# My theory about David Blaine Drowned Alive **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 4, 2006, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-theory-about-david-blaine-drowned-alive/355410 "2006-05-04T16:43:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**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:** [May 4, 2006, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-theory-about-david-blaine-drowned-alive/355410/21 "2006-05-04T19:37:48Z")
[QUOTE=Tappi] Indeed I believe it is a feat of endurance rather than a magic trick. I have many unflattering comments to make about the man himself but this is not the place for such things. What confuses me is what is supposed to be so impressive about the seven days leading up to the record attempt, isn’t it akin to sitting in the bath for 7 days? He is receiving nutrition through a tube so no huge deal there, he is just wallowing in his own filth for a week then holding his breath, isn’t he? [/QUOTE] He fasted some time to clear his body out before the stunt. His site doesn’t say how long, but he did clear his body. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2006, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-theory-about-david-blaine-drowned-alive/355410/22 "2006-05-04T20:26:09Z")
I’m reminded of that American Dad bit where goldfish squeezed a log out. “I’m always in mein crapper…” ---
**Author:** ![samm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/858c86/32.png) [@samm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samm)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2006, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-theory-about-david-blaine-drowned-alive/355410/23 "2006-05-04T21:48:43Z")
[QUOTE=Shagnasty] He is using every known tactic to break the breath holding record. Part of that is staying underwater for an impressive length of time beforehand. [/QUOTE] How does staying underwater a long time help you hold your breath longer? ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2006, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-theory-about-david-blaine-drowned-alive/355410/24 "2006-05-04T22:42:03Z")
[QUOTE=Cordial Jim] There is no “trick” involved. He will attempting to break the World Record for holding your breath underwater: 8 min. 58 secs. David Blaine _is_ a magician, but he also does some pretty amazing feats of endurance: buried alive for seven days, [/QUOTE] At a site with a pre-prepared room with air, food, bathroom, etc. > [@](#): > > spending 61 hours encased in ice Occcasionally switching with a double and descending into another room. > [@](#): > > standing on a tiny platform at the top of a 100 foot high pole for 35 hours, and living in a transparent Perspex (Plexiglas) box for 44 days without food (over the Thames). > > There is no trickery involved in these kinds of things. The guy is amazing. Of course there’s trickery involved. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2006, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-theory-about-david-blaine-drowned-alive/355410/25 "2006-05-05T01:31:58Z")
My theory is that this is the signal for all Blaintologists to go drown themselves so that the government will recognize Blaintology as a real religion. And I can’t believe that they won’t have a way to break open the sphere and perform rescue breathing/CPR if needed. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2006, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-theory-about-david-blaine-drowned-alive/355410/26 "2006-05-05T02:20:48Z")
[QUOTE=asterion] And I can’t believe that they won’t have a way to break open the sphere and perform rescue breathing/CPR if needed. [/QUOTE] Of course they will. There will be real paramedics standing by. They convey to the audience the possibility of real danger, while ensuring that there won’t be any danger. There will be some signal, checked many times to be certain that it will not fail, to indicate that he is in real danger and that they should open the sphere and administer CPR, and whatever else is necessary. There will also be a fake signal, which is part of the show and is the cue for a fake rescue attempt. Blaine will feign unconsciousness, struggle etc. This will be the cue for assistants to pretend to attempt to open the sphere. There may be a fake attempt to break the sphere. The announcer will mourn Blaine’s death. The timer, which everybody conveniently forgot to stop, will sound a very loud buzzer (or bell, or cannon, whatever) announcing that Blaine has beaten the record. At that point, he will ‘miraculously revive’, the sphere will be opened, and he’ll climb on out. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2006, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-theory-about-david-blaine-drowned-alive/355410/27 "2006-05-05T02:26:26Z")
[QUOTE=samm] How does staying underwater a long time help you hold your breath longer? [/QUOTE] I’d imagine being fairly still for that long slows down your overall metabolism a bit. But yeah, I wouldn’t be surprised to find he’s filled the thing with LiquiVent. Outrageously expensive, but not impossible. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2006, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-theory-about-david-blaine-drowned-alive/355410/28 "2006-05-05T02:28:54Z")
