David Blaine Endures Lightning Storm for 73 Hours

David Blaine goes toe-to-toe with one million volts of electricity on Friday.

The magician was elevated to a platform above a high-voltage Tesla coil, dressed in a 20-pound chain-mail suit, and proceeded to shoot purplish arcs of lightning out of his hands all in unison with music.

Blaine will stand on the 20-foot-high platform for 73 hours without food amid an artificial lightning storm crackling between low-current, million-volt Tesla coils.

During a press conference earlier in the week, he described how this latest idea grew out of an image he had of himself at the center of a giant plasma globe. Realizing the idea would require him to exist in an airless vacuum—a feat beyond even Blaine's prowess—he adapted the idea to instead use Tesla coils.

"I don't know if he's really feeling something or if it's like those volts that you can touch and nothing happenings."

[Archie Plopimio, Spectator]:
"I think it's insane because they said it's a million volts, nobody could take that, nobody could take like more than 300 volts, people going to die right away, seriously."

[Katie Oneill, Spectator]:
"I think it's really amazing because it is sort of that like Harry Houdini sort of vibe that he just wants to sort of make people still believe that something can be really cool and it's free and it's just a spectacle, it's really beautiful."

Stuart Weiss, Blaine's doctor, said the main risks of the stunt include exposure to the ozone and nitrous oxides that are a byproduct of ionized air, which should not be inhaled in large quantities.

A ventilation system will ensure Blaine has breathable air, and a special helmet visor will protect his eyes from the ultraviolet radiation of the arcing electricity.

Because Tesla coils are noisy, he will wear noise-cancelling earphones that will also allow him to hear and communicate with people on the ground, including members of the public.