Talk:David Blaine

message: I've searched on the internet and tried to get confirmation on what was written about his training being delayed by september 11th.  The only references I see to it seem to be places like wikipedia where users can edit its content.  Can anyone find a solid confirmation of this? 
52G 17:56, 3 January 2007 (UTC)
thread_title: Vertigo Information?

message: I can't get the notes (the tiny numbers) to work, does that happen to anyone else?Timan123 02:07, 23 July 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: Notes

message: In London's Above the Below, it was the minority of the crowd who harassed Blaine. A minority is defined as "the smaller in number of two groups forming a whole."
BBC, Oct 19, 2003 The BBC reports that of the crowd of 10,000 on the last day, "there was little sign of the "Blaine-baiters" who have dogged the entertainer for the duration of his stunt, jeering, throwing eggs and cutting his water supply." On the other hand, they add "[Blaine's] stunt has attracted praise and contempt in equal measures." Is the BBC saying that half of the onlookers threw eggs? Is there any report that can substantiate that 50%, 40%, 30%, 20%, even 10% of the onlookers were harassing Blaine?
It is my opinion that "raucous minority" correctly describes the situation. If you have a source that can proof otherwise, please provide it.
Thefool 00:27, 17 May 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Minority 

message: Why was this page protected? I have been monitoring it for a few days. The only changes are on the underwater stunt where he literally just emerged and people are trying to get the details of his stunt correct and uploaded onto wikipedia as soon as possible. --24.3.147.203 02:02, 9 May 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: Aww, thanks for the information Smylere Snape.  I'll patiently wait for an administrator to renable editing of this page Cheers.  --Starionwolf 05:30, 13 May 2006 (UTC)

text: I'm in favor of temporarily protecting pages from anonymous editing when it is appropriate, even if it slows the updating of article information by a day or two. It makes life easier for editors, as they don't have to keep deleting nonsense and vandalism. David Spector (talk) 01:42, 14 April 2021 (UTC)
thread_title: Vandalism???

message: "London mayor Ken Livingstone criticised the stunt, saying it was disrespectful to IRA members who died in prison in the early 1980s whilst on hunger strike."
:If we're talking about the same IRA that blew up Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma and Airey Neave then I for one would say they deserve all the disrespect they can get, and Livingstone's remarks are pretty disgraceful for an elected representative. Lee M 14:21, 25 Oct 2003 (UTC)
replies: text:  An interesting point of view, but no one I believe that we need to cover in the article. Readers may form their own opinion of Livingstone's comments. Martin 18:25, 13 Nov 2003 (UTC)
thread_title: Livingstone's comments

message: : In a bizarre footnote to the stunt, Blaine donated the underwear he had worn while in isolation to be auctioned by charity.
I looked at both the links you recommended.  Nothing in Wikipedia:What Wikipedia is not seemed to apply, but I tried to take Wikipedia:How to write a great article to heart.  I've made this as concise and clearly stated as I know how.  Thanks! -Nydigovoth
:Nydigovoth, what he did with his underwear is hardly relevant to an article about him. Wikipedia is an encyclopedia, not a store of useless trivia like this. Angela 03:52, Oct 26, 2003 (UTC)
::Oh, but I think it is relevant.  He is seen as a person who does bizarre things, that is part of his reputation.  This is yet another example of these sorts of things.  This isn't a random fact, like what sort of toothpaste he prefers, it is an example of his behavior that gives him his reputation. -Nydigovoth
::Hi again - I removed the addition about the underwear, not because of our above conversation, but because I'm not sure if it is a hoax or not.  Maybe I'll research it more before restoring. -Nydigovoth
: If true, this would be a valid addition to the article - it's not every day a celebrity auctions their underwear, let alone underwear they've worn continuously for 4x days. However, it does seem unlikely - we'd need a source. Martin 18:24, 13 Nov 2003 (UTC)
thread_title: Underwear

message: I added the scientific case report of Blaine's recovery. His body mass loss (25 kilos) and decrease in body mass index (29 to 21.6) is documented accurately. He added a footnote to medical science, namely that his sense of hunger coincided with increased levels of the hormones orexin and resistin, which may have relevance for studies into appetite. JFW | T@lk 17:40, 12 January 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  The science bit 

