World Record Breaking Day
September 6, 2006 By John Jacobs

A WORLD RECORD BREAKING DAY AT FANTASMA

The 6th of September saw a very special day at the Fantasma Magical Experience in NYC’s central Manhattan. Yes, the super store (the best on the planet in my opinion) saw witness to an amazing event where a number of performers attempted to both set and break world records for Record Holders Republic. Hosted by Roger Dreyer, the C.E.O of Fantasma, and organized by The Great Throwdini (a world record holder himself!) this was, without a doubt, an incredible array of talent!

We all enjoyed looking around the store area with its magic, automata, rare magical pieces (including a very cool Houdini display with one of his original sub trunks along with picks, cuffs and a slew more from Roger Dreyer’s huge collection) and so much more before sitting down for the official press conference. A packed audience of the public, press and television stations were eager for the record breaking to begin. And begin it did!

At twelve noon the event officially started. All the performers cheered each other on and the camaraderie between them was incredible. Everybody was on the edge of their seats as record after record was either broken or set. There is no doubt that these will take some beating!

The actual records were as follows …

Torch in Mouth: Flambeaux 39 seconds, formerly Matt The Knife 23 seconds

Straitjacket: Paul Carpenter 15.72 seconds, formerly David Straitjacket 29 seconds
 
Fork Bending: 10 forks, 6 bends each, Paul Carpenter 52.62 seconds

Coin Manipulation: Producing 10 US Silver Dollars, Justin Style 34.88 seconds

Light Bulb Eating: Fastest, Todd Robbins 50.06 seconds

Card Cutting: One Hand, Charlier Double Cut, Simultaneous L/R hand, 30 cuts, Simon Lovell 29.25 seconds

Card Cutting: One Hand, Erdnase style Triple Cut, One hand, 30 cuts, Simon Lovell 1 min 27.56 seconds

Card Cutting: One Hand, Simey Quadruple Cut, Simultaneous L/R hand, 10 cuts, Simon Lovell 48.34 seconds

Balloon Dog (8 bulb): pre-blown balloon, front of body, Thomas Blacke 4.35 seconds

Balloon Dog (8 bulb): pre-blown balloon, rear of body, Thomas Blacke 5.25 seconds, formerly John Cassidy 7.4 seconds

The fabulous contortionist Ravi unfortunately failed in his attempt to fit into a 16” square box but retired to huge applause for his efforts. Along with many others I am convinced that he will complete this extraordinary feat very soon indeed.

Time keeping and counts, where needed, were handled by the Great Throwdini and Chris McDaniel (yet another world record holder!) who took great care to make sure that everything was recorded accurately for the Record Holders Republic book and web site.

The event was featured on both Channel 5 and Channel 7 news that night along with mentions in all the papers. All in all this was an event that thrilled the entire crowd leaving many shaking their heads at the talent, dexterity and sheer determination from the performers. Great thanks are due to The Great Throwdini and Roger Dreyer for organizing such an enjoyable event!

Even if records aren’t being broken (not something you see every day) I’d still recommend a visit to Fantasma next time you are in NYC. It’s easy to find on 33rd and 7th and where else can you get to hang out with folks like Roger Dreyer, Simon Lovell and David Roth? I’ll definitely be back!