Bringing his brand of illusion and endurance art to Hudson River Park’s Pier 54, magician David Blaine withstood a bombardment of crackling electric current for 72 hours straight, from Friday evening to Monday evening. As he stood on a platform wearing a special chainmail suit, seven Tesla coils — to the pulsing of minimalist techno beats — spat out a controlled lighting storm in the air around him. Raising his arms, Blaine was able to channel the electricity and shoot it out from his fin- gertips. He wore a special visor to protect his eyes, noise-cancelling earphones and also used a ventilation system to protect his lungs from the ionized air. He went without food and sucked water from a tube, while urinating into a catheter. Because his special suit and headgear channeled the electricity, experts scoffed that Blaine was never in danger. But it still looked pretty cool.
