PacMan2006

This happened about a week or so ago. Obviously it wasn't real, as he was upon a thin pillar on his "Vertigo" show the next day. But, to anyone who saw it, it looked extremely real, correct? I had to look away a few times it was so sick.

How could he have pulled it off? Was Carson and the audience in on it? If so, that would mean he's showing he's blatantly fake in his magic and illusions right? Was he wearing a fake chest, maybe latex, over his real chest? But he took his shirt off, or at least unbuttoned it, so it's not like we didn't have a solid view. One thing I did notice was that the camera was close up on his chest most of the time unless it cut to a grossed out Carson Daly. Maybe that was part of it?

Anyone have a clue?

Andalusia

Witchcraft!

MFRONE

It was a latex chest, I think at least that's what we all thought it was. The heart looked really fake and we knew the entire was fake, so that's got to be the best explination.

Iron Chef

maybe he learned it from Mola Ram

Dimension X

I'd be more interested in knowing how in the world NBC got anyone to actually watch Carson Daly.

zig

heh.. I thought it was pretty good.. I've seen these things debunked before, but I still dunno where he got the heart from.. they basically just stretch the skin and move it around and then bend their fingers so it looks like he's reaching inside.. heck even i can do that.. but i forget where they get the meat.

what was funnier was that carson was all freaking out, but everyone else was just laughing.

ZakVTA

It looked to me as if his chest was real and he was just bending his fingers in. Now how he got a fake heart out there...

I see that on Discovery channel a lot. I believe he said they use raw bacon.

Anthony Soprano

lol@Iron Chef

AJW

For those who haven't seen it, the entire segment is available as a quicktime clip at
singlereel.com

While it lasts, right click and save this link. (6.3 MBs)

http://video.singlereel.com:8080/cli...5600/15914.mov

JLB

You know why people are laughing at that....because they realize that they are so stupid for thinking that it could be real. Doooooh.....guy pulls heart out of his chest and continues to live.....ok....I buy that.......

At least if one is going to watch any Blaine stuff, admit that the curioisty is in trying to figure out how he fools us, and not that its real.....

JohnPhoenix

Thanks!

movielib

I didn't see it but I would guess he was just using the methods of "psychic surgeons" who have been around for a long time:

http://skepdic.com/psurgery.html

Blaine's trick was probably more elaborate and better performed because he is a better magician.

I think this makes the real question: Why do some people believe in psychic surgeons?

Dimension X

...and fortune tellers, and mediums, and psychics? Good question. He may not answer why people are gullible, but James "The Amazing" Randi exposes many of the methods used by fake psychics on his site (http://www.randi.org/). The first time I saw him (on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson I think) he showed how "psychic surgery" is done.

I took a quick look at the clip of David Blaine and, like you say, it appeared to be the same deal.

Rypro 525

it is amazing how the trapped in a block of ice was all a hoax, and people all over the world believed it.

The Bus

Someone have links to his trapped-in-a-block-of-ice thing? Explanations, etc?

MFRONE

I'm still not sure that the block of ice thing was faked. I know that masked magician tried to "prove" it was fake, but he did it in a warehouse and when they switched guys they had masks on. Blaine did it in the middle of Times Square and there were people around all the time. He was also in the hospital for around a week, so I find it hard to believe he was able to fake that one.

Static Cling

That's great! Thank you! The look on Daly's face is priceless!

Edit: I wonder if Daly's playing along?

wm lopez

I thought they never showed this on t.v.
Anyone know whe nthey will run the repeat?

CaptainMarvel

Can't remember where I read this, but it was explained to me this way: once you get past the initial coldness, all the heat your body generates is trapped inside the block with you, so it gets fairly warm in there, like an igloo.

monkeyboy

from what i've seen explained, the trick is done like this:

there's a trap door at blaine's feet. when the "ice workers" spray dry ice on the ice block to "refreeze it" there is a quick switch with a body double and blaine goes through the trap door to a room underneath the stage where they have everything they need to survive. they just switch back and forth every 8 or 12 hours. the video feed is a loop when blaine isn't actually in there. the heart monitor was actually hooked up to his girlfriend, or whoever was next to the monitor.

i love his sleight of hand stuff, that's great to watch, but all these contrived, set up skits where he's finding people's watches inside basketballs and stuff are just stupid. they're obviously set up ahead of time and the participants are usually in on it. what's fun about that?

Mister Beefhead

Uhhhh...no.

Aghama

Yeah, notice how just before he pulls the heart out, he hides his hand with his shirt.

bdshort

Except that Blaine wasnt on stage, he was in the middle of times square, so you'd think people would be able to see the switch. Not saying it wasn't hoaxed, just that it would be hard in the middle of the street

Brian

Rubix

ice insulates heat. how do you think the eskimos live in igloos? it's not a big deal even if he didn't switch himself out of the ice.

Groucho

Well, of course illusions are blatantly fake. Hence the term "Illusion."