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[News] Famed Magician In Freediving World Record Stunt

Thread Status: Hello , There was no answer in this thread for more than 60 days.
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Jorg said:
So if I breath 12 hours of pure oxygen en then breath normal air for 15 minutes I still profit from the pure oxygen?
I do not know if 15 minutes is sufficient to desaturate (Blaine breathed normal (?) air just some 5 minutes), but when you look at the video of Tom's Guinness O2 record in Italy, he breathed normal air before the 14:12 O2 apnea. I do not know though how long he breathed O2 before it.

BTW, the last official Guiness O2 record was made by Tom in February in France and it was 15:03 - Tom confirmed it. In training, he is able of more though.
 
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What's wrong with a guy making a good living? Why not? How does it affect you? Good for him if he can spend $$$ on an apartment.
More elitism.
Peace,
Erik Y.
 
yugyug said:
swimming away from tethered sharks inside a clear plastic tube. As he swims more shark leash is let out. The water has been tainted with blood.

COOL ! Can I be one of the sharks ? I still have my shark costume from 3rd grade !
 
All Hail! Comrades.

I have a new malady for you all to contemplate - briefly. "Information Compulsive"
 
Fondueset said:
All Hail! Comrades.

I have a new malady for you all to contemplate - briefly. "Information Compulsive"

Brilliant. The generic opposite of phanatic disphonia.
 
Speaking of disphonia (no pun intended) I just watched the video again. New York sure is big!

"Generic Opposite"

- You have a poet's soul, Paul.
 
tylerz said:
"Sorry, but I have no time to be distracted by focus."

This is sheer comic genius. And also deep, deep wisdom. Good one, Tyler.
 
Disphonia, datphonia, just answer the damn thing.
Peace,
Erik Y.
 
'datphrenic'
'temporally intolerant'


tylerz quote is awesome - it summarizes an entire culture.
 
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Here is my analysis of the Blaine stunt.

I consider myself an expert in analyzing this because of the following reasons:
1. I have done static apnea at depth in pool (1-2m), and in the ocean (up to 20m of depth), and I have personally felt the dramatic differences which occur when performing static even at a slight depth (1-1.5m)
2. I have done static on 100% oxygen and I am aware of the changes this produces to the apnea
3. I have done many long statics and I have had hundreds of sambas (no kidding) and many blackouts as well. I have also witnessed countless sambas & BO's and rescued many people.
4. I have gone with no food for as long as 6 days and measured the effects on my statics in detail

Further, I heard with good certainty from reliable sources around Kirk that David Blaine's true 'air' pb was almost exactly 7 minutes flat prior to beginning the 8 day immersion in the water.

From this information, and from the visual evidence I can say pretty conclusively what happened. Regardless, all of this is still speculation on my part, and everything here should still be considered my *opinion* and nothing more.

First, I start with primary conclusions and then support those conclusions:

1. The stunt was performed on enriched O2, although there is not enough evidence to calculate the exact O2%.
2. David Blaine did not suffer a samba or blackout at the end of the static. He was genuinely in trouble, but he was suffering a different sort of problem which happens on enriched oxygen breath-holds.

Now, let's go into further depth:
STUNT WAS PERFORMED ON ENRICHED O2
1. The doctors said that David Blaine's plasma level had decreased by 20%. He was being fed gatorade during the stunt. I see little or no reason why the doctors would fabricate the change in the plasma level. It is, after all, consistent with fasting on gatorade. While fasting, with no protein in the diet, the body catabolizes muscle, creating massive amounts of uric acid, which promotes urination. This creates great dehydration, which reduces blood plasma volume. The blood becomes thicker. But, most importantly, the blood plasma is a huge buffer of CO2. With reduced blood plasma, the CO2 buffering capacity of the body is DRAMATICALLY reduced. I have personally experienced this after fasting for 6 days -- with each day the contractions came earlier and earlier. So, with David's plasma volume reduced, we would expect his CO2 buffering capacity to be reduced dramatically. We would therefore expect to see contractions STRONG, and EARLY.

2. David did the stunt at a depth of 1-2m. This creates a massive increase in the CO2 pressure in the lungs. At a depth of 1m, the CO2 concentration in the lungs is 10% higher, and at 2m, 20% higher. Given that the lung CO2 varies from about 4 to 6.5% on a max apnea, the 10-20% increase when doing static at 1-2m is enough to bring contractions FAR earlier. In my case, getting contractions at 5'00" on surface apneas, they would come at 3'30" when doing apnea at 1.3m. Thus, with David doing his static at 1 to 2m of depth, we would expect to see contractions STRONG and EARLY.