message: There were a discussion about David Blaine and the controversy regarding his use af the TV-medium in a page about a creation by Mr. Ed Balducci. I cut it out, since I deemed it being irrelevant in that context.
However, I saved the cutted part in the talk page: Talk:Balducci_levitation. So, feel free to move it from there and place it in the proper place here. --TStone 14:11, 22 January 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  For inclusion 

message: David Blaine has said that he is of Gypsy Ancestry
:I think that this claim, as well as his ancestry on the page, needs a citation. --BWD (talk) 02:12, 22 February 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: Gypsy Ancestry

message: There was overlapping content concerning Blaine's $100,000 Challenge in the articles David Blaine, Mysterious Stranger, and $100,000 Challenge. Also, a lack of significant details, appropriate to each article. I have attempted to remedy this with due objectivity.
Also, the previous entry in the David Blaine article clearly  implied that the $100,000 Challenge was the major motivation to buy the book, as in the case of Masquerade or A Treasure's Trove. 
This is not the case. The Challenge was a bonus to this coffee-table-type autobiographical / historical / how-to / reference book.
Thefool 19:51, 13 March 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Mysterious Stranger 

message: Does anyone know at what pressure is the air he's using?  I'm not sure I particularly follow the logic of the free divers' objection that they can't use pure 02, therefore he shouldn't be using compressed air.  Unless it's at such high pressure as to significantly hyperoxygenate his blood -- and wouldn't that be dangerous, since clearly he's only at one bar himself?  (Not that it has to make sense to be reportable, of course.)  Alai 07:22, 2 May 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Compressed air? 

message: The following was removed -- it is actually true trivia, although it could be shortened somewhat.
:"In the episode Super Best Friends, David Blaine seduces the residents of South Park with his magic tricks and convinces them to join his cult of "Blaintologists". The Blaintologists are not an officially recognized as a religion by the federal government and therefore not eligible for tax exempt status. To solve this problem, David Blaine suggests that the entire membership of the cult commit suicide in the reflecting pool in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C.To stop this, Jesus and his team of "Super Best Friends" which include Muhammed, Buddah, and Moses freeze the reflecting pool to prevent more blaintologists from drowning themselves."
--70.48.71.68 04:08, 9 May 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: I think a brief inclusion is warrented.  Wikipedia is a place for collecting facts on a person.  It does show the impact that David Blain has in popular culture.  Just because in your personal opinion there is too much devoted to South Park already has no barring on whether this should be included.  --70.48.71.68 15:37, 9 May 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: South Park reference

message: From the intro: "He made his name as a performer of close-up magic, usually working on the streets. Amongst magicians this is commonly known as street magic".  
I would say it's the opposite.  Close-up magic is commonly referred to by magicians, as well, close-up magic.  Most people, in my experience, don't have knowledge of this term, whereas partially because of David Blaine's Street Magic specials, they are familiar with the term "street magic".  In fact, the article on street magic doesn't equate close-up magic to street magic at all.  Anyway, I'm going to change it to be more accurate.  --C S (Talk) 14:52, 9 May 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Street magic as an "in the trade" term for close-up magic? 

message: http://www.cnn.com/2006/SHOWBIZ/TV/05/09/david.blaine.ap/index.html
CNN reports that he's been released from the hospital following his latest stunt, and that he's agreed to allow doctors from Yale to examine him to quantify the human reaction to being immersed in water for so long.
Need to put this in the article but it's been locked down, can someone do this? Blainetologist 15:57, 9 May 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: What is the reference for that. Did you copy and paste the "[6]" from another article? savidan(talk) (e@) 04:55, 19 May 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: No mention of Yale agreement and release from hospital

message: In the section regarding Blaine's "Drowned Alive" stunt, there is a note that Mark Harris commented that Blaine would have an unfair advantage.  However, if you follow the citation for that comment, you will see that Harris said no such thing, merely that Blaine would have to remain calm, less he deplete his oxygen too quickly.  This line should be edited or removed.24.147.136.231 23:49, 16 May 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Mark Harris Commentary 

message: In the Trivia section, the following sentence appears. 'During his appearance in Last Call with Carson Daly, he "pulled" his heart out and fainted'.
Can the author of that sentence please change it so the meaning is clearer? I don't know what is meant. Ordinary Person 06:25, 28 June 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: I actually saw that episode, it's very literal. He reached into his chest pushing his hand through his skin and pulled out his heart. It was staged of course, but that's pretty much all you saw. --Pandertome 12:27, 5 August 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  What does "pulled his heart out" mean? 

