In this month's Interview magazine, David Blaine reveals that his next physical feat may involve drifting at sea in a giant glass bottle. Really. "It started because I had a dream one night that I was in a life-size bottle in the middle of the ocean...and now I'm trying to work out how to make that into a physical reality--into a real physical feat," said Blaine.
Fortunately for us, he doesn't plan to set himself adrift until after his February 2011 presentation at The Richmond Forum when he will take us behind the scenes of his feats and explore the question of whether there are really any limits to what the human body can do. Blaine has made a career of dramatically smashing those limits, from holding his breath for over 17 minutes to surviving 44 days without food.
He explained to Interview magazine: "The one I've been obsessed with, that I don't know how it could be done, is the sleep-deprivation record. "It's 11-and-a-half days. I was thinking I'd try to go one million seconds under test conditions, which is 11.57 days or something close to that.
"But I started experimenting, and for some reason it's the hardest. I think you can build up a tolerance to sleep, but it's a really difficult process, because your body recovers during sleep.
"Your immune system builds itself when you're sleeping. So when I would do tests, I would be up for five to six days, and of course I'm hallucinating. But I also start getting these welts all over my body. I'm a super-hypochondriac. So when you're not sleeping, you start seeing things. And you think you're dying of this disease or that disease. It's really tricky on that end. But that's one that I've been really obsessed with for a long time because it's the scariest thing to me."
David Blaine will be one of five speakers appearing at The Richmond Forum next season. Others include President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia, former first lady Laura Bush, Anderson Cooper, and personal genomics expert Dr. George Church. A limited number of season subscriptions are still available, starting at just $155 for all five programs.
He explained to Interview magazine: "The one I've been obsessed with, that I don't know how it could be done, is the sleep-deprivation record. "It's 11-and-a-half days. I was thinking I'd try to go one million seconds under test conditions, which is 11.57 days or something close to that.
"But I started experimenting, and for some reason it's the hardest. I think you can build up a tolerance to sleep, but it's a really difficult process, because your body recovers during sleep.
"Your immune system builds itself when you're sleeping. So when I would do tests, I would be up for five to six days, and of course I'm hallucinating. But I also start getting these welts all over my body. I'm a super-hypochondriac. So when you're not sleeping, you start seeing things. And you think you're dying of this disease or that disease. It's really tricky on that end. But that's one that I've been really obsessed with for a long time because it's the scariest thing to me."
David Blaine will be one of five speakers appearing at The Richmond Forum next season. Others include President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia, former first lady Laura Bush, Anderson Cooper, and personal genomics expert Dr. George Church. A limited number of season subscriptions are still available, starting at just $155 for all five programs.
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