Status: Magic trick
Stevie Starr calls himself a professional regurgitator. He's been doing his act for a long time, and is quite famous. (He's appeared on shows such as Jay Leno and Ripley's Believe it or Not.) But I just became aware of him through
a video of one of his performances on Google Video, and I'm at a complete loss to explain how he does what he does.
His performance includes some of the following tricks: He swallows sugar, followed by a glass of water, and then regurgitates the sugar, completely dry. He swallows a live goldfish and regurgitates that a minute later, still living. (As he does this, he mentions the urban legend about
goldfish having 5-second memories.) Reportedly he's also able to swallow a (miniature) rubik's cube and bring it back up — solved. (Though the Rubik's cube trick isn't shown in the google video.)
I can't find anyone on the web who has a decent explanation for how Starr is able to do all this. Obviously he has a genuine talent with his stomach. An article about him in the
Amherst Student reports that:
he was born in a children’s home in Scotland, where he lived for the first 19 years of his life. When little Stevie was four years old, he discovered this unique talent by swallowing his lunch money and realizing he could bring it right back up. Thus, a freak of nature was born.
But this doesn't explain how he can swallow sugar, followed by water, and bring the sugar up dry. Or the trick with the rubik's cube. Does he have a second stomach, or something like that? To do the rubik's cube trick I assume he must have swallowed a solved rubik's cube before the show. But like I said, I'm pretty much baffled.
Incidentally, history is full of famous vomiters, so Stevie Starr evidently isn't the only one who has ever had this talent. In 1621 there was the case of the nail-vomiting Boy of Bilston (who had been trained by a priest to simulate the symptoms of being bewitched). This was followed in 1642 by Catharina Geisslerin, "the toad-vomiting woman of Germany," who, as you might guess, had a talent for vomiting up toads. In 1694 there was Theodorus Döderlein, who vomited up twenty-one newts and four frogs. (I'm getting this info from Clifford Pickover's
The Girl Who Gave Birth to Rabbits
.) Pickover also reports that there have been cases of compulsive swallowers who don't later regurgitate what they swallow, including one guy in 1985 who had "53 toothbrushes, 2 razors, 2 telescopic aerials, and 150 handles of disposable razors" removed from his stomach.
Comments
Isolation, and complete control of stomach muscles.
He can ingest an unsolved Rubik's cube, but with modified colored stickers, that can react with saliva, and change color to match a solved cube pattern.
Simple enough.
The powdered sugar trick is also simple. He puts the sugar in his mouth but puts it under his toungue. Then he swallows the water quickly not allowing it to mix with the sugar. After that he sinply releases the sugar out of his mouth. Only the absolutely dry part of the sugar comes out, the moisturized part keeps sticking in his mouth.
In my opinion Stevie cleverly mixes illusions with his undisputable talent to swallow even big objects such as billard balls or bulbs. That makes him fascinating. A similar mix of talent and illusion can be seen from Derren Brown.
Watch this video, and tell me how he is not swallowing the lightbulb. His hands go nowhere near his mouth, he just sucks it down.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDEIYflt6IA
Is he hiding it in his mouth? Maybe, but I doubt it. I don't know many people who can even FIT a billiard ball in their mouth, let alone keep it HIDDEN in their cheek or under their tongue. It's not a gumball, it's a BILLIARD BALL. Also note that he seems to have more trouble (i.e. makes more noise) for larger objects.
As kids, a pal of mine could swallow an egg and bring it back hours later, unbroken, which is why I enjoy seeing Stevie Starr so much.
Some people are just made differently, that's all, but it seems some have to concoct ridiculous theories such as surgically made pockets in his mouth (grow up!!) or a deep hole under his tongue (really?) Just accept his method of making a living is just that - his job. I wish I could pay my bills doing the same.
Live, when I saw him at uni, he keeps his hands very much away from his sides and a girl I knew placed a ring of hers in his mouth and he swallowed it, and brought it back up in an order she requested with other stuff. His hands stay down. So unless he's empoying a pixie to live in his throat that catches and passes back up these items, he's actally swallowing it (though clearly with the rubik's cube and the sugar it's pre-swallowed). I assume it is an abnormality that he's been able to play to his advantage to make a living out of...