message: The article is hosed up as a result of multiple overlapping incidents of vandalism and hasn't been restored yet.  It's too much for me to figure out now. But please restore the "Cancelled Stunts" and "Upcoming Stunt" sections. Joseph N Hall 09:21, 7 September 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: I have restored the article to this edit and incorporated virtually all of the subsequent changes, even sections that were removed due to POV issues. Tinlinkin 06:00, 15 September 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  More Vandalism ... 

message: I have added sources needed to much of the article, but I really think it probably needs to be edited to a stub as it is obvious that much of what is on here will never be sourced. I think the problem is that there are too many "fans" editing on here. Too many blainiacs lol.    
--130.194.13.101 01:06, 19 October 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  This has to be one of the worst sourced pages on Wiki. 

message: why does it say his dad is a spanish puerto rican. looking at how black david is, id say his dad is more of a african puerto rican than a spanish one. his mother is supposed to be white. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 86.141.73.160 (talk) 14:22, 5 April 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  spanish puerto rican 

message: He should have a mug shot at the top of the page, and a better bio, Right?
Kaaos 16:37, 14 May 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: Yep. We need some pics, and more information on his personal life Gautam  10:02, 20 May 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Bio Picture 

message: 70.59.47.75 20:30, 20 May 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  breathholding time 

message: So what does he actually do, hypnosis or trickery? Does the position of the camera crew have something to do with the illusions ?  More often than not, the camera is focussed on the pedestrian or in between the pedestrian and Blaine. Jay 05:13, 4 June 2007 (UTC)
thread_title: Explanations ?

message: A couple parody videos exist from a TV show that have been circulated online entitled "David Blaine Street Magic" (visible here and the second part, here); in addition to being quite humorous they were largely popular and seem to be gaining a new popularity as of recently. If I knew the name of the show it was from, I could add it in the article. Anyone know? Zchris87v 23:26, 26 July 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Parody Videos (on Youtube, etc) 

message: Does he really have a psycho cult like in South Park? TCO (talk) 03:54, 30 December 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: From reading this article it certainly seems like it.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 147.64.136.152 (talk) 20:03, 30 April 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Blainetologists? 

message: to float and prove its real?
::I suspect that if David Blaine ever made the claim that he can really levitate, then James Randi would surely challenge him on it!  But I've never seen a reference that would indicate him making such a claim. --Gordon (talk) 20:22, 30 April 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  has james randi ever challenged david blaine 

message: Since Blaine is a professional illusionist, it seems odd that everyone takes his endurance records at face value. Isn't more likely that he only appears to hold his breath for a record-setting amount of time than that he recently developed into the best breath-holder on the planet?--Jeff (talk) 05:19, 7 May 2008 (UTC)
replies: text:  THANKS!  I was waiting for someone to say this.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 129.93.129.131 (talk) 12:30, 10 May 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Page overly credulous? 

message: It mentions that his heart rate dropped to 50 bpm as if this is significant. As the average resting pulse-rate is 60-100 bpm, 50 doesn't seem noteworthy. Halfabeet (talk) 22:04, 13 June 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Underwater breath holding 

message: I tried to find a source to verify that he actually broke the Guinness World Record but couldn't find any (neither in the article nor anywhere else on the internet), so source please? Maajid (talk) 21:57, 8 July 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Underwater Breath Holding 

message: Not that I particularly care about David Blaine or whatever, but for the sake of encyclopedic integrity, could someone look into the height of the pole for Vertigo? In the text of the article, it claims the pole to be 90 feet. However, in the caption for the image it has 100 feet. Someone please fix this. Pyrotics (talk) 23:17, 31 July 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Vertigo Descrepency 

message: I have reverted from the "newer" Grand Canyon photo because the old view is a better close up image. -- The Red Pen of Doom 20:09, 24 August 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Info Box image 

message: Whether or not David "enjoys" being ethnically/racially identified, Wikipedia does not use those identities as descriptors in lead sentances except under very limited circumstances where the article's subject is primarily notable for work or other activity regarding those identities. (For example, it would be acceptable to identify a priest's religion, or identify the ethnic background of someone whose notability is based on civil rights activities for people of her ethnicity.) WP:Manual of Style (biographies)#Opening paragraph-- The Red Pen of Doom 17:27, 20 September 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Lead Sentence 

