# David Blaine special **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 25, 2008, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-blaine-special/465109 "2008-09-25T02:25:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Darth\_Sensitive](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/58956e/32.png) [@Darth\_Sensitive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Sensitive)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2008, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-blaine-special/465109/1 "2008-09-25T02:25:09Z")
Blaine is doing some ‘death dive’ tonight in NYC. I don’t particularly care for the big endurancy showy stuff, but I love his street magic style stuff. I’ll occasionally have a clue how it works, but most of the time, he leaves me with: 😕:eek:🙂 Anyone else watching? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2008, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-blaine-special/465109/2 "2008-09-25T02:30:04Z")
> [@](#): > > I don’t particularly care for the big endurancy showy stuff, but I love his street magic style stuff. The trick for most of his street magic is the same. He doesn’t do street magic (or at least, not any street magic impressive enough for any but the most credulous of viewers); he does camera magic and then tells people it’s street magic. Which seems to me to be cheating, even as magic acts go. ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2008, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-blaine-special/465109/3 "2008-09-25T02:34:47Z")
I heard he was going to make the American economy disappear and then reappear. Let me know when I can open my eyes again. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Sensitive](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/58956e/32.png) [@Darth\_Sensitive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Sensitive)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2008, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-blaine-special/465109/4 "2008-09-25T02:44:25Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > The trick for most of his street magic is the same. He doesn’t do street magic (or at least, not any street magic impressive enough for any but the most credulous of viewers); he does camera magic and then tells people it’s street magic. Which seems to me to be cheating, even as magic acts go. Well that’s no fun. It seems to be cutless - not talking about the levitation thing I’ve heard problems with - but lots of card stuff that seemed legit - impressed audiences and steady camera angles. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2008, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-blaine-special/465109/5 "2008-09-25T02:45:05Z")
> [@Darth\_Sensitive](#): > > Anyone else watching? I’m not into torture porn. ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2008, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-blaine-special/465109/6 "2008-09-25T03:00:55Z")
Is there any actual _magic_ going on here? I mean, obviously not, but how does this make him a magician? Is he supposed to require supernatural powers to survive? It seems to me like it’s more a feat of endurance–body training–than anything, not a magic trick. ---
**Author:** ![MOIDALIZE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@MOIDALIZE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MOIDALIZE)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2008, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-blaine-special/465109/7 "2008-09-25T03:17:40Z")
Maybe he became immortal through some arcane ritual where he sacrificed 50 kittens on an alter or something. That would be pretty magical. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Sensitive](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/58956e/32.png) [@Darth\_Sensitive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Sensitive)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2008, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-blaine-special/465109/8 "2008-09-25T03:18:41Z")
> [@Kythereia](#): > > Is there any actual _magic_ going on here? > > I mean, obviously not, but how does this make him a magician? Is he supposed to require supernatural powers to survive? It seems to me like it’s more a feat of endurance–body training–than anything, not a magic trick. I feel let down. He jumped 44 feet, touched down, then ‘mysteriously levitated into the sky’. Except you could see the hook up down his jacket to the unseen crane. I would have expected him to figure that out and get past it - he’s media savvy enough that he should have gotten that right. He did a bullet catch too, but it was pretty boring too. Too much set up, not enough drama. Oh well. ---
**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:** [September 25, 2008, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-blaine-special/465109/9 "2008-09-25T03:23:01Z")
> [@Kythereia](#): > > Is there any actual _magic_ going on here? > > I mean, obviously not, but how does this make him a magician? Is he supposed to require supernatural powers to survive? It seems to me like it’s more a feat of endurance–body training–than anything, not a magic trick. According to [this article](http://popwatch.ew.com/popwatch/2008/09/david-blaine-di.html) he didn’t even stay upside down the entire time for his “dive of death”. > [@](#): > > When I got there, Blaine was taking a break. He was thirsty. And it was time for the doctors on hand to check his vital signs. So there he was: standing upright, drinking bottled water. There was no diving and no death (though the former, which is supposed to be some sort of 44-foot plunge, is to take place tomorrow). One guy on his lunch break said to his friend, “Dude gets water breaks?” while another man nearby said, “It doesn’t count [if he isn’t doing it continuously]. I could do that.” I’ve never been impressed with David Blaine. His first TV special only happened because he happens to know Leonardo DiCaprio. For the past 8 years, he’s been pulling stunts like this that aren’t magic. The thinks he’s the next Houdini, but he’s not even one one hundredth the showman that Houdini was. The thing is… he’s probably a really nice guy in person, but as a magician he’s barely passable. As a stunt person, he’s abysmal. ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2008, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-blaine-special/465109/10 "2008-09-25T12:17:48Z")
Obviously the whole “dive of death” was P.T. Barnum-ey and just to build excitement, and I don’t think he was trying to hide the safety cable and crane, but then the lights went off and when they came on again, the dude was gone. So the disappearing act was the real act. I guess it’s cool that he just sort of disappeared in front of the entire crowd, but if I was standing out there for 3 hours waiting for him to take a header into the concrete, I’d be mighty pissed at the way it went down. Some of the street magic was cool, though. Turning 5 singles into 5 20’s- whatever sleight of hand was involved was very well done. ---