[QUOTE=gotpasswords] But yeah, I wouldn’t be surprised to find he’s filled the thing with LiquiVent. Outrageously expensive, but not impossible. [/QUOTE] The fluid would have to be reoxygenated regularly. I haven’t checked the links yet, but unless they fixed things in the last few years, the fluid also tends to do nasty things to adult lungs. ---
**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 5, 2006, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-theory-about-david-blaine-drowned-alive/355410/29 "2006-05-05T02:50:09Z")
[QUOTE=Cordial Jim] spending 61 hours encased in ice… [/quote] Ice is an insulator (Ever hear of an igloo?). He was plenty warm in that so called ice cube. ---
**Author:** ![Jurph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/50afbb/32.png) [@Jurph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jurph)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2006, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-theory-about-david-blaine-drowned-alive/355410/30 "2006-05-05T02:58:57Z")
Yeah, as soon as I heard about this, I thought “huh. Wonder whether the water pressure will give him the advantage that a [caisson worker](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caisson_%28engineering%29) would have?” And then I thought “Wait, if they’ve got him for days they could just keep boosting the O2 ratio of his air mix!” This “trick” is not much more than a physics demonstration. I’m far more impressed by the caisson worker on the Brooklyn Bridge who dove into the water to retrieve a lost tool and, utterly ignorant of the limits of human endurance, stayed under for three or four minutes. His co-workers thought he was dead and were about to go in to get his body when he popped up to the surface. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2006, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-theory-about-david-blaine-drowned-alive/355410/31 "2006-05-05T03:14:50Z")
[QUOTE=Jurph] Yeah, as soon as I heard about this, I thought “huh. Wonder whether the water pressure will give him the advantage that a [caisson worker](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caisson_%28engineering%29) would have?” And then I thought “Wait, if they’ve got him for days they could just keep boosting the O2 ratio of his air mix!” This “trick” is not much more than a physics demonstration. I’m far more impressed by the caisson worker on the Brooklyn Bridge who dove into the water to retrieve a lost tool and, utterly ignorant of the limits of human endurance, stayed under for three or four minutes. His co-workers thought he was dead and were about to go in to get his body when he popped up to the surface. [/QUOTE] Exactly. I don’t think he is so much a sham as a very clever inventer of ways that you can do tricks with human endurance given vast resources and imagination. I am sure there is some pretty sophisticated science behind all of it and that is why I respect him to some degree. He wants to break the breath holding record and went out and found people who could tell him how he could legitimately do that (by the books) with some complicated technique. I firmly believe that staying all that time underwater is all part of some prepping process so that can easily beat out all that have come before and many with superior physiology for that sort of thing. ---
**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 5, 2006, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-theory-about-david-blaine-drowned-alive/355410/32 "2006-05-05T03:34:45Z")
I heard on _Countdown with Keith Olbermann_\* that apparently, this will have to be his last big stunt-all the crap he’s done over the years has seriously damaged his health. Personally, I think he’s a total moron and wish he’d just go away. ---
**Author:** ![Tappi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/848f3c/32.png) [@Tappi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tappi)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2006, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-theory-about-david-blaine-drowned-alive/355410/33 "2006-05-05T06:15:15Z")
[QUOTE=DocCathode] Of course they will. There will be real paramedics standing by. They convey to the audience the possibility of real danger, while ensuring that there won’t be any danger. There will be some signal, checked many times to be certain that it will not fail, to indicate that he is in real danger and that they should open the sphere and administer CPR, and whatever else is necessary. There will also be a fake signal, which is part of the show and is the cue for a fake rescue attempt. Blaine will feign unconsciousness, struggle etc. This will be the cue for assistants to pretend to attempt to open the sphere. There may be a fake attempt to break the sphere. The announcer will mourn Blaine’s death. The timer, which everybody conveniently forgot to stop, will sound a very loud buzzer (or bell, or cannon, whatever) announcing that Blaine has beaten the record. At that point, he will ‘miraculously revive’, the sphere will be opened, and he’ll climb on out. [/QUOTE] You are probably right about some parts of the show, we all know what a showman he is, but I doubt he will do any thrashing about in the sphere, surely that would make his task far more difficult. In theory if he gets into serious trouble all he has to do is stick the breathing tube back in his mouth and admit defeat but no doubt for the sake of drama he will pass out before he gets chance to. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2006, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-theory-about-david-blaine-drowned-alive/355410/34 "2006-05-05T06:45:28Z")