So, we have a diver (David Blaine) with a pb of 7'00", who is doing his static with reduced plasma volume, and at depth. The combination of these factors would bring contractions incredibly early, possibly as early as 1'30" or 2'00". I mean BODY BUCKLING CONTRACTIONS. Yet, in the footage, David doesn't appear to get any major contractions until at least 6'00", and more like 6'30". This is absolutely inconsistent with what should have happened, even allowing for an extreme CO2 tolerance on David's part. However, any apnea done on enriched oxygen creates a dramatic delay of the contractions. I can see no other way that he could have delayed contractions that long (given the situation), except with enriched O2. I will continue evidence for this in the next section.

Further, the top of the sphere was closed during his final breathe up. This would be absolutely detrimental if he had been breathing regular air (the air would become stale and high in CO2). I can't see any reason to close the sphere until after the apnea had started. Unless pure O2 was being diffused in that area by a regulator or something else.



DAVID DID NOT SUFFER A SAMBA OR BLACKOUT

1. As David starts to release bubbles, Kirk orders Martin and Mandy to perform the rescue. David is still moving during the rescue, making swimming movements with his arms. His movements, though confused, are not the characteristic spasms and convulsions of a real samba or blackout. His diaphragm is fluttering with rapid contractions, so badly that I don't think it could be faked. So, we know he is getting extremely powerful and rapid contractions (normally a sign a BO could be happening), yet his body language does not indicate a real blackout.

2. If the breath-hold were done on highly enriched oxygen, a blackout is not possible. When doing apnea on enriched oxygen, you cannot hold your breath until you black out. The CO2 level becomes so high that it is simply no longer possible to hold the breath. If, somehow, a person's mouth and nose were glued shut during an O2 breath-hold, blackout would eventually occur from CO2 narcosis, not hypoxia, and this would happen after an incredibly long time. The famous Duke university study on pure O2 apnea for the Navy showed that subjects could not and would never blackout from hypoxia. A few subjects (while exercising vigorously), experienced CO2 narcosis to the point where they could no longer cycle effectively (confusion and confused body movements).

3. It appears to me that David Blaine simply could not hold his breath any longer. His contractions, which came suddenly around 6 - 6'30", became extreme, to the point where he was losing air. The urge to breathe was simply too big. This is again consistent with an enriched oxygen breath-hold. At some point, you simply can't hold your breath any longer, and you start to lose air. However, you do not go into samba-like convulsions because you are not that hypoxic.


So, in my opinion, ALL the evidence points to an enriched O2 apnea which did not end in a samba or BO.

Now, David was a bit blue after the apnea but this can also be easily explained. During a pure O2 apnea, high CO2 shifts your hemoglobin affinity curve, creating a certain level of hemoglobin desaturation, enough to turn you blue, but generally not enough for a blackout. Alternatively, with the pure O2 diffusing through the upper sphere, David could have been doing his apnea on something like 40% O2. In that case, he would have been somewhat hypoxic (making him even more blue), but still not enough for a real blackout -- but enough to delay the contractions dramatically.

As a final piece of evidence, given that David's pb was near 7'00" on the surface (while motionless), if we consider that he did his apnea at depth, while moving to undo the chains, I would expect a dramatic reduction in the apnea time, surely no more than 5 minutes or maybe 6, even in the best of conditions -- however in that case the contractions would have come very early and very hard, which they did not.

After they rescued David, they sat him up on the edge of the sphere. A long time after he had recovered, he did a bunch of samba-like shakes. These shakes occurred WAY after he had recovered.... which doesn't happen in real life. Either those shakes were faked, or he suddenly experienced stabbing pains in his hands, feet, or other muscles as he had described earlier. Perhaps the stabbing pains caused him to shake suddenly.

Now, the event can be analysed on an even higher level. What was the plan? Many people (including me) thought the plan was a blackout with spectacular rescue. However, given his pb of 7'00" on land, and the fact that is extremely likely that enriched O2 was used, I actually think they were planning a success. They may have planned a simulated BO after 9 minutes, but I still think the plan was to go over the 8'58". However, David's dramatically reduced plasma volume (and high uric acid levels) reduced his CO2 tolerance so much that he couldn't hold his breath long enough to finish the stunt. I think that is why he was so upset after it was over.