**Author:** ![flex727](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/258eb7/32.png) [@flex727](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flex727)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2008, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-blaine-special/465109/11 "2008-09-25T14:58:42Z")
> [@corkboard](#): > > Some of the street magic was cool, though. Turning 5 singles into 5 20’s- whatever sleight of hand was involved was very well done. I think it was 5 hundreds, not that that makes it more impressive. I liked the trick where he moved the federal reserve identifier seal across the dollar bill with his thumb. Any ideas on how he did that one? The bent quarter trick was lame. It was obvious that the quarter was bent when he placed it into the woman’s hand, but I’d sure like to take a look at the mechanism he used to bend it. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2008, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-blaine-special/465109/12 "2008-09-25T16:33:21Z")
Go ahead and should “old!” if you must, but [these Blaine parodies](http://thoselilrabbits.com/?page_id=4) always crack me up. “Stop putting shit on our bodies, David Blaine!” ---
**Author:** ![MOIDALIZE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@MOIDALIZE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MOIDALIZE)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2008, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-blaine-special/465109/13 "2008-09-25T17:42:46Z")
> [@flex727](#): > > I think it was 5 hundreds, not that that makes it more impressive. > > I liked the trick where he moved the federal reserve identifier seal across the dollar bill with his thumb. Any ideas on how he did that one? > > The bent quarter trick was lame. It was obvious that the quarter was bent when he placed it into the woman’s hand, but I’d sure like to take a look at the mechanism he used to bend it. I tried and I ripped my dollar in half ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2008, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-blaine-special/465109/14 "2008-09-25T19:02:33Z")
You’d think his endurance stunts would get a reaction of “Wow, that’s gotta be impossible. How does he do it?” Instead you get a reaction of “Hmmm… Is that really all that difficult to do?” ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2008, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-blaine-special/465109/15 "2008-09-25T19:46:41Z")
It was weird that he admitted that the bullet-catching trick was an illusion, which to me means that he didn’t really do it. The Kimbo Slice punches were the most impressive, although I’m pretty sure that this was also a trick of some kind. I’d like to know how he did that. ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2008, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-blaine-special/465109/16 "2008-09-25T20:00:25Z")
> [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](#): > > It was weird that he admitted that the bullet-catching trick was an illusion, which to me means that he didn’t really do it. > > The Kimbo Slice punches were the most impressive, although I’m pretty sure that this was also a trick of some kind. I’d like to know how he did that. They looked pretty hefty punches to me, but I’m sure with frame by frame advancement you’d be able to determine if he was moving back \*with \*the impact, as opposed to because of it. ---
**Author:** ![ltfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@ltfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ltfire)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-blaine-special/465109/17 "2008-09-26T00:12:02Z")
He blamed the screw up at the end on George Bush. The 15 minute delay, caused by George’s speech, allowed the wind to change direction…or some such…and the weather balloons that were to spirit him away broke loose. What a putz.😃 ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2008, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-blaine-special/465109/18 "2008-09-30T14:24:36Z")
> [@ivan\_astikov](#): > > They looked pretty hefty punches to me, but I’m sure with frame by frame advancement you’d be able to determine if he was moving back \*with \*the impact, as opposed to because of it. But that would mean that Kimbo Slice would have had to be in on the trick. Otherwise, Kimbo would have felt that the impact of the punches wasn’t quite right. Remember, the guy punches people as hard as he can for a living. He knows in his fists just how hard the impact really was. ---
**Author:** ![Interconnected\_Series\_of\_Tubes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/13edae/32.png) [@Interconnected\_Series\_of\_Tubes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Interconnected_Series_of_Tubes)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2008, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-blaine-special/465109/19 "2008-09-30T16:59:10Z")
Hilarious. I think his endurance stunts are some of the more interesting aspects of his acts. The ice encasement and long-term submersion were very interesting. Not magic - but interesting. He’s got so-so ambiance but his “street magic” just drives me absolutely insane. Either it’s a typical variation on slight of hand that we’ve seen countless times before, or he’s got so many plants in the audience that I think I’m watching a gardening show. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2008, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-blaine-special/465109/20 "2008-09-30T17:21:10Z")
> [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](#): > > But that would mean that Kimbo Slice would have had to be in on the trick. Otherwise, Kimbo would have felt that the impact of the punches wasn’t quite right. Remember, the guy punches people as hard as he can for a living. He knows in his fists just how hard the impact really was. Didn’t watch David Blaine, but this reminds me of a Penn & Teller TV special about 10 years ago. The stunt involved Teller laying under the rear wheels of a semi trailer, which then runs over him. In the setup, Penn yells across the street to an assistant (who IIRC was on Saturday Night Live at the time) “Is there anything unusual about the trailer?” The reply: “No, perfectly normal looking trailer.” Then they reveal the trick: the tires are made of foam; but more importantly, there’s about a ton of counterweight hanging on the side of the trailer opposite Teller, away from the camera. After the reveal, Penn says to the assistant “didn’t you say the trailer looked normal?” Assistant says: “I lied.” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-blaine-special/465109.md?page=2)