USA: David Blaine's "dive of death" finale leaves many people cold

Record ID: 493137

  • Title: USA: David Blaine's "dive of death" finale leaves many people cold
  • Date: 25th September 2008
  • Summary: (BN05) NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (SEPTEMBER 22, 2008) (REUTERS) DAVID BLAINE AT WOLLMAN RINK IN CENTRAL PARK DAVID BLAINE LIFTING HIMSELF UP WHILE ATTACHED TO HARNESS DAVID BLAINE BEING HOISTED UP INTO AIR DAVID BLAINE STRETCHING LEG WHILE HANGING CROWD WATCHING DAVID BLAINE
  • Embargoed: 10th October 2008 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Usa
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Light / Amusing / Unusual / Quirky
  • Reuters ID: LVADRHOVA9UFJ2O0FGL2GJT9Q5QS
  • Story Text: Reactions were mixed to David Blaine's "Dive of Death" finale with many people expressing disappointment. After hanging upside down for more than 60 hours and jumping off a 44-foot structure Blaine was carried off by a bunch of balloons before hitting the ground.
    Story: After 60 hours of hanging upside down magician David Blaine ended his latest stunt on Wednesday night (September 24) leaving fans with mixed reactions to his final feat.
    On Monday (September 22) morning Blaine began his challenge - to hang upside down for 60 consecutive hours without eating or sleeping. A few hours later his eyes were severely swollen and he said he was experiencing a lot of pain.

    "I think the hardest part of this is going to be sleep deprivation plus keeping blood flow and well, I guess the good news is that whatever I have to.... I guess the other factor we didn't consider is heat from the sun. That'll need to be considered."
    Initially Blaine was supposed to drink and urinate upside down but his doctors then insisted he take breaks to hydrate and relieve himself, they said.
    The frequent breaks he was taking where he was seen standing upright caused may to say he was cheating. On Wednesday, he addressed that criticism.

    "Well they should try it just to feel it, number one and number two I'm not going to pee all over myself and everybody below me to not go the right way. So, I do have to go the right way every so often and since I didn't eat and I cleaned out my system that means my body will get dehydrated faster and I'm exposed to sun so I have to drink a lot of liquids and I have to cleanse out the system quite frequently," he said.
    By Wednesday evening hundreds, if not thousands of fans, had descended upon Wollman's Rink in Central Park to witness his "Dive of Death", which he said would be the "coolest" thing he's ever done, if everything were to go as planned.
    The dive consisted of a jump off a 44-foot structure with him being carried away by a pack of balloons before hitting the ground. Blaine could be seen floating slowly above the crowd into Central Park where he landed a few meters away. The stunt left many confused and disappointed because it appeared that he was attached to a kind of bungee cord.

    "I thought there was going to be a dive for death and there was no deathly dive. I don't know. I'm confused," said Liz Saroyan.
    Not all were disappointed though.

    "I really thought he was just going to hit it hard and everyone would rush to see if he was coming up and then for him to just take off out of nowhere in Central Park. It's crazy," said Cody Boccia.
    While many thought Blaine's finale was lackluster they were nevertheless impressed by his overall achievement.

    "It wasn't spectacular but I mean he did hang upside down for a long period of time and I don't think anybody could do that or would want to," said Damon Baran.
    Blaine's doctors said they expected him to only need a few days to recover because his body had adjusted so remarkably to his latest challenge.
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