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David Blaine’s Bullet Catching Trick Goes Wrong

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Tony Maples Photography

 

Even though David Blaine has mastered the trick of catching a bullet in his mouth before, while he was gearing up for his television show, Beyond Magic, the illusionist injured himself. In the video from Channel 4, Blaine can be seen lining up the shot and pulling the trigger with a string. The bullet collides with a small cup he held in his mouth. Fox 8 explains, “The metal cup slipped out of the gum shield. When the bullet hit, the shield shattered. He was taken to a hospital, where doctors found that he had a lacerated throat.”

Catching a bullet in one’s mouth is a trick that magicians Penn and Teller are well known for, but exists in the public domain for other artists to use. Penn spoke about Blaine’s version of the trick in his podcast, Penn’s Sunday School. He says that while he respects Blaine, he feels that putting himself in real danger takes the magic out of the trick and puts the audience in an uncomfortable position.

The Huffington Post writes that one of Blaine’s friends who helped with the trick vowed to never participate in it again after seeing the injury. Yet, Blaine still plans on doing the stunt on his upcoming tour. “We’re going to do it right. That’s the end of the story,” he said.