Just a few hours ago, magician David Blaine unstrapped himself from a massive gyroscope. While the rest of us were stuffing our faces with potatoes and pies like piggies, Blaine was unshackling his hands and feet from the spinning scope. Why in the world did this “master illusionist” spend Thanksgiving in a gyroscope high above Times Square?
For publicity—yes, and something else. Blaine’s latest stunt was as much about charity as publicity. The magician teamed up with Target for the stunt that had him hanging 40 feet above New York’s Times Square in a spinning gyroscope. Blaine entered the contraption on Tuesday and after 52 hours without food or water he escaped dehydrated this afternoon. Blaine had until Friday morning to shed his shackles while the scope continually spun around. He managed to escape at just after two this afternoon New York time. By doing so he will be able to take 100 children selected by The Salvation Army on a shopping spree at a New Jersey Target tomorrow. (Each child will receive a $500 gift certificate from the store.)
Blaine says the gyroscope, with three spinning steel rings, flipped him in assorted directions as often as eight times per minute. Ironically, the Times Square gyroscope location is situated just a few blocks from the site where Blaine once spent 61 hours inside a block of ice.
I just got done watching a very soggy Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade on television and by the looks of it this shaped up to be another chilly stunt for Blaine, who had no protection from the elements other than his clothing—he was wearing a black nylon ski jacket with matching pants. It may not be as cold as the block of ice, and this latest event wasn’t anywhere near as long as his last one (you’ll recall that this past May, Blaine spent 177 hours underwater), but I had a feeling that this was one stunt that the magician would most definitely pull off. Did you get that feeling too?
Before entering the gyroscope Blaine told reporters that this stunt was particularly close to his heart since The Salvation Army had provided him with clothing while he was growing up. If all the pomp and pageantry means needy kids get to have a happy holiday then I applaud Blaine’s efforts.