David Blaine desires to be the new Houdini, but he has resembled the boy in the bubble more than the famed illusionist. But looks can be deceiving as Blaine came close to accomplishing the unthinkable, holding his breath for a world record 9 minutes while being weighted down with chains. Houdini's own record for the stunt was three minutes.
The Brooklyn-born illusionist\magician lowered himself into a water-filled plastic sphere at Lincoln Center on Monday which will be his home for seven days.
Doctors were reportedly concerned about Blaine's skin, among many other things. Blaine had been complaining of itching all over his body, and physicians have noted some bumps here and there, just under the skin.
"I'll get out, or I'll die," Blaine, 33, told hundreds of onlookers Monday before entering the water.
KNIGHT RIDDER reported that Dr. Murat Gunel, chief of neurosurgery at Yale University, saying that Blaine would be at "significant risk of irreversible brain damage while he holds his breath ... He's going against all the best medical advice - I guess that's what he does," said Gunel, part of a 24-man team monitoring the magician.
Blaine began the stunt with water being removed to form an 'air bubble' created for him to prepare for the stunt. A Diver handcuffed Blaine in chains and slowly the water was returned to a level over his head.
At 5:45 Blaine loosened the first chain, then at 7:00 he removed his second hand from the chain. He then blacked out and was unable to proceed and had to be assisted from the confines of the tank.
A black-out is due to lack of oxygen to the brain which causes the whole body to shut down. Members of Blaine's support team, Performance FreeDiving International, immediately jumped in the sphere and helped recover David out of the water. While one diver pinched Blaine's nose and closed his mouth to prevent him from swallowing water, which could be fatal, another diver freed him from the chains and brought him to the surface. Once clear of the water he immediately started to recover.
"I am humbled so much by the support of everybody from New York city and all over the world," Blaine said after the medical team removed the oxygen tank.
"This was a very difficult week, but you all made it fly by with your strong spirit, your energy, thank you so much everybody."
"I thank you all and I love you all," he said crying, wrapped in towels and supported by the divers.
The official time for the stunt was 7:08. David Blaine did not accomplish his goal but he did spend more time underwater then any other living human being (177 hours) and solidified his place as the modern day Harry Houdini.
Blaine lived in the sphere, along with 2,000 gallons of 98.6-degree water, since May 1.
Blaine's previous stunts include being buried alive in a glass coffin, standing on a pillar in Bryant Park for 35 hours, being frozen in a closet of ice in Times Square and being suspended over the River Thames in London for 44 days.
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-- Compiled from wire reports
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