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Thanks for sharing - that was an incredible story. I find David Blaine fascinating because many of his magic tricks aren't tricks per se, he just does things th

Thanks for sharing - that was an incredible story. I find David Blaine fascinating because many of his magic tricks aren't tricks per se, he just does things that would be unthinkable for the average person. For instance he often takes a bite out of a wine glass and chews it up, and it seems like there must be some trick to it, except in one of his TV specials he goes to a dentist and reveals that his teeth are all worn down and messed up from eating so much glass.

Tomminn 8y ago
This one is great: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLAs11gkqKE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLAs11gkqKE. Ricky Gevais: "Sorry sorry David seriously, this isn't a trick. You're just sticking a needle through your fucking arm. What are you doing? That's fucking horrible. You're a maniac. That's the worst thing I've ever seen in my life."
- chrischen 8y ago
  Why was there no blood?
  - Tomminn 8y ago
    I think the way the trick is done is he essentially has a healed piercing all the way through his arm. So he only had to go through the pain once and can now do the trick whenever he likes so long as he keeps the piercing open.
  - laurieg 8y ago
    Likely because it's a magic trick and he didn't really poke it through his arm?
    - tuesdayrain 8y ago
      You're just guessing. He really did poke it through.
      - laurieg 8y ago
        I had a look around at David Blaine poking various things into himself. I think I was probably wrong. It looks like poking a needle into a bicep is a somewhat common trick[1]. I assume he just takes the pain. Still, I would tell everyone to be cautious believing a magician's explanation for any trick. Lying to mould people's memory of the trick is a really common technique. In one version of David Blaine's icepick through the hand[2] he says "This is the first time I let someone else choose the place" When he clearly chooses where to push the icepick through. [1] https://vimeo.com/33462933 https://vimeo.com/33462933 [2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sw-l5SW5hik https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sw-l5SW5hik
        chrischen 8y ago
        I'm thinking the healed piercing thing is what it is. Basically he has something akin to a fistula (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fistula https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fistula) from repeatedly poking the same spot, but the outside heals over so you can't see the hole.
laurieg 8y ago
Much more of it is a trick than David Blaine says so. I think Penn Jillette put it quite well: "Do you really believe a magician who last week was doing car tricks but this week is doing 'real' magic?"(paraphrased). Remember: Magicians are allowed to lie. Sometimes it's just a simple thing like "I never touched the deck of cards" when actually they were holding them at the start of the trick. Other times it is fake explanation. "I am reading you using psychology" is a popular one with mentalists. Other people on a magicians TV show may lie too. I don't know the particular David Blaine trick you are talking about, but I wouldn't be surprised if he does not actually chew on real glass.
- tzs 8y ago
  > Remember: Magicians are allowed to lie There was a magician on "Penn & Teller: Fool Us" recently who told an interesting lie. His lie was that he was doing a trick. His "trick" involved snatching the right card out of a fast falling stream of cards, with the stream going fast enough that it seems impossible beyond the ability of a human to use counting or timing to pinpoint the right card and reach in and grab it. In fact, he had developed the speed and skill to do just that. Here's a page from the magician showing how he does it: https://www.kostyakimlat.com/blog/fool-us-magic-trick-revealed https://www.kostyakimlat.com/blog/fool-us-magic-trick-reveal...

Tomminn 8y ago

This one is great: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLAs11gkqKE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLAs11gkqKE. Ricky Gevais: "Sorry sorry David seriously, this isn't a trick. You're just sticking a needle through your fucking arm. What are you doing? That's fucking horrible. You're a maniac. That's the worst thing I've ever seen in my life."

chrischen 8y ago
Why was there no blood?
- Tomminn 8y ago
  I think the way the trick is done is he essentially has a healed piercing all the way through his arm. So he only had to go through the pain once and can now do the trick whenever he likes so long as he keeps the piercing open.
- laurieg 8y ago
  Likely because it's a magic trick and he didn't really poke it through his arm?
  - tuesdayrain 8y ago
    You're just guessing. He really did poke it through.
    - laurieg 8y ago
      I had a look around at David Blaine poking various things into himself. I think I was probably wrong. It looks like poking a needle into a bicep is a somewhat common trick[1]. I assume he just takes the pain. Still, I would tell everyone to be cautious believing a magician's explanation for any trick. Lying to mould people's memory of the trick is a really common technique. In one version of David Blaine's icepick through the hand[2] he says "This is the first time I let someone else choose the place" When he clearly chooses where to push the icepick through. [1] https://vimeo.com/33462933 https://vimeo.com/33462933 [2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sw-l5SW5hik https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sw-l5SW5hik
      - chrischen 8y ago
        I'm thinking the healed piercing thing is what it is. Basically he has something akin to a fistula (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fistula https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fistula) from repeatedly poking the same spot, but the outside heals over so you can't see the hole.

laurieg 8y ago

Much more of it is a trick than David Blaine says so. I think Penn Jillette put it quite well: "Do you really believe a magician who last week was doing car tricks but this week is doing 'real' magic?"(paraphrased). Remember: Magicians are allowed to lie. Sometimes it's just a simple thing like "I never touched the deck of cards" when actually they were holding them at the start of the trick. Other times it is fake explanation. "I am reading you using psychology" is a popular one with mentalists. Other people on a magicians TV show may lie too. I don't know the particular David Blaine trick you are talking about, but I wouldn't be surprised if he does not actually chew on real glass.

tzs 8y ago
> Remember: Magicians are allowed to lie There was a magician on "Penn & Teller: Fool Us" recently who told an interesting lie. His lie was that he was doing a trick. His "trick" involved snatching the right card out of a fast falling stream of cards, with the stream going fast enough that it seems impossible beyond the ability of a human to use counting or timing to pinpoint the right card and reach in and grab it. In fact, he had developed the speed and skill to do just that. Here's a page from the magician showing how he does it: https://www.kostyakimlat.com/blog/fool-us-magic-trick-revealed https://www.kostyakimlat.com/blog/fool-us-magic-trick-reveal...