Sword swallowing is not just an elaborate visual trick . Trained performers really do stick at least16 inchesof blade into their bodies . Just how do they manage that ? It ’s all in the esophagus .
To master the ancient graphics of sword swallowing , practitioners drop many year get word how to maintain control over involuntary bodily reflex response , such as theirgag innate reflex . As a2006 studyof sword swallowers describes , performers train by “ repeatedly putting fingerbreadth down the pharynx , but other objects are used include spoon , paint thicket , knitwork needles , and plastic subway before the swallower commonly pass on to a bent on telegram coating hanger . ” The study goes on to take down , perhaps unsurprisingly , that “ sore throats are vernacular . ”
The sword has to pass through the upperesophageal sphincter — the muscles at the top of the gorge that you use whenburping , feeding , puking , etc . Then , the brand swallower has to turn their body so that the blade pass away around their warmheartedness . at last , the sword must move through the low esophageal anatomical sphincter , which is the entryway to the stomach . These muscle move involuntarily — they’re what keep the content of your tummy from creeping back up your throat — and when one weakens these , it can cause caustic reflux .
Through vivid grooming , sword swallowers learn to spread this sphincter on command , which is what let the sword to surpass into the tummy . One practitionertoldThe Washington Postthat she did n’t even know how she did it , using only vivid concentration to relax the muscles . finally , a sword swallower can see to holdmultiple swordsin their throat at once .
And yes , it ’s grave . With one wrong move , steel swallowers can pry holes in their throats and otherwise damage their internal organs . But when done right on , it ’s an incredible feat of bodily controller .
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A version of this report consort in 2016 ; it has been update for 2023 .
