Video 2: On Endurance 2
As a young magician, I was obsessed with Houdini and his underwater challenges.
So, I began, early on, competing against the other kids, seeing how long I could stay under water while they went up and down to breathe, you know, five times, while I stayed under on one breath.
By the time I was a teenager, I was able to hold my breath for three minutes and 30 seconds.
I would later find out that was Houdini's personal record.
In 1987 I heard of a story about a boy that fell through ice and was trapped under a river.
He was underneath, not breathing for 45 minutes.
When the rescue workers came, they resuscitated him and there was no brain damage.
His core temperature had dropped to 77 degrees.
As a magician, I think everything is possible.
And I think if something is done by one person, it can be done by others.
I started to think, if the boy could survive without breathing for that long, there must be a way that I could do it.
So, I met with a top neurosurgeon.
And I asked him, how long is it possible to go without breathing, like how long could I go without air?
And he said to me that anything over six minutes you have a serious risk of hypoxic brain damage.
So, I took that as a challenge, basically.
Questions:
1. Why was Blaine interested in holding his breath?
>> He was fascinated by Houdini's underwater challenge.
2. How did young Blaine discover his talent for holding his breath?
He competed against other kids to see who could stay underwater the longest.
3. To resuscitate someone means to bring them back to life.
