new scientist magazine 12 dec - '09

8/8/2019 New Scientist Magazine 12 Dec - '09

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THE LASTWORDLast wordspast andpresent plusques t ions. at

www.last-wcrd.ccm

Swallow your pride

rvejust seen asword-swall owing

act. Swordsseemingly longer thanthe depth f romt hroat t oanuswere

swallowed . It hastobea tr ick.

doesn't it? If lt is, what's the triCk?

If itlsn't,what's goingon7

_ThetalleryouaTC themoreswordyoucanswallow, but it

cannotgopast the pitofthe

stomach.Andthat isone thing

that swordswallowershavetoget

used to - the feeling as the point

ofthe sword arrivesthere... just

touching,and nomore.This is

whysomeswallowerseatheavy

foodjust beforeperforming,to

stretch thestomach abit so they

canswallowalongersword.

Theotherthingthey have10 gel

used to isthegaggingreflexwhen

they start toswallow,Thiscan be

controlledeven!ually.Swa llowers usesilk to clean the

sword just before it's inserted to

removeanydust and againwhile

the sword isbeingwithdrawn(With agreatflou rtshofsilk)to

cleanoffacid stomach juicesthat

canattackthe steel.It'salla

matterofskill and nerve,with

little roomfor trickery.

For thebestaccountofthisand

more,includingswallowinggiant

corkscrews that makethe pharynx

jumpupanddownasthey twist;

howtoswallowneon tubes to

make thechestglowfrom inside;

and howtoeatand swallowfire

(whenlearning,have alot of ice

creamhandy), canbefound in

Memoirsoj aSwordSwallower,by

DanMannix, first published in

1951when Iboughtmycopy.

I'll never forget that openingsentence:"I probablynever would

have becomeAmerica'sleadingfire-eaterif Flamo theGreat

hadn't happened to explode that

night infront ofKrinko'sGreat

CombinedCarnivalSideShows."

MichaelBoddy

Binalollg,NewSourhWales,

Australia

_ There isno trickto a genuine

sword-swallowingact,or rather

not the kindoft rickyour

correspondent is probably

thinkingof.Strictlyspeaking,

a true swordswallowerdoesn't

actuallyswallowthe sword,but

Ihat apparent contradictionis the

keytohowtheyactuallymanage

toget the bladeallthewaydown.

To join the Swo rdSwallower's

Association International.a

would-bemember hasto

demonstrate the ability to

"swallow"a non-retractable,

solidsteelbladethat is at least

2 centimetreswideand

"Swallowers usesilk toclean the sword of acidstomach juices as i t isbeing withdrawn"

38centimetreslong.withthose

qualifications,it's not really

surprising that thecurrent

worldwidemembershipof the

SSAlis restrictedto a fewdozen

full·timeprofessionalsand a

handfulof amateurs.Norisit a

surprise that,despitetheSSAI's

strictmembership criteria,many

peoplebcltevea trickbladeis

employed,particularlywhen

one learns that therecord length

fora swallowedblade isan

eye-watering 82.5cm.Theperformer. througha

regimeofpractice, learns to

suppressthenaturalgag

instinct,by relaxingtheupperoesophagealsphincter - which

nonn allydosesthe throat to

prevent us chokingordrowning.

Todo this, theyusuallystart by

' There isno trick to swordswallowing. The recordlength fo r aswallowed

blade is 82.5 centimetres"

forcingtheirfingersdown their

throat andthenworktheirway

through a rangeof longer and

bulkier everydayobjects,before

regularlyexercisingwith a

carefullyfoldedwirecoathanger.

Curiously,in swordswallowing.

asinsomanyotheraspectsoflife,

size apparentlydoesn't matter.

Although theartistewho

swallowed theaforementionedaa.s -cmswordwas220 cm tall. itistheconfigurationofa performer's

insides that determinesthe lengthofbladetheycan swallow.

Particularlycritical is the angleof

thegastro-oesophagealjunction,

orcardia, the point where the

oesophagusjoinsthe stomach.

Thecardia iswherethe lower

oesophagealsphincterisfound.

This sphincter preventsgastric

juices flowingupoutofthe

stomachintothethroat. It isthe

abilitytoexercisecontrolover

thisvalve,and keepit relaxed

whenit should,by reflex.close,

that tscrntcatfor a performer.

It isscarcelysurprisingthat

industrial injuriesamongsword

swallowersproduceadistinctivepathology.Whilenomember of

the SSAl hasdied asa result ofa

performancegoing awry, at least

one sword swallower hasbrushed

theside ofhisheart with ablade,

and perforationsand lacerations

ofboth theoesophagusand

pharynx arecommon,asare

lowerchest pains.These painsare

often associatedwith adramatic

technique knownas"thedrop".

wherethesword isdowned inone

smooth action,controlledonlyby

themusclesof the pharynx.

Themost widespread

occupationalhazardsufferedby

swordswallowersisa sore throat

"sword throat".asitis known.

Atleastone swallowerhad to

terminate theircareerthrough

losingthe ability to salivate, as

saliva isthe principal lubricant

employed toeasethe passageof

the blade (although butter has

been usedasa substitute).Ofcourse,this isan experiment

thatwould-be researchersshould

never.everattempt at home.Hadrianleffs

Norwich,Norfolk, UK

This week's question

GOGGLEWOBBLE

However tight I fastenmy

swimminggogglestheyalways

end up roundmyneckafter Idivein.This never seems tohappen to

Olympicswimmers.Whynot?

FrallcisMeloBirmingham,UK

Questklns erdanswers snouo beconcise,we reserve therighttoedit items forclarity

eoostyle.lrd.II:1e adaytime teeobore

numberandemail address if joOO have

one,RestrictQuestions toscient if(

NewScientist retains total editorial control

thecontent rf;TheLastWord.Send

cesncoseooanswers toTheLastWord,

NewScientist, LilCOr'I House. 84Theobald'sRoact un ocnWC IXBNS. UK. byemail to

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new scientist magazine 12 dec - '09

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