Sobbing and four stone lighter, David Blaine stunned the world when he emerged from a box above the Thames after 44 days without food... so how did the illusionist REALLY pull it off (and where on earth did he go to the toilet)?

He has been buried alive, encased successful crystal and subjected to a cardinal volts of electricity. He swum with an anaconda successful Brazil and allowed scorpions to scuttle crossed his look successful Thailand. But ne'er has David Blaine held the British imaginativeness much firmly successful thrall than erstwhile helium spent 44 days suspended wrong a perspex container beside the River Thames.

Public consciousness of the American endurance creator was comparatively humble connected this broadside of the pond erstwhile helium descended on London successful September 2003 promising to 'push myself arsenic acold arsenic I can'. 

But Blaine, who celebrates his 52nd day today, became a household sanction arsenic helium lolled astir successful his self-imposed cage, getting thinner by the time arsenic helium ran his fingers done his ever-greasier hairsbreadth and waved to the throng 30ft beneath him.

A period earlier, Blaine's leader Harry Houdini, the large American escapologist, had paid his ain sojourn to the superior aft accepting a situation from 1 Mr JR Paul, a London locksmith, to extricate himself from a burglar-proof safe. 

Unlike Blaine's stunt, though, that was a short-lived affair, Houdini escaping with easiness and delaying the large uncover lone for arsenic agelong arsenic it took to beverage the mounting interest of onlookers astatine the Euston Palace of Varieties.

The quality this clip astir laic successful the innate scepticism and debased boredom threshold of the British public, galore of whom developed a chiseled distaste for what they saw arsenic brazen attention-seeking connected the portion of the New Yorker. 

'His chances are getting slimmer, similar him,' quipped a spokesperson for 1 bookmaker arsenic punters lined up to stake against the illusionist, who was surviving solely connected a regular fare of 4.5 litres of water, staying the six-week course. 

Yet Blaine's firmity of intent - 'no food, nary sex, nary phones, nary books, nary music, nary television, nary privacy' - had been evident from the outset.

'It volition beryllium a nationalist isolation that I volition person to endure by adapting and surviving arsenic an carnal connected instinct,' helium said. 'I privation to acquisition a heightened consciousness of consciousness by implicit carnal deprivation.' 

He was arsenic bully arsenic his word. But if Blaine thought helium could power the communicative surrounding the stunt, helium was swiftly disabused of the notion. 

Golf balls were aimed astatine his 7ft by 7ft by 3ft cage. Eggs were thrown. Lemons were lobbed. A laser pen was aimed successful his direction. Two women threw food and chips connected the crushed beneath and past bared their breasts, attempting to interruption some Blaine's accelerated and his resolve. 

Even Sir Paul McCartney appeared to beryllium drawn into the circus, reportedly telling a lensman during an alleged late-night brushwood astatine the site: 'Listen mate, I've travel to spot this anserine c*** and you're not taking a representation of me.' 

Sky had acquired tv rights to the event, but the changeless sum was each excessively overmuch for some. Among them was Shiraz Azam, a 21-year-old who travelled from Tooting successful the aboriginal hours with an Indian bhangra drum hoping to awaken the slumbering Blaine. He succeeded.

'We were watching him astatine location connected TV and it was truly dull, truthful we thought we would travel down and liven things up,' said Azam. 

Another antheral tried to chopped the tube supplying h2o to Blaine - helium was charged with transgression harm for his troubles - portion attempts to tempt the American's appetite included barbecue sessions beneath and a hamburger flown successful from supra by remote-controlled helicopter.

'The immense bulk of radical visiting the solid container person been respectful to the challenge, but unluckily you volition ever get 1 oregon 2 thugs,' sniffed a Sky spokesman.

It did small to assistance Blaine's origin that helium made nary effort to link the stunt to satellite hunger oregon spot it wrong a broader governmental context. Instead, helium expressed anticipation that helium would beryllium remembered arsenic 'the top showman of each time'. 

Ken Livingstone, the London politician astatine the time, branded the situation an insult to those who had starved themselves for governmental reasons, portion Jason Robinson, a web decorator from northbound London, dismissed Blaine arsenic an egotistical embarrassment.

'We deliberation the stunt's truly poor, it's conscionable rubbish,' said Robinson, who was among the founders of a now-defunct website called Wake David. 

'Forty-four days of this is conscionable boring. He's got a God analyzable and it's embarrassing to different magicians.'

But similar a once-derided jock who becomes beloved successful the last stages of their career, Blaine recovered himself much warmly received arsenic the extremity of his proceedings neared. 

Messages of enactment were waved. People cheered. The jovial ambiance among galore of those who came to witnesser the spectacle - an undercurrent throughout, for it was not each sustained derision - became much marked. Brits whitethorn disdain the egocentric, but they emotion a trier - and Blaine's determination was beyond doubt.

When helium yet emerged, exhausted, hirsute and declaring - possibly generously successful the circumstances - 'I emotion you all,' a sobbing Blaine had mislaid astir 4 stone. His 24.5 kg (54 lb)‍ nonaccomplishment represented 25 per cent of his archetypal assemblage weight‍. 

His body-mass scale dropped from 29.0 to 21.6, his organ and bony wide had diminished, and helium had suffered bosom palpitations and breathing difficulties. None of it seemed to lessen his enthusiasm for the ordeal.  

'This has been 1 of the astir important experiences successful my life,' said Blaine.

He was admitted to infirmary and kept nether cautious reflection arsenic coagulated nutrient was dilatory reintroduced to his diet. After starting with a fistful of crisps, Blaine  graduated to a fare of fruit salad, bagels and food aft six days.

'It was poetic, beautiful, intense, scary,' helium would aboriginal accidental of the stunt. 'I didn’t cognize what was going to happen.

'People didn’t cognize if it was real, was I cheating, was I secretly eating food, was I sneaking successful and out? They were confused.'

So however did helium bash it? By surviving connected h2o that helium insisted was not fortified with nutrients, arsenic immoderate suggested. By utilizing a conduit to urinate - truthful the unconfirmed mentation goes - and a expanse to screen himself erstwhile helium did so. By utilizing a microphone and video nexus to enactment successful interaction with his team. And supra all, done sheer willpower.

Now the aforesaid property Houdini was erstwhile helium died of peritonitis successful Detroit successful 1926, Blaine has said helium plans to bash 1 much large stunt earlier helium retires - though the details stay shrouded successful secrecy.

'I'm precise superstitious,' Blaine said 2 months ago. 'Houdini, who has ever been my favourite and a large inspiration, died erstwhile helium was 52.

'He stayed precise fit, helium was stone solid. He had done the h2o vessel connected stage, collapsed, due to the fact that helium didn't privation to disappoint the assemblage adjacent though helium had terrible tummy pains, and helium was rushed to infirmary and died.

'I've ever thought 52 should beryllium the mark, you don't privation to propulsion until you break. I person a fewer much years of pushing and past I'm going to displacement to what radical similar to spot maine bash more, which is magic and bringing that to kids successful hospitals, which I emotion doing. 

'There's 1 stunt that I'm highly intimidated by. but I'm moving diligently connected putting it together. It'll beryllium my last thing, secretive... a culmination of everything I've ever done that I'm obsessed with, but it's a beauteous over-the-top ambitious idea.'

With Blaine, they ever person been.