message: The image :Image:Mysterious-stranger-david-blaine.jpg is used in this article under a claim of fair use, but it does not have an adequate explanation for why it meets the requirements for such images when used here.  In particular, for each page the image is used on, it must have an explanation linking to that page which explains why it needs to be used on that page.  Please check
:* That there is a non-free use rationale on the image's description page for the use in this article.
:* That this article is linked to from the image description page.
This is an automated notice by FairuseBot. For assistance on the image use policy, see Wikipedia:Media copyright questions. --01:39, 22 September 2008 (UTC)
thread_title: Image copyright problem with Image:Mysterious-stranger-david-blaine.jpg

message: Any idea how DB went from doing a sleep-deprivation stunt to this "Dive of Death?"  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 97.118.87.174 (talk) 05:35, 22 September 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: For some reason, User:David_Shankbone insists on deleting all information on it. Despite my attempts to source it and rewrite it as "a formerly planned stunt", he demands it be removed as if it has no bearing whatsoever on Blaine's career. There are plenty of author articles that detail unpublished manuscripts, and plenty of musician articles that detail unreleased albums, so I don't see how this is any different. Maybe somebody else can attempt to reinstate the info, but I give up. TravelingCat (talk) 02:04, 25 September 2008 (UTC)

text: When will he amaze us by standing on a street corner for five minutes?  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.64.16.58 (talk) 21:45, 24 September 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Stunt Change 

message: the blockquote by Brigstocke appears excessive (even if amusing). If included at all, I would suggest we limit the content from this one columnist to either
" There's no apthay in this country - not when there's a moron in a box doing something moronic. We're out in force." 
or 
" I'll be honest folks, it was my hope that David Blaine would die in that box and we could leave him there as a warning to all numb-nutted wizard scum that we won't tolerate this nonsense here. … Go home David Blaine, spend the $5,000,000 you made well. If you want to beat your 44 day record, I can only suggest you attempt to double it underwater." 
Are there any other opinions about this? -- The Red Pen of Doom 03:08, 25 September 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: It is a little long, although it does neatly encapsulate the prevailing feeling of the time, which was not particularly positive. It should be retained, but perhaps trimmed down. Badgerpatrol (talk) 09:59, 25 September 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  [[WP:Undue]] 

message: Image:Db wiki pic.png|A
Image:David Blaine by David Shankbone.jpg|B
Image:Db_canyon.jpg|C 
Image:Db arizona.jpg|C2
*I prefer B.  It's clearer, the color is better, there are no sunglasses obscuring the face, better clothes.  --David Shankbone 04:42, 8 November 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: *I think the "mug shot" style is the standard for the lead, though.  Many times I have tried to upload fuller photos of people, from Woody Harrelson to Tobey Maguire to Mary Stuart Masterson somebody comes and crops it down to a mugshot.  --David Shankbone 17:26, 9 November 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: A "head shot" might be argued as a prefered type of image; a "mug shot" certainly not. -- The Red Pen of Doom 20:45, 15 November 2008 (UTC)

text: *It's not very focused, off-color, it looks like his hair is thinning on the top, and he's wearing a ratty t-shirt instead of the cool Louis Vuitton leather motorcycle jacket in B.  It's also a very small size, making it not particularly useful outside of Wikipedia (which are the sorts of things we consider as an educational resource).  But, okay. Since Specs works for Blaine, you'd think it wouldn't be a challenge to take a decent photo. --David Shankbone 07:14, 15 December 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Lead photo - which one? 

message: Which cheese deleted my bit on Breaking the magician's code??  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 84.69.89.39 (talk) 19:46, 25 February 2009 (UTC)
replies: text: You need to provide better sources and not your interpretations. -- The Red Pen of Doom 20:10, 25 February 2009 (UTC)
thread_title:  Breaking the magician's code 

message: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Twatdangle  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 128.40.46.83 (talk) 12:48, 20 March 2009 (UTC)
thread_title:  Twatdangle 

message: He never did a record, he uses a well know magic trick to hold the breath using a hidden hose connected to an oxigen tank  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 190.139.165.14 (talk) 21:19, 9 May 2009 (UTC)
thread_title: David blaine record?

