995 to 2000....
.
Sources
- Mysterious Stranger
Mysterious Stranger: A Book of Magic by street magician David Blaine was published on October 29, 2002 by Random House. Part autobiography, part history, and part armchair treasure hunt, the book also includes instructions on how to perform basic card tricks and illusions.In his chapter, Discovery...
, Blaine's autobiography published by Vilard Books and Channel 4 books. ISBN 0-7522-1989-8.
- BBC news pages on Blaine's time in London – 1 2 3
- Korbonits M., Blaine D., Elia M., Powell-Tuck J., "Refeeding David Blaine: studies after a 44-day fast", New England Journal of Medicine
The New England Journal of Medicine is an English-language peer-reviewed medical journal published by the Massachusetts Medical Society. It is the oldest continuously published medical journal in the world, and is the most widely read, cited, and influential general medical periodical in the...
2005;353:2306-7. PMID 16306536.
External links