Either way, however he's doing it, it's an amazing trick.
HADJI ALI - The Great Regurgitator
http://thehumanmarvels.com/?p=964
THE GREAT WALDO - The Regurgitating Geek
http://thehumanmarvels.com/?p=60
I was very annoyed when I found that out, as I wanted to believe that he was genuine.
As for Keith, look at what you have written "after he swallows the pool ball" So he can swallow the ball but has to hide a coin in his mouth! Anyway, I have looked closely & can't see the coin but even if it were there, what does it prove? Maybe because the pool ball is the largest thing he can swallow, he actually brings the coin back immediately before swallowing the ball. Try hiding ten 10p pieces in your mouth & talking normally. It's impossible.
And he is scottish, glasweigen was brough up right outside glasgow.
Not sure what keith saw, couldnt see it anyway.
The guy is genuine and is one of the best shows of anything i have ever seen, keep watching britains got talent, the stuff he can do just gets better
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZFIRhJrHJE&feature=related
He puts five keyrings in his mouth and brings them up connected but you can see him put five allready connected ones in his mouth before. He does this very well and tbh I think this guy will be famous no matter how many people think he is fake and until he stands behind an xray and people can prove its fake he will never be found out. And he will always be entertaining!
I am pretty sure that he is disclosing the items in his mouth and this is helped by the cleft palate - he is secreting the items in his nasopharynx. Given a cleft palate deformity this is actually a large space more than adequate to fit the objects he 'swallows'. It also explains how he is able to talk as the objects are not technically in his 'mouth' but stuffed up inside the nasopharynx space.
As for the lock/key rubix cube illusions, this is either done before the show or is done with the coercion of an audience member. In the case of the Britains Got Talent, the judge was obviously 'in on it' before the act.
To those who think he is actually swallowing these things and somehow has superhuman control of his stomach/oesophagus, I ask - why has he not submitted to medical exam? Where is the PROOF he is swallowing these things?
This is clearly an entertaining hoax, nothing more. Not two stomachs, not remarkable (impossible) control of muscles, not anything other than slightly abnormal anatomy and a bit of patter.
Part of his act used to be to allow someone to put their hand inside his mouth and feel around. Every time I saw somebody do this no-one ever found anything inside his mouth, under his tongue or in your theory in the nasopharynx space. Not sure a pool ball would fit there in any case. Also, he has had people put their hand against his throat to feel the item being swallowed. You are talking out of pure guesswork.
Is it not within the realms of impossibility that the so called 'audience' member is part of the act and is in on the illusion from the get-go?
This is done the world over in 'illusion' type shows. Why should we believe anything an 'audience' member says/sees when we know nothing about them either?
What is more realistic or reasonable?
That it is an illusion helped by his particular anatomy, or that he is in fact swallowing and regurgitating enormous items and flying the face of every single other human being's ability on the entire planet? That he alone has the amazing control of his stomach/oesophagus to be able to regurgitate said items in a particular order at will, appearing not affected by stomach acid, water, etc?
Where is the scientific proof?
Your assumption relies entirely on the so-called observations of audience members who could clearly be a part of the act.
Sorry to say but I find the naievity of many people on this forum to be astounding.
Heaven forbid that a second rate talent show presenter would 'lie' to make an act look good for TV ratings (that's NEVER been done has it - ie recent phone rigging on TV competitions etc) - TV execs are clearly a beacon of purity and would never be economical with the truth.
And no, cleft palate can exist independantly of other visible abnormalities. One does always have to have a cleft lip etc in addition to the cleft palate. Even if he does not have this condition there is no doubt that the objects never leave his mouth at all.
I'm not going to keep replying to this - I find it bizarre how I'm apparently the one who is 'totally wrong' when you are willing to swallow (pun intended) this utter tripe.
