Man of mystery: David Blaine: part magician, part daredevil. (Who's in the News)
Jennifer L. Peters
Know Your World Extra. 36.10 (Mar. 14, 2003): p4.
Copyright:   COPYRIGHT 2003 Scholastic, Inc.
http://www.scholastic.com


Full Text: 

Been buried alive: He's done it. Lived in an ice tomb: He's done that, too. Stood high above New York City on a narrow pillar: David Blaine has been there, done that.

Some people say Blaine is a modern Houdini. Harry Houdini was a famous magician in the early 1900s. His tricks and great escapes amazed people.

When he was 5, Blaine saw a picture of Houdini doing a stunt. That image stuck with Blaine. It made him want to learn magic.

"You don't get into magic. Magic gets into you," Blaine wrote in his new book, Mysterious Stranger: A Book of Magic.

Street Magic

Blaine grew up in Brooklyn, New York. His mother raised him by herself.

Blaine's first deck of cards was old and yellowed. Blaine treasured the cards. He thought their old age made them magical.

As a young child, Blaine once did a card trick for a neighbor. Blaine did not know the man. The trick stunned the neighbor. It made the man smile. Blaine loved the way his magic made the man feel.

Now, at 29, Blaine still does what he calls "street magic." He walks up to strangers on the street and shows them magic tricks.

Blaine has made a career out of doing magic. He used to perform his tricks at parties. Now he does TV specials.

Great Feats

Blaine does more than simple magic tricks, He also does some very risky stunts.

In 1998, Blaine let himself be buried alive. Blaine spent a week in a coffin. He survived on a little water and oxygen from a tank.

A few years later, Blaine encased himself in a huge block of ice. He stayed in his icy tomb for two and a half days.

Last year, Blaine reached new heights. He spent 35 hours standing on a pole 83 feet high. To end the stunt, he fell down onto a tall pile of cardboard boxes.

What makes Blaine do such crazy stunts? Perhaps Blaine's report of the crowd at his buried-alive stunt says it all.

"I saw something truly incredible.... I saw every race, every age group, and every religion gathered together smiling. That made everything worth it. I saw magic."

Think About It

Does David Blaine really perform magic, or does he fool people with illusions? What's the difference?

MIND GAMES

Do you want to do one of David Blaine's tricks? Read the directions below and give it a try.

1. Line up three friends. Give each one of them a quarter. Turn your back to them.

2. Say to them, "Put your coin in your right or left hand. Raise that fist to your forehead."

3. Say, "Keep your hand up. Think hard about your coin."

4. Wait 15 seconds. Say, "Your mind is sending signals to my mind. The signals are telling me which hand is holding the coin."

5. Now say, "Bring your hand down to waist level. Now hold both of your fists in front of you, with your palms facing down."

6. Quickly turn and face your friends. Look for each person's lighter-toned hand. You may also see that the veins in the lighter-toned hand look smaller.

7. Point to each person's lighter-toned hand. Now say, "The coin is in this hand." Your friends will wonder how you found the coin.

BEFORE READING

* Vocabulary: buried, pillar, magician, treasured, amazed, encased

* Tap Prior Knowledge: What are some magic tricks you've seen?

* Invite Predictions: Why would someone want to become a magician?

* Check students' predictions after reading the story.

NOTES BEHIND THE NEWS

* When David Blaine stood on the 83-foot-high pillar, he didn't eat, sleep, or go to the bathroom for 35 hours.

* Blaine wrote a book called Mysterious Stranger: A Book of Magic.

* He was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., and performed in commercials and soap operas as a teen.

* He conditioned himself for the pillar stunt by wearing a 65-pound suit of chains.

EXTEND

Have students go to the library and find books on magic tricks. Agree as a class on a simple trick to learn, and work on it together. NCTE/IRA Standard 11: Students participate as critical members of literacy communities.

ESOL RECOMMENDATION

Have students practice the "Mind Games" trick on page 5 with one another.


Peters, Jennifer L.


Source Citation   (MLA 7th Edition)

Peters, Jennifer L. "Man of mystery: David Blaine: part magician, part daredevil. (Who's in the News)." Know Your World Extra 14 Mar. 2003: 4+. Kids InfoBits. Web. 12 May 2016.
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