Magician Blaine begins gyroscope stunt in New York

0 Comments | AFP, November, 2006

NEW YORK (AFP) — US magician David Blaine was strapped into a spinning gyroscope and hoisted by crane above the streets of New York at the beginning of his latest stunt -- a two-day challenge for charity. The 33-year-old conjurer was locked into a harness and secured spread-eagle at the centre of three concentric metal rings, which allow the gyroscope to tilt in any direction, before being lifted 15 metres (50 feet) into the air.

With temperatures expected to fall as low as freezing during the night and hovering at around five degrees Celsius (41 degrees Fahrenheit) during the day, Blaine said the unexpectedly chilly conditions were his prime concern. "There is that slight worry of hypothermia but it shouldn't happen," he said, shortly before being secured into the...