David Blaine starvation stunt - real?
 

Ok, stupid question. I ask because a friend of mine is convinced David Blaine has faked this stunt, as well as the encased in ice for 61 hours stunt, and the standing on a pole stunt.

Sure I question the reasoning behind these endurance stunts, but they're well within the realms of human capability. Can anyone offer foolproof evidence that he did this stuff? I've found some stuff, but nothing seems to convince my apparently mentally challenged friend. ;)

I voted fake because there are people who starved in prison for like 76 days. he goes on as if its an achievement.

If they went for 76 days dont you think that David could go for 40? I think its real.

He proclaimed it as a world first.

Fake. He seemed a bit bulkier than usual when he started the stunt (probably so he looked thinner when he emerged). There's also probably a very real reason why there was such a great distance from his cage and the audience and that was probably so that no one could look too closely at the setup.

Personally, I don't see what the big deal is with him.

Exactly....

*yawn*

he's an illusionist so i say its fake. who cares really th only thing good a bout the story was all the people taunting him with hamburgers(but that was moot if he was faking it.)

I liked the guy who tried to cut his water tube. That was pretty funny.

ok, how could it be fake if:

1) it's well within realms of human capability. he did it as some sort of spiritual awakening, not to set a record.

2) though he was high up, he was visible to anyone with binoculars, who could easily tell if he was up there fasting.

3) he bulked up to better get through the fasting. i wouldn't stop eating for 44 days at my current weight without putting on some extra pounds there. no mystery there.

frankly, i don't see anything amazing about this stunt. it's definitely do-able without use of "magic", and its pretty boring on top of that.

"he's an illusionist/magician, so it's fake" come on. offer some evidence if you're going to dispute something that appears authentic. there's no claim that this was a magical stunt. magicians (when performing magic) never claim that they AREN'T doing magic - magic is a selling point. what does this have to do with magic? it's performance art. weird, stupid, pointless, esoteric performance art. it's completely illogical to call this an illusion. would a runner rig up some elaborate, expensive illusion to make it appear that he ran a 4:15 mile when others have already broken a 4:00 mile? no! a 4:15 mile is impressive, but there's no reason to fake it - just like there's no reason to fake 44 days of fasting.

By that logic I guess the woman who took the subway to "win" the Boston marathon didn't do it at all since others have won the marathon before.

It not being a record has nothing to do with whether it earns him money or not. It was a publicity stunt. This "feat" will generate interest in his tv programs, his live acts, his appearances, etc, etc, etc.

He has a very very good point.

Do you think maybe the "water" was fortified ?

Yeah, probably pumped him up some beef stew in the wee hours. I read that some have accused him of coating the inside of the box with a clear nutrient source that he could lick off. I wouldn't put it past him. Illusions are, what's that word, oh yeah, fake. He could have fasted the entire time, people have gone longer in stunts, not to mention prison. He could be for real, he may be fake. One thing in my mind is certain, he is not entertaining.

lol @ someone trying to cut on of the wires and when sumone had a remote control helicopter and strapped food to it

I think his stunt did as was intended, created publicity.

He's now a very recognizable figure in the stage magic world....I had heard of him before, but due to the media blitz, he's now very recognizable.

that really doesn't parallel at all. it's easily verifiable that the woman didn't play by the rules of the marathon. can anyone tell me how david blaine sat in a glass box for 44 days in plain view of millions, didn't eat, lost ~50 pounds, yet actually faked it?

did he a place to take a dump or take a piss? hrmm...

He ate and drank it, recycling, it's the way of the future.

Man, imagine if he had a hardcore fart, poor fucker would pass out.

I can't believe anybody actually believes it's real!
He's an illusionist, not a stuntman!
Do you believe he can actually levitate, too? It's all just his own brand of "extreme" magic. A new twist on David Copperfield's diappearing statue of liberty.
It is amazing to watch, like the rest of his street magic, but please, people... His frozen-in-ice trick looked convincing enough, too-but did you watch the "secrets revealed" show? Not real.

I'm studying in London and actually stopped by to see him a few times. His coming down ceremony looked like a god damned New Years party! I call it a bluff though. They could have easily been slipping him supplements into his water. He had cameras on him 24/7 which still could have been messed with, but beyond that, the water thing could easily been done unless they had a man testing it everytime they gave it to him (which they don't think they did, and even if so, he could have been paid off) When it comes to magic, I don't believe it unless the trick is done in *my* presence with *myself* checking the objects (IE the playing cards, rabbit in the hat, sitting there watching David all the time, etc..)

Wow that stunt really didn't get much publicity that I saw just at the very end when he was "coming out" of the box. I didn't even know he was doing that stunt until 20 days in and personally I didn't even care then.

The dude is nuts if it was real but I think there was someway he faked it or did something to eat that is a long ass time!!

sigh... i guess i'm not going to get any contrary opinions with any evidence. "duh, he's an illusionist!" or "i suppose you think the levation is real too!" takes all the fun away from a debate.

i hadn´t heard about this person until he got in that silly little box and then got eggs chucked at him for 40 days.

and if he is an illusionist by trade, then i just can´t believe anything he does is for real.

he's an illusionist/magician...it is all FAKE--entertaing, but FAKE!

I think its real. Apparently he lost like 40 pounds. I'm not saying they didn't feed him some supplements in his water but who cares...he stayed in a box for 40 days. Personally, I wouldn't want to do that even if I had food and entertainment (I say from my cubicle :) ). Let him do what he wants to do. Some people like him some don't. Personally I liked him more when he was doing "real" magic than these endurance stunts but that's just my opinion.

I gotta admit, I love this quote.
may I ask why one must be a stuntman to go thru an extended fast?

in the interests of furthering discussion, I have played around with little magic stuff since I was very little. one of the first things you figure out is, if you can really do something, not only is there NO reason to fake it, it is detrimental to your cred to fake it. The more things you fake, the easier it is to a) be caught out, or b) mess up the thing.

I think that it was real.

(I won't coment on it's effectiveness, or entertainment value, because, dammit, that's not what this thread is for)

Who cares about his stupid stunt.

I'd like to suggest for his next stunt that he be put in a cage with the white tiger that took a chunk out of Roy. Now THAT'S entertainment! :thumbsup:

i dont think he's an illusionist. where's the illusion?
he just sat in a fuckin box for a month, whats the big deal?!

An illusion is like sawing someone in half or making someone levitate, they're entertaining to watch. Not some dumb septic tank not eating for a while. why would anybody want to watch that?

^^agreed, he didn't do anything special.. must be the money

It was officially stated after the stunt that the water was fortified with glucose.

Sugar and water for 40 days? Easy to do. Well, maybe not easy, but there's no question about whether or not a healthy man can't do it, especially if he's fed sugar water.