message: hi David 
Iam one of your biggest fans and i would like to learn and master the art of magic.
Any help please?
Regards
Royston  —Preceding unsigned comment added by Royston thompson (talk • contribs) 09:53, 13 October 2010 (UTC)
thread_title:  i want to become a magician 

message: This should be mentioned somewhere as it was big news at the time in Britain and was referenced frequently with his character in the TV series Bo Selecta! which should also be mentioned. Just one link of many, this one states his appearance on TV as in the top 10 of embarrassing TV moments. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/8239111/Top-10-most-embarrassing-TV-moments.html Muleattack (talk) 00:47, 8 February 2012 (UTC)
thread_title:  GMTV Appearance & Bo Selecta! 

message: This is the page of David Blaine, not Mike Shinoda. Please move it back.--Auric (talk) 23:42, 8 October 2012 (UTC)
thread_title:  move page vandalism 

message: The article currently reads like a fan site. DB has many fans, particularly in the US, but there are many people who can't stand him and think he's a deluded crackpot. Reading the article history, it seems that anything critical of DB has been systematically removed by a number of editors. The description of the Above the Below stunt in London is particularly misleading - most of the people who bothered to turn up were extremely hostile and the UK media coverage was largely negative. --Ef80 (talk) 22:30, 24 January 2013 (UTC)
replies: text: Interestingly his official website 'Bio' section links straight to this article.. Not really surprising it does not include any negative press information.. ツStacey (talk) 16:40, 7 June 2013 (UTC)
thread_title:  NPOV 

message: No it wasn't; as the explanation from Belcher makes clear, he wasn't being struck by the arc at all (except for one brief accidental shock.)  So I deleted the sentence.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.6.102.118 (talk) 16:16, 30 January 2013 (UTC)
thread_title:  This was the longest amount of time that anyone was ever struck by an electrical arc continually. 

message: The article said that after his 72 hours of electricity stunt, he was transported to hospital where it was found that the electricity caused an irregular heartbeat.
I was sceptical about the cause, since such sleep deprivation seems to me to carry more of a risk for heartbeat regularity than the electricity.  So I read the reference, and found no mention at all of a heartbeat irregularity!
So I just removed that part of the sentence.
I thought I'd leave a note about it here since this topic is mostly documented by showbiz journalists, not scientists, so we have to be extra critical when importing info. Gronky (talk) 07:59, 21 May 2014 (UTC)
thread_title:  Care should be taken when adding "facts" based solely on mainstream press 

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thread_title:  External links modified 

message: This article appears to be written by publicists and fans.  It lacks a neutral, encyclopedic tone and is too heavily focused on TV specials, achievements and praise.  I'm not sure where to start, but the bulk of the article should be not repeating praise from the media verbatim, nor should the magician's claims about their tricks be discussed as though they are true (for example, "ArcAttack built a system of seven Tesla coils producing an electric discharge of at least one million volts continuously for the duration. These seven Tesla coils were directed at Blaine for the entirety of the endurance stunt, during which he neither ate food nor slept.") unless this can be verified by a reliable and independent source.  I'm going to focus on removing unnecessary/unencyclopedic details for now.  Even if something is well-sourced, that doesn't mean it belongs, for example this sentence is irrelevant, unencyclopedic and violates WP:NPOV: "CNN confirmed that "thousands of people braved the pouring rain Wednesday night to catch a glimpse of Blaine as workers cut away at the ice." or "On October 5, 2012, Blaine began performing a 72-hour endurance stunt called "Electrified: One Million Volts Always On" atop a 22-foot high pillar on Pier 54 in New York City, produced by Intel and Vice and livestreamed via YouTube." [emphasis mine] If anyone wants to help improve the article or has a better approach, please let me know. LibertyOrDeath (talk) 16:57, 12 December 2015 (UTC)
thread_title:  NPOV & tone 

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thread_title:  External links modified 

