Sword Swallowing to Oblivion By Andrew G. Bostom

This past December, 2006, a British radiologist, and the executive director of the Sword Swallowers Association International published a fascinating survey which evaluated, "information on the practices and associated ill-effects of sword swallowing." The respondent sword swallowers typically required extended daily practice for months or years to appropriately desensitize their gag reflex,

...sometimes by repeatedly putting fingers down the throat, but other objects are used including spoons, paint brushes, knitting needles, and plastic tubes before the swallower commonly progresses to a bent wire coat hanger. The performer must then learn to align a sword with the upper esophageal sphincter with the neck hyper-extended.

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