# David Blaine: Drowned Alive **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 9, 2006, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-blaine-drowned-alive/355991 "2006-05-09T00:51:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![fiddlesticks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddlesticks/32/18129_2.png) [@fiddlesticks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fiddlesticks)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2006, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-blaine-drowned-alive/355991/21 "2006-05-09T06:06:36Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Stuart Scott… They had the 2nd most annoying ESPN “personality” (behind Steven A. Smith) host this monstrousity? Thank Og my dual tuner DVR was being plenty busy with Prison Break/24/How I Met Your Mother/Apprentice tonight… ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2006, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-blaine-drowned-alive/355991/22 "2006-05-09T06:11:02Z")
I only saw about ten minutes, but I think it was Scott and a great number of Blaine’s doctors and staff. Thank goodness ABC owns ESPN. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2006, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-blaine-drowned-alive/355991/23 "2006-05-09T06:23:46Z")
The balding, Anthony Edwards, syringe squirting, medic seemed a bit over the top. Definitely coached, and obviously seemed nervous and entirely conscious of the camera. The team could have been more polished. ---
**Author:** ![Snickers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Snickers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snickers)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2006, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-blaine-drowned-alive/355991/24 "2006-05-09T13:06:36Z")
What has me rather confused is this - since when is it required to stay underwater for what? Eight days? in order to hold one’s breath for nine minutes? I mean, couldn’t you just go underwater for a coupla hours, a day (at most) for the try? What’s with the water torture? Yeah, publicity, I know. Still, weird. But effective, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2006, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-blaine-drowned-alive/355991/25 "2006-05-09T13:22:05Z")
Perhaps he was hoping he’d grow gills. I have zero patience for him and his ridiculous stunts. Can’t he just date Paris Hilton like a normal publicity whore? ---
**Author:** ![Improv\_Geek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b3f665/32.png) [@Improv\_Geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Improv_Geek)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2006, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-blaine-drowned-alive/355991/26 "2006-05-09T13:28:02Z")
David Blaine bothers me, I’m not a fan. He stayed under water for that many days for A) publicity and b) in theory it would help him on his attempt at the record with putting his body under pressure and limiting his oxygen so his body could get used to it. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2006, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-blaine-drowned-alive/355991/27 "2006-05-09T13:28:19Z")
I loved the review in today’s NY Times: > [@](#): > > . . . the absurd seriousness with which Mr. Blaine approaches his public stunts leaves you with a certain glee at his failure . . . To the matter of Mr. Blaine’s unusual choice of vocation, one always wants to ask: What would have been so bad about law school? In dreamy montages last night, Mr. Blaine explained that these exercises are all part of his “journey,” that they “make people think.” Magic, he said, “brings people together who might not come together.” Well, so does the airport. The beauty of old-school thrill seekers like Evel Knievel, whose interview with Mr. Blaine ran during the show, is that they did not seek to intellectualize their gamesmanship. When Mr. Blaine looks for insight into why he does what he does, Mr. Knievel responds without any effort at introspection: “You’re a daredevil,” he says. “You can’t help it.” ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2006, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-blaine-drowned-alive/355991/28 "2006-05-09T14:03:31Z")
> [@DianaG](#): > > Perhaps he was hoping he’d grow gills. No gillyweed. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2006, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-blaine-drowned-alive/355991/29 "2006-05-09T23:40:57Z")
> [@Snickers](#): > > What has me rather confused is this - since when is it required to stay underwater for what? Eight days? in order to hold one’s breath for nine minutes? I mean, couldn’t you just go underwater for a coupla hours, a day (at most) for the try? What’s with the water torture? > > Yeah, publicity, I know. > > Still, weird. But effective, I guess. Because Blaine’s a major attention whore. Oh, and did anyone see those pictures of his hands? _shudder_ ---
**Author:** ![dnooman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/839c29/32.png) [@dnooman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dnooman)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2006, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-blaine-drowned-alive/355991/30 "2006-05-09T23:45:43Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Because Blaine’s a major attention whore. _You_ hate attention whores? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Dragwyr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dragwyr/32/2855_2.png) [@Dragwyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dragwyr)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2006, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-blaine-drowned-alive/355991/31 "2006-05-10T01:08:48Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > I don’t get the hate. I like David Blaine…his stunts are cool. I admit his presentation is way over the top, but he is really out there doing the things and seems emotionaly attached. > > 10x better than Copperfield, who does 10 minutes of music for 1 minute of “magic”. The things that a lot of people don’t like about Blaine are: 1. He only got onto TV because of hi association with Leo DiCaprio 2. He has the presentation of a turnip when he does magic 3. The effects he has performed on TV required many MANY takes to get correct. 4. A lot of the effects he did on TV required a confederate who was in on the trick or use camera tricks. ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2006, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-blaine-drowned-alive/355991/32 "2006-05-10T01:11:22Z")
> [@Snickers](#): > > What has me rather confused is this - since when is it required to stay underwater for what? Eight days? in order to hold one’s breath for nine minutes? I mean, couldn’t you just go underwater for a coupla hours, a day (at most) for the try? What’s with the water torture? That was my thought exactly. I looked at it the paper and thought, “What’s the magic trick here? Staying underwater for that long or holding your breath for that long?” Plus, how exactly is any of this magic? Does he even qualify as a magician anymore? ---
