World Sword Swallowers Day

The art of swallowing swords and swords was mastered by the ancient Indians, Chinese and Japanese. In Europe, the popularity of this spectacle reached its peak in the Middle Ages, becoming an integral part of the repertoire of traveling illusionists and street booths. In the USA, the fashion for such performances came at the end of the 19th century. - the stunts aroused constant delight among visitors to the World's Fair in Chicago. Today, performers demonstrate the skill of swallowing sharp objects in the circus. Yogis show off their talents by walking on nails on the streets of Indian cities. In 2008, the SSAI association, which unites people who master the basics of the dangerous art, established World Sword Swallowers Day. By tradition, it is celebrated annually on the last Saturday of February. World Sword Swallowers Day, initiated by the International Sword Swallowers Association, is celebrated by more than 100 professionals. One of them, Red Stewart, is the author of the world record. He swallowed 34 swords at once at the Philadelphia Tattoo Fan Convention in April 2008. Before this, in 2003, Stewart’s colleague, a certain Matty “Blade” Henshaw, announced another record. In 365 days, he swallowed a total of 3,782 swords. In professional jargon, masters call themselves blade glommers, which translates as “blade robbers.” The practice does require great skill and precision due to the risk of death. Swallows achieve automatic relaxation of the upper part of the digestive tract. The sword or sword is inserted into the throat and reaches the stomach thanks to the ability of the performers to suppress the gag reflex. Some stunt performers resort to precautions: before demonstrating a spectacular performance, they swallow special guide tubes made of thin metal. This allows you to protect the gastrointestinal tract from injury. The skill of sword swallowers made a significant contribution to the development of endoscopy. Tools and devices for diagnosing the gastrointestinal tract were tested on professionals skilled in this art, known since Antiquity. Indeed, besides India, sword swallowing was also popular in Ancient Rome: the writer and poet Apuleius mentions it in his treatise “Metamorphoses”. In the Middle Ages, the Inquisition persecuted craftsmen because of their suspicions of connection with dark forces. In Scandinavia, the practice was also banned in 1893 due to the deaths of many stunt performers. Today, training in the ancient art, officially recognized, is offered at the Coney Island School in Brooklyn, which has a class for training sword swallowers. Indian yogis and circus performers pass on their talents to receivers in various parts of the world. All of them, together with fans of this dangerous but spectacular technique, annually celebrate World Sword Swallowers Day at the end of February.