Blaine Spins to Success in NYC

Magician David Blaine put his endurance to the test once again this week. The 33-year-old endurance artist hung in a moving gyroscope, fifty feet in the air, in New York's Times Square. Blaine began his stunt at around 11 a.m. on Tuesday morning. He battled the cold and rain for two days before his escape, dropping from the gyroscope onto the ground, at around 2 p.m. on Thanksgiving afternoon.

Blaine, who usually trains and works on his stunts a year before he performs them, only had three weeks before tackling this one. He fasted for days in preparation for the spinning stunt. His only protection from the harsh weather and rain was a waterproof jacket. As he began the stunt, he felt the effects of the spinning, not being able to find his equilibrium. He compared the difficulty of this stunt to that of his most arduous stunt, "Frozen in Time" (when he spent days in a block of ice), saying that it was just as tough, or maybe even tougher.

Blaine worked with Target and the Salvation Army on this stunt. Since he was able to escape the shackles before Target opened for its holiday sale on Friday, Blaine accompanied one hundred underprivileged children and their families on a shopping spree.