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thread_title:  Commons files used on this page have been nominated for deletion 

message: The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page has been nominated for deletion:
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Participate in the deletion discussion at the . —Community Tech bot (talk) 01:51, 26 February 2019 (UTC)
thread_title:  A Commons file used on this page has been nominated for deletion 

message: I question the inclusion of the "Sexual Assault Allegations" paragraphs in the "personal life" section. People in the public eye frequently have all sorts of allegations made about them; that doesn't mean they have any basis in fact.  If he had been convicted of sexual assault, that would be relevant information; if he had been tried' and acquitted of sexual abuse charges, that would rate a mention.  But as long as these are just allegations they basically amount to nothing more than hearsay, and are not relevant biographical information.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.89.176.249 (talk) 03:13, 12 September 2019 (UTC)
replies: text: Allegations are often included in Wikipedia articles if they're noteworthy. This was reported on multiple times by multiple major media outlets during Me Too. The "hearsay" was enough for multiple police investigations. M.Clay1 (talk) 14:06, 2 July 2020 (UTC)
thread_title:  Allegations 

message: I'm not sure exactly how to properly cite YouTube, but in episode 1527 of the Joe Rogan podcast, David Blaine stated that the information that he only drank teaspoons of water per day during the Buried Alive stunt is false. He says in the podcast that it was actually a normal amount of water, and that he drank ~3 litres per day.
Here's a link directly to the timestamp from an excerpt: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4LraPdm5YI&t=278
And here's the full podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NY3Zg37nIHo  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 89.242.216.211 (talk) 23:35, 26 August 2020 (UTC)
replies: text:  i've removed the sentence Heiko Gerber (talk) 04:59, 27 August 2020 (UTC)
thread_title:  Buried Alive - Incorrect amount of water 

message: I love watching David Blaine perform. I love the skill of his sleight of hand, the amazement of his reading minds, and the thrill of his stunts.
But I have not heard David Blaine admit that any of his performances are illusions, unlike some other magicians, such as Penn and Teller, James Randi, and David Copperfield. And these stunts are reported as real here, in this article, with no qualification of any kind.
When a magician, someone who performs illusions for a living, does stunts, we expect to know whether these are done as magic (illusions) or for real. Harry Houdini used illusions for much of his work, such as escaping from locked boxes. However, he also physically trained to survive in cold water and to move his joints and muscles to escape from strait jackets. He was honest about the difference, at least when the events were over.
If David Blaine uses creative illusions in support of his stunts, WP should say so in this article. It is well known that some magicians lie (Susanna Clarke) about their actions, not just use physical misdirection, because lying helps to heighten the apparent authenticity of their illusions. In Blaine's case, the lying is just "the sin of omission".
I'll give a hypothetical example. In the "Frozen in Time" event, David Blaine was encased in ice for several days while wearing light clothing. I saw him on TV. At no time did he state that an illusion was part of this stunt. Yet he could have easily used illusions or deceptions, such as piping in warm air, or drinking a nutrient solution, to help him in the stunt, keeping the illusion a secret. If he did this, he would have feigned exhaustion and shivering afterward, and it would not be much work to heighten the apparent danger, as it was already exhausting to spend several days without eating or moving about. As a magician, I would expect him to develop and use such illusions, to keep them secret, and deceive a little. But Blaine is just silent about whether this stunt was an illusion, leaving us to assume it was real when it doesn't seem to make much sense for him to avoid using illusions in such situations.
Uri Geller, an illusionist, claimed that he could really bend spoons "psychically". Yet the WP article on him states in the introduction: "Geller uses conjuring tricks to simulate the effects of psychokinesis and telepathy." Geller himself maintained he used no tricks. He lied, and it furthered his career, especially whenever it was reported credulously.
In the case of David Blaine, we seem to have no reliable citations either way. But David Blaine is an excellent magician who can easily design a wide variety of illusions. He obviously must use illusions to make a playing card travel through a glass window, or to levitate, even if he doesn't say so. Some of the magic he does clearly uses standard published illusions (levitation example, card through window example).
Why should WP be complicit in casting David Blaine as a daredevil, to help build his career, if he himself does not state whether or not he uses illusions in his stunts? David Spector (talk) 01:30, 14 April 2021 (UTC)
thread_title:  On describing stunts as real 

message: The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion:
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Participate in the deletion discussion at the . —Community Tech bot (talk) 03:57, 5 January 2022 (UTC)
thread_title:  A Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion 

message: im going through a mentalist/illusionist phase at the moment. Going to see what I can do to work on this. MaskedSinger (talk) 07:00, 16 May 2024 (UTC)
thread_title:  improve article