**Author:** ![Malodorous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e47774/32.png) [@Malodorous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malodorous)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2006, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-blaine-drowned-alive/355991/33 "2006-05-10T01:24:56Z")
> [@Kythereia](#): > > Plus, how exactly is any of this magic? Does he even qualify as a magician anymore? Was the same sort of stuff Houdini pulled with hand cuffs and water tanks and the like. I belive the term is escapologist. Not technically magic, but there’s a lot of overlap in the people that do both types of performance. Even the street magician at the local pedestraian mall here starts with a few magic tricks and then goes on to squirming his way out of a straight jacket. Magician is just a useful umbrella term I guess. As for being a publicity whore, well that sort of goes with the territory. I mean it’s all basically a performance, and the point of performing is to draw an audience. If he held his breath for 8 minutes in his bathtub at home it wouldn’t be much of a show. **Dragwyr’s** critisicms seem a lot more substantial to me. I’d rather a better magician get all the press, but it’s still more interesting then whatever reality shows are on the other channels. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2006, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-blaine-drowned-alive/355991/34 "2006-05-10T01:35:19Z")
> [@eleanorigby](#): > > No gillyweed. Heh. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2006, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-blaine-drowned-alive/355991/35 "2006-05-10T02:07:50Z")
> [@Kythereia](#): > > Plus, how exactly is any of this magic? Does he even qualify as a magician anymore? My point, too. I mean, does he actually have _any_ talent or ability? From what I’ve seen, his whole act consists of “standing there,” “lying there,” or “floating there.” Yeah, I guess it takes physical stamina . . . But couldn’t a _corpse_ pretty much do the same thing? ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2006, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-blaine-drowned-alive/355991/36 "2006-05-10T02:16:05Z")
> [@Eve](#): > > My point, too. I mean, does he actually have _any_ talent or ability? From what I’ve seen, his whole act consists of “standing there,” “lying there,” or “floating there.” Yeah, I guess it takes physical stamina . . . But couldn’t a _corpse_ pretty much do the same thing? Yes, I’m sure you could replicate all his stunts perfectly. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![CapnPitt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/edb3f5/32.png) [@CapnPitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CapnPitt)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2006, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-blaine-drowned-alive/355991/37 "2006-05-10T02:24:31Z")
Did he have radio earplugs in or something? Would they even work underwater if he did? His coach was talking to him all the time and asking him for signals at certain time markers (and he was responding at those markers). I can’t hear for crap underwater, so I wondering how he pulled that “trick.” ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2006, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-blaine-drowned-alive/355991/38 "2006-05-10T07:07:50Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > Yes, I’m sure you could replicate all his stunts perfectly. 😛 Put a remote in my hand, and no sweat! ---
**Author:** ![thwartme](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@thwartme](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thwartme)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2006, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-blaine-drowned-alive/355991/39 "2006-05-11T17:18:41Z")
I didn’t catch the show yet (a friend tapes just about anything even remotely magic related, so I’m hoping he’ll be able to slide me a copy of this) but from what I heard it was alot of hype over nothing. [Penn Jillette](http://www.penn.freefm.com/) had [Criss Angel](http://www.crissangel.com/get.html) on his show on Monday, talking about the Blaine stunt, and neither seemed very impressed. Mostly they weren’t impressed becasue they’d both done the same stunt (well, Penn helped Teller do it) in the past, and didn’t go the whole navy-seals-trained-me, I’m-in-the-water-for-a-week, I’m-breaking-a-record angle. Angel had done a very similar stunt, where he was trapped in a little 6’ box full of water for 24 hours, locked up in chains and all, and had to the escape and hold his breath for a ‘record breaking’ time. And Penn & Teller have done a card trick which involves Teller being trapped in a water tank and not having air for about ten minutes, which they performed eight times a week on Broadway a few years ago. As both will tell you, it’s a trick, and no one was actually holding their breath for that long. On the next day’s show, Penn and his radio partner Michael Goudeau were surmising that someone must have stepped on Blaine’s airhose. Of course, they both acknowledged that whatever they might think of Blaine’s abilities as a magician, he puts on a heck of a TV special. And his girlfriend’s [hot](http://www.vnn.vn/dataimages/original/images458804_AM_Josie_Maran4.jpg) . thwartme ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2006, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-blaine-drowned-alive/355991/40 "2006-05-11T19:56:48Z")
I was a stagehand for Penn & Teller when they performed the water tank trick in Atlantic City for a couple of weeks, and I can tell you that theirs is a trick. An illusion. Teller is decidedly not holding his breath for ten minutes- no mystery there, I’m sure. Although I may appear here and my post upthread as Blaine’s publicist- I’m not, I have no connection to him- I don’t think what he did in the water tank was a trick. That is, I think he really was holding his breath for that long. Evidently it is possible, as some unknown person did it before, for 8:58. If it was a trick, why would he have bailed out a couple minutes before breaking the record? Why not hold it until 9:15 and then put on a big show of scrambling out of the tank before drowning? I only watched the 9 minute breath-holding portion of the 2-hour special, and even then I kept flipping back to the Apprentice boardroom, but I’m convinced it was the real deal. OK, call me naive. Line forms to the left. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-blaine-drowned-alive/355991.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-blaine-drowned-alive/355991.md?page=3)