David Blaine Begins A Week Underwater

Illusionist David Blaine is in a world of his own for his next stunt. Literally. Blaine has sunk himself into a 2.5m acrylic sphere in New York as part of his most recent attempt at the outrageous. Blaine intends to stay underwater for 7 days before attempting his most daunting challenge to date: Holding his breath for almost 9 minutes.

In the past, David Blaine has been buried alive for seven days, he has been frozen in a block of ice for 61 hours, he has perched himself up a 90 pole for 35 hours, and more recently, has suspended himself in a glass box over the River Thames for 44 days. According to The Age, David Blaine "was jeered by passers-by. They threw things at him, including golf balls and eggs, and banged drums to keep him awake at night."

David Blaine's most recent excursion lands him in a tank not much bigger than himself. This time, instead of being far from the fans, or high above them, Blaine's watery sphere is on exhibit at New York's Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. There, he will swim around for seven days before trying to break the world record by holding his breath for longer than 8 minutes, 58 seconds. While fans will be able to touch the aquarium and take pictures of it, people attending Wagner's Lohengrin at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts might be less impressed.

As for the logistical problems, ABC News quoted Blaine (before being submerged) as saying "My system is completely empty. So that way in the sphere I don't have to use the bathroom. I have a catheter in case I have to do No. 1, but I don't intend on doing anything else." Blaine also has another hose which he is supplied oxygen, as well as one for nourishment.

For the finale, David Blaine will not only hold his breath for more than 8 minutes, 58 seconds, but will do so while handcuffed into 150 lbs (68 kg) of chains. The BBC quoted Blaine as saying "basically besides holding my breath for about nine minutes hopefully I will have to escape from all these chains, and if not I will drown and the world will see something pretty insane."

Blaine has already gone through some rough training to get to this point, training with Navy SEALs on oxygen deprivation, as well as shedding 50 lbs of body weight so his body will use less oxygen. ABC News quoted Blaine talking about his time with the SEAL team. "What was amazing about the Navy SEALs - a lot of their training, although it is physical, is more about the mental and spiritual part. They talk about overriding the pain in your body by finding something to take you away from it."

Where does the 33-year-old magician/illusionist get his motivation for the human aquarium stunt? The BBC quotes Blaine confessing "As a kid I was always obsessed with Houdini, who always did underwater stunts. He would get shackled up and put into swimming pools and he would escape before he drowned. And those images always sparked an interest." Harry Houdini's record for the underwater handcuff trick was three minutes.

Why did Blaine choose New York for this event? Another BBC quote sheds some light on that mystery. "I love New York. This is my hometown," he said, "so the idea of creating an aquarium that was a sphere and putting it in the middle of New York was more than anything I could ever have dreamed for in my entire life. I feel very lucky." David Blaine will no doubt feel luckier when this is all over.

[Additional Sources: The Age, BBC, ABC News]

- Doug Pendrell