I Will [Not] Inhale

Gothamist Health learned somewhere along the way that smoking one cigaretteis as likely to give you lung cancer as is 4 days of breathing New York City air. That's almost enough to make one want to hold their breath while walking down Broadway. It also makes David Blaine'slatest stunt sound a bit less insane (but not much). As we know, the modest, T-shirt clad street magician is back and has been gracing the Upper West Side with a new feat, spending an entire week under water...only to attempt to break the world record for holding his breath (which currently stands at 8 minutes 58 seconds) while freeing himself from 150 pounds of chains after the week is up. How will he pull off this Houdini-esque stunt without the proverbial smoke and mirrors? Apparently by using sound medical and physiologic reasoning: In an attempt to lower his body's metabolic demands (and thus his oxygen requirement), he has shed about 50 pounds over the past few months. Blaine also plans on meditating to relax, another way to lower his body's O2 needs.

So what are some other ways to help hold your breath? Freediving experts use "gulping," which is a way to suck in a few last breaths of air after you take your largest inspiration. The cynics at the British Freediving Association so guess that he'll probably pull off the trick by breathing in pure oxygen via a tube before stopping breathing. Pure oxygen contains, well, 100% oxygen as opposed to normal air which contains 21% oxygen. This is a method routinely used by some freedivers who have reportedly held their breath for up to 15 minutes at a time. So if you're free on May 8th, stop by Lincoln Center and see the man in the bubble and be sure to wish him good luck while you take in a deep breath of good old City air (or take a drag on your one cigarette). and check out his wrinkly hands, if he's not sleeping.

And David Blaine's "people" are keeping a journal of his stunt for him.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Kapil Desai in News on May 4, 2006 4:12 PM

Comments [rss]

Freediving

So his attempt failed and he hasn't tried it again?

Guest

So he failed and hasn't tried it again?

TramadoL84541

I just don't have much to say these days, but so it goes. Today was a total loss. I guess it doesn't bother me.

TramadoL24085

I just don't have much to say recently. Such is life. I've basically been doing nothing. Basically nothing seems worth bothering with. Oh well.

utw

David Blaine is so sexy and hot, I cant wait to jump in with him anywhere!

J

I like watching him swim through the little castle.

jason

a week without a single bowel movement.

sounds magical to me.

Alliterator

That is also something I'm curious about...I mean by know..those waters should be murky....

Or do they have a cleaning system or a tube that goes into his ass?

I guess the world will never know...

Yet another thing added to this fraud...

fiona apple

how does he take a shit?

john store

It's like "David Blaine, You fake starved yourself and pretended to be in the water for a week with a body double, You're my hero! When I grow up I wanna fake put myself in a block of ice too!"

Jses

How is someone getting famous for defrauding people E N T E R T A I N M E N T? It's like watching Barry Bonds hit 70 homers on steroids and being entertained that he didn't do it through sheer will and perserverance but through chemistry. Yeah I'm entertained while I'm a doctor without borders helping dying people in guatemala for free while some jerkoff like Blaine starves of his own free will and gets kudos for that.

chyna

for the people who make such comments on david blaine: can't you just not think about that and just enjoy. E N T E R T A I N M E N T. hello?

ads

1 cigarette = 4 days in NYC...it sounds bad, but it would take 800 years before you're equivalent to one person smoking one pack of cigarettes a day for 20 years.

Bozac

I think he meant the world record WITHOUT sucking down some pure oxygen beforehand. The 15 minute breath holders he mentions are those who hit the oxygen tank beforehand.

A_B

"only to attempt to break the world record for holding his breath (which currently stands at 8 minutes 58 seconds)"

versus

"This is a method routinely used by some freedivers who have reportedly held their breath for up to 15 minutes at a time."

Is it 8 minutes and 58 seconds or 15 minutes? My guess is there are qualifications to these records, but nobody has mentioned what they are.

"8 minutes and 58 seconds is the record for guys named David holding their breath in big balls of water."

uh oh

he has gloves on in the above picture and is glove-less in the pruny fingers photo... hmm

jackblack

David Blaine is a fraud. didn't you guys watch fox's secrets of the streetmagician revealed? the dude just uses lookalikes and has a secret compartment underneath the Iceblock. Since the ice block distorts the face and since David blaine is supposedly getting gaunt in the face you only need a skinny guy who looks like blaine to get in as well. At 4 am when no one's looking some david blaine lookalike is going to get into the water. They probably don't eat very much but they do get sustenance. Since the water bubble distorts the face and is a murky blue you can't really tell who's in the bubble. David Blaine can't even do real dangerous stunts. IT's all a con. His whole schtick is basically slight starvation.