Meet Nikola Tesla, lovable mad scientist and wizard of electromagnetism. That’s him in the photo above, nonchalantly jotting notes while trillions of jolts of electricity explode into hellfire over his head.
If something in this photo looks a little off to you, that’s because it was doctored. This was a publicity shot. That goes with Tesla’s schtick – he was a showman, and a great one.
On October 5 to 8, another great showman, the illusionist David Blaine, will put on a demonstration to make Nikola Tesla proud. He’s going to publicly electrocute himself!
Don’t worry, it’s not the violent, bloodthirsty, State of Texas kind of electrocution. The New York Times reports:
With the help of the Liberty Science Center, a chain-mail suit and an enormous array of Tesla electrical coils, he plans to stand atop a 20-foot-high pillar for 72 straight hours, without sleep or food, while being subjected to a million volts of electricity.
When Mr. Blaine performs “Electrified” on a pier in Hudson River Park, the audience there as well as viewers in London, Beijing, Tokyo and Sydney, Australia, will take turns controlling which of the seven coils are turned on, and at what intensity. They will also be able to play music by producing different notes from the coils. The whole performance, on Pier 54 near West 13th Street, will be shown live at www.youtube.com/electrified.
This should be a delightful spectacle.
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