Nevertheless, I still have great respect for the stunt. Seven days underwater with only gatorade, plus fasting 6 days before, plus a difficult stunt with no mask or nose clip trying to undo chains, with millions of people watching, to the point where you can't hold your breath any longer... it is all very impressive regardless.
 
Eric Fattah's analysis is, as one would expect, meticulous and brilliant.

I would throw only one thing into this pot of soup: shows are shows.

With millions and millions of current and future advertising dollars riding on every millisecond of screen time, with careers in the balance - with stakes as large as they are, a maximum of control is always asserted over every aspect of what is seen, what is said and what is heard.

This includes the rumors, the rumors about the rumors, the inside stories and the stories behind the inside stories. Producers control not only the show, they control the show about the show. That's their job, and the job of the PR folks they employ and manage. It's a trade, like carpentry or plumbing. Fascinating to outsiders, maybe, but workaday to the practicioners.

There's no business, after all, like show business.

We love you, Eric !
 
I reassert my original hypothesis, which occurred to me initially some time ago while otherwise confused:

The Plan was allways to hold his breath long enough to turn into madonna. Realizing he couldn't do it he started breathing the water - but choked on an aquatic parasite that probably fell off a pigeon while the hatch was open.

ie- David Blaine is a Squid person from planet Volmar.
Earth is safe for now.


(very nice analysis EF - also educational and well articulated)
 
Hey, does this mean I can post that pic again of Madonna kissing her own ass ?

I've since learned it was a human resources orientation session for new employees of Madonna, Inc.
 
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Hey, did I leave my cell phone here in the forum yesterday ? Can't find it, and looking at my account on the web I see loads of long calls to Latvia.

Please give it back to me ! No questions asked.

Or, at least introduce me to that sultry but incomprehensible woman who answers the Latvian number when I dial it...
 
Paul, I passed by the chat room yesterday and saw a bunch of people laughing and sharing a mobile on speaker phone......try there.:)

Eric - terrific assessment and I can't wait to get access to the footage and look for myself. Even being a CIO doesn't give me the right to bypass our firewall :head
 
Hi Guys!
I watched that live show ! WOW! If You can imagine how beautiful that was. But the real show began when PF Team began Resque Procedure! That was more than Just show! Exellent, Perfect Performance!!!
 
Paul - I sold your phone to the NSA for an apartment in Hell's Kitchen.

In response to Eric F's observations - as I watched the last ten minutes - before I read his post - I noted that DB did not exactly seem to be having 'samba' movements. I thought he'd be much more out of control. He appeared - several times - to bring himself back to the handcuffs and it looked to me as if the breathhold was becoming unbearable - and he had to refocus. The expression on his face was as though it was just becoming too much. It didn't fit the descriptions I'd read - nor the times when I've had them (only dry statics - with only partial black out) - in my case there was no way you could re-gather your attention like that.

I've mentioned it before - but breathing up vertically like that would seem to be a real disadvantage too.
 
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efattah said:
Here is my analysis of the Blaine stunt.
I have to admit, Eric, that I've read your detailed analysis with certain satisfaction, because since the very beginning (as soon as in the post #49 on page 2) I claimed with certainty that Blaine will (have to) breath oxygen, and that there is no other way not only to achieve the goal, but also to avoid bents and bone necrosis after such a long underwater stay. For incomprehensible reasons there were still people opposing the opinion, and many went on comparing the record attempt to Tom's 8:58 WR although the official O2 record is 15:03, and there are other recorded O2 apneas close to 20 min.

I also agree that the plan was a (possibly simulated) blackout after the 9th minute, but they simply underestimated several aspects you mentioned in your analysis, and also the effects of the 7 days submersion.

And although similarly like you, I have certain respect for the performance Blaine shown, and also for his 7 minutes static apnea just after few weeks of training, I keep aversion to his mendacious campaign. I know that it's just a show, and just the way he makes money, but I simply hate public and deliberate lies so much that I cannot have any respect for Blaine as a human person. It is completely something different when a magician makes an illusion - I do not consider it a malicious lie. If Blaine claimed he is going to make a magic illusion without suggesting he is going to beat the static apnea record, it would be completely different case. However, he was trying to suggest he is making real performance fully comparable to the 8:58 WR and that was very wrong in my eyes.
 
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