# Hey, one of you smartasses spoil David Blaine: Real or Magic for me... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 20, 2013, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-one-of-you-smartasses-spoil-david-blaine-real-or-magic-for-me/674314 "2013-11-20T03:17:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**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:** [November 20, 2013, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-one-of-you-smartasses-spoil-david-blaine-real-or-magic-for-me/674314/41 "2013-11-20T22:42:36Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > I heard Blaine on the radio the day of the airing. He said that he put this show together over several years. He would bring a camera with him to different events and private gigs. None of the celebrities were filmed knowing it would later be on a special and none were paid. Which is how he got all of them. If you went to Harrison Ford, Woody Allen and George W. Bush and asked if they wanted to film something for a magic special I’m sure they would say no. Especially if you tried to get them to be shills. I’ve been around long enough to have realized what you see on produced television shows is exactly that, produced. Reality shows are written, shot, reshot, edited, and ultimately produced into an entertainment product. Why this would be any different just because David Blaine “said” I have no idea. Really? The celebrities weren’t paid? They weren’t in on it? These were impromptu performances? How do we know this? Because the guy who’s trying to fool us just told us? ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2013, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-one-of-you-smartasses-spoil-david-blaine-real-or-magic-for-me/674314/42 "2013-11-20T22:45:59Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Yeah, that’s one of the rarest cards named in a “think of a card” situation, at least [according to this](http://www.psychologyofmagic.org/research/cards/data.html). Sort by “verbal accessibility.” It’s basically the 6th least popular choice. Am I reading that right, that the top four cards are almost fifty percent of choices, and the top card is almost 25%? That’s kinda crazy. I figured it would be non-random, and some cards would “spring to mind” more often then others, but I didn’t think it would be anywhere near as heavily weighted as that towards the top few cards. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2013, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-one-of-you-smartasses-spoil-david-blaine-real-or-magic-for-me/674314/43 "2013-11-20T22:47:24Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > I’ve been around long enough to have realized what you see on produced television shows is exactly that, produced. Reality shows are written, shot, reshot, edited, and ultimately produced into an entertainment product. > Why this would be any different just because David Blaine “said” I have no idea. > Really? The celebrities weren’t paid? They weren’t in on it? These were impromptu performances? How do we know this? Because the guy who’s trying to fool us just told us? Because David Blaine can’t afford Harrison Ford. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2013, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-one-of-you-smartasses-spoil-david-blaine-real-or-magic-for-me/674314/44 "2013-11-20T22:51:56Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > The celebrities weren’t paid? They weren’t in on it? These were impromptu performances? How do we know this? Because the guy who’s trying to fool us just told us? Yes. Because you can’t get Harrison Ford to do something for scale. If it was one of the Real Housewives I’d be right there with you. But you don’t get $20 million a film stars, directors who won’t even give interviews and former presidents on your show for a paycheck. Or publicity. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Parker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@Richard\_Parker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Parker)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2013, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-one-of-you-smartasses-spoil-david-blaine-real-or-magic-for-me/674314/45 "2013-11-20T22:53:07Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > One possible way to do the skewer thing without doing a puncture (at the time). > > Have a small rod surgically inserted into your bicep, wait for it to heal, etc. > > When doing the trick, feel for the near end of the rod, push the rod forward until it starts pushing the skin on the other side. > > Note that he has Ricky doing the pulling, not the pushing. No need to line things up for that. I do note that the skewer does seem to “pull out” and stick to the skin. So it may have been a collapsible rod with some goop on the skin. (Or Ricky was shown ahead how to fake it like the rod was actually being pulled out, sliding his hands to simulate the motion.) Ok. I follow this set up for the “insertion.” The notion is that the skewer is subtly collapsible, and he’s pushing it against a rod that is inserted through his bicep. When he collapses the skewer sufficiently, he pushes it against the rod to make the rod poke out the other side. Meanwhile, he’s placed some goop on his bicep such that he can extend the skewer. But then…how exactly does it work if Gervais isn’t in on it? Doesn’t he pretty much have to be faking pulling it out for that to fly? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2013, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-one-of-you-smartasses-spoil-david-blaine-real-or-magic-for-me/674314/46 "2013-11-20T23:14:55Z")
> [@ducati](#): > > I’ve been playing with magic for 20+ years. A card force is one of the easiest things to accomplish. Loading an orange/envelope/pocket beforehand is easy. Yes. I used to do the orange trick as a card force. It’s not a routine card force the way he does it though. Watch the video. He asks Harrison Ford to think of any card in the deck. No physical force is involved. (Unless it’s somehow edited to omit a part where there was a card force–which is possible.) One possibility is that it was edited such that there was a force before, and the “think of any card in the deck” is an audio overdub, and he’s actually saying something else. > [@Simplicio](#): > > Am I reading that right, that the top four cards are almost fifty percent of choices, and the top card is almost 25%? That is, indeed, what it states. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2013, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-one-of-you-smartasses-spoil-david-blaine-real-or-magic-for-me/674314/47 "2013-11-20T23:22:58Z")
