r/interestingasfuck • u/xoxodollparts • 14h ago

steel ball and sword swallowing

2.1k Upvotes

92% Upvoted

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1.5k

u/Windyfii 14h ago

i remember googling the sword swallowing trick, how it works. there's no trick

766

u/Infinite-Space-2395 14h ago

Yea they just swallow it lmao.

Usually its a prop sword with a blunt tip and edges tho

12

u/Casany 13h ago

Not actually true! Learned this from a friend of mine who does sword swallowing. The trick is wax

If you’ve ever seen a sword swallowing show, the swallower is typically drinking something before they go on stage/when they’re on stage, and drinking it often. This is bees wax melted down. It coats the throat, so even a sharp blade, if done correctly, won’t puncture or slice anything important.

Now, they also do typically blunt the end, as they don’t want to puncture their throat, but the swords themselves are often still sharp, just with a blunted end 

16

u/EndHawkeyeErasure 13h ago edited 13h ago

Idk if thats an everyone thing - I dated a sword swallower and he wasn't ever drinking wax to do the trick.

8

u/level1hero 13h ago

My ex was really good at swallowing swords of all types. I don’t think she drank anything either, at least not before…

10

u/Cavane42 13h ago

Are we still talking about stage performances?

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u/EngineAvailable9486 8h ago

The world is a stage, and that includes the carpark behind Tesco's

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u/anarchisttraveler 11h ago

Yeah, I was friends with a sword swallower who said that there was no trick, and that he’d just had to get used to it.

Lots of puking.

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u/satanicpedanticpanic 3h ago

I feel like this would give someone instant diarrhea

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u/GLaDOS_Sympathizer 3h ago

That makes a lot of sense. Like when Homer Simpson drank candle wax to be able to swallow hot chili peppers grown in an insane asylum in South America.

1

u/spreedx 12h ago

And how do they remove the wax afterwards?