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In a no-so-stunning “its about time” moment, “Magician” David Blaine managed to injure / shoot himself while attempting his famous “bullet catch trick.” The “trick” is one of Blaine’s latest acts in which he lines up and shoots a .22 bullet into a specially designed receptacle in his mouth. It was debuted in 2010 as the main event for Blaine’s show.
While I appreciate one’s desire to be a showman, I can’t help by shake my head at the malfunction during Blaine’s recent attempts. The specially designed receptacle shattered upon impact from the 22 round, sending the cut into the back of his throat and causing a laceration.
He was then fitted with a special gum shield to hold a metal cup, in which Blaine would catch the bullet.
But the cup was slipping in and out of the grooves of the mouth guard, showing the first sign of later problems.
Blaine held a rope attached to the rifle, while the laser pointed to the spot where the bullet would hit.
As Blaine tugged on the rope, the bullet was fired into the cup — but the gum shield shattered in the process.
Color me completely unsurprised. While one can have confidence in results from ballistic encounters, one can never be 100% confident in the result. Luck (or the “magic”) ran out for Mr. Blaine when he violated all four safety rules.
Blaine’s friends have now refused to help him perform the stunt, which he has performed three times since 2010, but he still wants to include it in his upcoming world tour.
He said of the stunt which he performed in November: ‘I committed to doing it live at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas for 20,000 people.
‘The part that I didn’t really spend enough attention on was building a better mouth guard.’
Viewers of the show expressed their awe on Twitter. Ashley Harrison wrote: ‘David Blaine? More like David Insane!
‘He plans on doing the bullet catch trick in his world tour. How can he be so sure it won’t kill him?’
I sure as heck would not pull the trigger. If another cup failed, that’s a manslaughter charge.