My Theory about David Blaine is that he has trained for endurance. After his initial special, his trade is in physical feats, a more slick, and “extreme” but Millenial pioneering of Harry Houdini’s legacy. I believe as a magician and mystic he has consulted both yogis and Deep Blue Diver technique and practiced with respective mentors and coaches in experience. He will truly attempt to hold his breath for 9 minutes. I predict 8:44. It will still be amazing under 9 minutes and perhaps even more suspensful and believable… I think that David Blaine’s true enigmatic ability as a Magician is his compousered exxageration. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2006, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-theory-about-david-blaine-drowned-alive/355410/35 "2006-05-05T06:51:03Z")
This could maybe be as incredible as the black Yogi who fit his entire body in a 3 foot, lexan, cube and held his breath for 7-8 minutes at a a time underwater on the '84 season of _That’s Incredible_. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2006, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-theory-about-david-blaine-drowned-alive/355410/36 "2006-05-05T13:32:04Z")
I saw some trick with Penn & Teller where Teller was straightjacketed in a tank and Penn pretended to lose the key. I’m sure Teller didn’t hold his breath for 10 minutes so there may in fact be some kind of trick here. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2006, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-theory-about-david-blaine-drowned-alive/355410/37 "2006-05-05T14:00:16Z")
[QUOTE=msmith537] I saw some trick with Penn & Teller where Teller was straightjacketed in a tank and Penn pretended to lose the key. I’m sure Teller didn’t hold his breath for 10 minutes so there may in fact be some kind of trick here. [/QUOTE] They actually talk about that in one of their books _Cruel Tricks for Dear Friends_. There was definitely a trick (though they didn’t tell us what it was). However, it didn’t work quite as well as expected, so Teller was seconds away from giving the “I’m really about to drown, please get me out now” signal when Penn released him. ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2006, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-theory-about-david-blaine-drowned-alive/355410/38 "2006-05-05T14:14:14Z")
David Blaine’s genius is his ability to get the media to buy his events. Holding your breath for 9 minutes? I imagine a lot of people could train themselves to do it. From reading this thread. . . it seems like the normal record is about 9 minutes, and a special record is 14 minutes. Problem is, the guys who did that didn’t find a way to get themselves on TV or gain wider fame out of it. All Blaine is is a guy who is willing to endure discomfort for popularity. ---
**Author:** ![Cluricaun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Cluricaun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cluricaun)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2006, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-theory-about-david-blaine-drowned-alive/355410/39 "2006-05-05T14:45:00Z")
[QUOTE=Trunk] All Blaine is is a guy who is willing to endure discomfort for popularity. [/QUOTE] I’ll agree that most of DB’s endurance stuff is kind of stupid, but I still have to give the guy credit for his sleight of hand actual “magic” stuff. He’s at least gotten magic back out of the hands of the guys in tuxedos and made people interested in it. Magic tricks are cool, period, and he’s fantastic at it. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2006, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-theory-about-david-blaine-drowned-alive/355410/40 "2006-05-05T17:41:54Z")
[QUOTE=Cluricaun] He’s at least gotten magic back out of the hands of the guys in tuxedos and made people interested in it. [/QUOTE] I don’t think I’ve ever seen Harry Anderson perform in a tuxedo. Anderson’s act is done in the persona of a classic con man (as seen on Cheers when he appeared as Harry the Hat). He does not make a rabbit appear. He eats a large hamster. Penn’s barely restrained homicidal urges, thwarted only by Teller’s amazing skill, are also not the stuff of top hats and wands. On their last special, after they performed each trick they showed just how it was done. > [@](#): > > Magic tricks are cool, period, and he’s fantastic at it. I’ll believe it when I see it in person. Blaine used editing to fake his levitation. I see no reason to believe his other tricks are not also the result of movie magic. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-theory-about-david-blaine-drowned-alive/355410.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-theory-about-david-blaine-drowned-alive/355410.md?page=3)