> [@Richard\_Parker](#): > > Ok. I follow this set up for the “insertion.” The notion is that the skewer is subtly collapsible, and he’s pushing it against a rod that is inserted through his bicep. When he collapses the skewer sufficiently, he pushes it against the rod to make the rod poke out the other side. > > Meanwhile, he’s placed some goop on his bicep such that he can extend the skewer. But then…how exactly does it work if Gervais isn’t in on it? Doesn’t he pretty much have to be faking pulling it out for that to fly? There is nothing that magicians love more than people who refuse to believe that tricks are tricks. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Parker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@Richard\_Parker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Parker)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2013, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-one-of-you-smartasses-spoil-david-blaine-real-or-magic-for-me/674314/48 "2013-11-20T23:30:18Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > There is nothing that magicians love more than people who refuse to believe that tricks are tricks. And if the trick in question were making an elephant levitate, this observation would be meaningful. But in this case, it’s physically possible that he jammed a skewer through his arm, just like it’s physically possible that he stood on top of a column and jumped off into a pile of cardboard boxes. That’s what makes his tricks interesting to me. But anyway, you say that like you think it’s obvious this was a trick and not just a feat of pain resistance. Why? ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2013, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-one-of-you-smartasses-spoil-david-blaine-real-or-magic-for-me/674314/49 "2013-11-20T23:31:43Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Keep in mind, not only are magicians professional liars, but so are actors. Especially with Blaine’s case, as we know he lies about camera tricks. At least with other magicians, you might think there’s some pride in performing a trick that would amaze you, even if you were actually there. Or, at least, they have a live show where they’ve done the same trick. ---
**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:** [November 20, 2013, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-one-of-you-smartasses-spoil-david-blaine-real-or-magic-for-me/674314/50 "2013-11-20T23:32:30Z")
Harrison Ford is an actor. It is literally his job to appear on screen for money. When you see him appearing on screen, it is because he is doing his job. If Blaine couldn’t afford to pay Ford, then he _certainly_ couldn’t afford to _not_ pay him, as that would be a heck of a lot more expensive. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2013, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-one-of-you-smartasses-spoil-david-blaine-real-or-magic-for-me/674314/51 "2013-11-20T23:38:18Z")
> [@Richard\_Parker](#): > > And if the trick in question were making an elephant levitate, this observation would be meaningful. But in this case, it’s physically possible that he jammed a skewer through his arm, just like it’s physically possible that he stood on top of a column and jumped off into a pile of cardboard boxes. > > That’s what makes his tricks interesting to me. > > But anyway, you say that like you think it’s obvious this was a trick and not just a feat of pain resistance. Why? Because there’s a lot of stuff in your arm that gets in the way of skewering it like this. A good magician is never actually in any real danger of hurting themselves. But, anyways, his main point was that you are specifically looking for ways for it not to be trick. Those are the type of people magicians love, because they will come up with excuses for any flaws. A magician who does something like that for real just isn’t a good magic–okay, so maybe you do have a point. ---
**Author:** ![DrForrester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8edcca/32.png) [@DrForrester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrForrester)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2013, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-one-of-you-smartasses-spoil-david-blaine-real-or-magic-for-me/674314/52 "2013-11-20T23:41:17Z")
Are the endurance feats by Mr. Blaine what they outwardly appear to be? Are they “tricks”? In other words, is he actually enduring the physical challenge or does it simply appear that he does so? (Before he floats or pulls a rabbit out of a hat, we know that it’s a trick - he’s not actually floating or conjuring a rabbit. ) ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Parker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@Richard\_Parker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Parker)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2013, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-one-of-you-smartasses-spoil-david-blaine-real-or-magic-for-me/674314/53 "2013-11-20T23:45:30Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > A good magician is never actually in any real danger of hurting themselves. You don’t think Houdini was a good magician? ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2013, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-one-of-you-smartasses-spoil-david-blaine-real-or-magic-for-me/674314/54 "2013-11-20T23:52:27Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Harrison Ford is an actor. It is literally his job to appear on screen for money. When you see him appearing on screen, it is because he is doing his job. If Blaine couldn’t afford to pay Ford, then he _certainly_ couldn’t afford to _not_ pay him, as that would be a heck of a lot more expensive. David Blaine gets paid big money to appear at private event and corporate gigs. These are the things that aren’t very sexy and most performers don’t advertise that they do them. But they are quite lucrative. It was at such events that he got people like Robert DeNiro, Woody Allen, George W. Bush and Will Smith. What do you think is more likely, Harrison Ford paid David Blaine to do a private gig at his house and this one particular trick Blaine filmed and put on his special or David Blaine was able to afford an actor who gets $20 million plus for work? Woody Allen was hard up for cash and wanted to be on TV? George Bush? Robert Freaking DeNiro? They can hardly drag DeNiro out to do press for his own movies. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2013, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-one-of-you-smartasses-spoil-david-blaine-real-or-magic-for-me/674314/55 "2013-11-20T23:53:43Z")
