Illusionist David Blaine has survived his latest feat of
endurance with no lasting side effects it appears, after hanging upside down
above Central Park’s Wollman ice rink for
nearly three days.
There is a caveat though: the 35-year-old
adrenaline/attention-hungry illusionist initially planned to spend the whole of
60 hours hanging upside down from a metal frame, 50 feet above the skating
rink.
During this time, the daring entertainer and odd record-breaker
intended to drink hanging upside-down, to urinate in that same unnatural
position and to fast. Only part of the plan was carried through.
A medical team present throughout the ordeal stated from the
very beginning that Blaine’s
proposed feat was a dangerous one, that standing upside down for that long
could cause permanent damage to his eyes and to internal organs, due to excessive
blood pressure.
The initial conditions proved too difficult though, as Blaine’s eyes started to
swell hours within being hoisted high up in the sky and he discovered that he
was not able to neither drink nor urinate while hanging like a bat.
This led to an anticlimactic resolution on Blaine’s part: to
be lowered to the ground as often as once an hour, for 10 to 15 minute breaks,
during which time he relieved himself, hydrated and had his eyes and vital
signs checked by a physician.
After which hiatuses he was lifted once more above the
skating rink, for all those curious enough to gather around and watch. Of
these, many were disenchanted to see the self-titled magician not so magically
come down from his place in the sky and there were plenty to boo him for doing
so.
Boos were also present Wednesday night, when the 60 hours in
the hourglass had elapsed (the countdown having begun Monday at 8 a.m.) and Blaine
proceeded to heroically end the adventure by diving from his 44-foot high
dangling spot to the ground below… attached to a harness.
ABC aired a two-hour special Wednesday night, capturing the finale
of what the endurance artist called “Dive of Death.”
He was afterwards lifted in the sky and apparently
disappeared. Magic.
Doctors examining him after the entire ordeal had ended
confirmed that Blaine’s
blood pressure was fine. Internal organs were functioning normally as well. The
medical staff had previously stated that Blaine
risked blindness.
He survived with his eyes intact, muscles probably more than
sore, an empty stomach and, one can assume, a certain degree of dizziness.
This is perhaps a better result than what the magician
suffered during previous endurance tests he submitted himself to for the sake
of his art.
In 2003, he famously spent 44 days without any food or
nutrients, all the while standing inside a Plexiglas case overlooking London’s Thames
River from a 30-foot
height. He lost a significant amount of weight and was subsequently
hospitalized for malnutrition.
Other stunts he has performed include spending seven days
under water and spending three days encased in a block of ice.