He is an illusionist who DOES TRICKS FOR ENTERTAINMENT - obviously a decent one because he has managed to convince a lot of people that he can do these things.
Maybe I should check if that statue of Liberty is still there , because I seem to remember Mr Copperfield made it vanish - was that real too?
I think you need to get out more.
Simon Cowell really cares about crappy forums like this and will be round at my door with the heavies to break my legs?
Get a grip on yourself.
Give me a break.
If you really are this person's manager he should consider new representation, because you certainly are not doing him or his act any favours on this forum.
(And if you can't win your point you resort to threats).
I and many others can see the act for what it is - an illusion / trick. Simple .
No amount of posturing on your behalf will change that.
End of.
"We must depend on the general law relating to subjects & citizens RECOGNIZED BY ALL NATIONS FOR A DEFINITION and that must lead us to the conclusion that every person born in the United States is a natural-born citizen of such States, EXCEPT....children born on our soil to temporary sojourners or representatives of foreign Governments."
B.Obama Sr - sojourner, personified, in this nation
sojourn-to stay or reside temporarily
Firstly do you really think Stevie Starr would wait until his live performance to ask Amanda whether he can borrow her almost certainly very expensive engagement ring for his trick? What if she had just said no? He must have asked her previously and if he really is an unusual medical anomaly that can swallow light bulbs, she was definitely in on the act. He would have swallowed the engagement ring previously attached to the pad lock and then taken a fake engagement ring from Amanda during the show. He would then swallow it and an identical padlock and regurgitate the real ring attached to the padlock and the key. That is the simplest and therefore most likely explanation.
I would also like to point out that during the performance they zoomed in on his 'stomach' muscles moving in odd ways. Anyone who knows anything about anatomy knows that the stomach is much higher up and no where near his moving muscles. The camera actually zoomed in on his large intestines. That was obviously all for show.
Now onto my final point. In one act Stevie Starr swallows and then regurgitates a gold fish. There is absolutely no way a fish could be submerged in stomach acid and then be regurgitated without damage. If the fish did not die, it would have severe acid burns and would be blind. The pH of stomach acid is normally between 1-2 with a concentration of 0.1M. This is very corrosive stuff and the burning feeling experienced during heart burn is from the acid attacking the lining of the oesophagus. No matter how much water Stevie Starr drank before hand, the stomach would not be diluted enough for the fish to avoid serious damage. For this to work, Stevie starr must lack stomach acid naturally, a condition called hypochlorhydria which causes gut infections and stomach cancer among other things, and some strange genetic gift of extreme control of the stomach lining muscles which are not normally controlled by a conscious part of the brain. The whole stomach explanation therefore starts sounding more and more implausible.
I disagree that he keeping the objects in his mouth. I think he must be holding the objects in his oesophagus and must have a naturally large oesophagus so as not to cut of his air supply and incredibly strong oesophageal muscles. So in a sense he is swallowing the objects, just not all the way to his stomach.
right back to stevie starr, i belive he can swallow things and bring things back up, but to unlock the padlock and put the key in then lock it back up, impossible to do!...i agree i think he swallowed the ring in the padlock before the show. then just brought it back up
Just wanted to say...Louise...we think you are awesome...
Can't believe how much people want this ACT to be real.......and all the stories by people who think it is......and 'Worked with him back in the mid 80's'.....surely that has given you a couple of decades with which to realise you'd been had.
Love the guys act but come on guys.....
if you watch such videos like when he appeared on the jay leno show (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZFIRhJrHJE)
you will see sleight of hand.
at 4:08 he takes something out of his pocket, and it looks like he takes something out of his mouth and puts it back in his pocket
at 6:12 he goes back to his pocket, this time obviously putting the completed keychain into his mouth
at 9:21 he again goes into his pocket, and clearly has just taken out a packet of sugar (for his water+sugar trick).. he swallows the sugar and water, then bites on the packet of sugar, giving dry sugar to leave his mouth
he's practised these a lot, and his sleight of hand is very sneaky, but at the end of the day he's just a magician