> [@DrForrester](#): > > Are the endurance feats by Mr. Blaine what they outwardly appear to be? Are they “tricks”? > > In other words, is he actually enduring the physical challenge or does it simply appear that he does so? Yeah, he does those challenges legit. I’m not sure how hard all of them are(I’m not questioning him, I really have no idea), but he really does them. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2013, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-one-of-you-smartasses-spoil-david-blaine-real-or-magic-for-me/674314/56 "2013-11-20T23:59:17Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Yes. I used to do the orange trick as a card force. It’s not a routine card force the way he does it though. Watch the video. He asks Harrison Ford to think of any card in the deck. No physical force is involved. (Unless it’s somehow edited to omit a part where there was a card force–which is possible.) One possibility is that it was edited such that there was a force before, and the “think of any card in the deck” is an audio overdub, and he’s actually saying something else. The more I look at the clip, the more I think this is a real possibility. David Blaine is known for creative editing in his magic tricks. I think Harrison Ford is not in on it, and his reaction is genuine, but we’re not being shown a “clean” take. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2013, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-one-of-you-smartasses-spoil-david-blaine-real-or-magic-for-me/674314/57 "2013-11-21T00:20:10Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > The more I look at the clip, the more I think this is a real possibility. David Blaine is known for creative editing in his magic tricks. I think Harrison Ford is not in on it, and his reaction is genuine, but we’re not being shown a “clean” take. That is certainly a possibility. I’m sure Ford isn’t in on it. There is nothing in it for him. I just don’t think people are giving Blaine enough credit for being a good close up magician. I don’t see how he could have slipped in the card while cutting it. So somehow it was planted and he somehow forced Ford to pick the card. But it was in some way that fooled Ford completely. But probably someway that could have been discovered by studying the trick on film. And I think that he gets lumped in with Chris Angel. Chris Angel’s last TV gig was over the top bad. It was extremely obvious that everyone of those “random” people in the crowd were shills. Blaine is guilty of this too sometimes but not nearly as bad. And really he hasn’t done much magic lately. Mostly just stunts. > [@](#): > > Yeah, he does those challenges legit. I’m not sure how hard all of them are(I’m not questioning him, I really have no idea), but he really does them. Once you start talking catheters I think you can say he is actually doing them. For instance during the interview I heard he was talking about the failure of his upside down stunt. He did not properly prepare. The longest he went for before the stunt was 6 hours and he though that was enough to show it could be done. But once he started it was obvious that the catheter did not work upside down and he had to take breaks instead of going the entire 60 hours. And the electric stunt that wound up looking pretty boring was the one that injured him the most. [This](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-NJQNs0FYs) part caused internal damage and gave him an irregular heartbeat. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2013, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-one-of-you-smartasses-spoil-david-blaine-real-or-magic-for-me/674314/58 "2013-11-21T00:23:37Z")
> [@Richard\_Parker](#): > > And if the trick in question were making an elephant levitate, this observation would be meaningful. But in this case, it’s physically possible that he jammed a skewer through his arm, just like it’s physically possible that he stood on top of a column and jumped off into a pile of cardboard boxes. > > That’s what makes his tricks interesting to me. > > But anyway, you say that like you think it’s obvious this was a trick and not just a feat of pain resistance. Why? It is physically possible to stick a needle through your arm, people pierce weirder parts of their body. The “trick” is the lack of blood, that’s what makes it physically impossible and an illusion instead of just a feat of pain endurance. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Parker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@Richard\_Parker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Parker)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2013, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-one-of-you-smartasses-spoil-david-blaine-real-or-magic-for-me/674314/59 "2013-11-21T00:26:04Z")
You say that with so much confidence. I don’t know why. Do you know that a piercing of that gauge in that spot bleeds immediately? Do you know that there’s no way to prevent that bleeding? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2013, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-one-of-you-smartasses-spoil-david-blaine-real-or-magic-for-me/674314/60 "2013-11-21T00:28:10Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > And I think that he gets lumped in with Chris Angel. Chris Angel’s last TV gig was over the top bad. It was extremely obvious that everyone of those “random” people in the crowd were shills. Blaine is guilty of this too sometimes but not nearly as bad. And really he hasn’t done much magic lately. Mostly just stunts. I personally was thinking of Blaine, as in [this trick](http://www.secrets-explained.com/david-blaine/levitation) which involved some video editing, but with real reactions to his real levitation trick. So, I wouldn’t be shocked if there was a typical “force” that happened before the start of the trick, and then an audio overdub makes it seem like David Blaine is asking Ford to think of a card, when he in fact is saying something else. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-one-of-you-smartasses-spoil-david-blaine-real-or-magic-for-me/674314.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-one-of-you-smartasses-spoil-david-blaine-real-or-magic-for-me/674314.md?page=4)