Sword Swallower Dan Meyer

The 4th Annual World Sword Swallower’s Day was Saturday, February 27, 2010. As President of the Sword Swallower’s Association International, I had requested sword swallowers around the world to help us celebrate by swallowing a sword at their local Ripley’s Believe It or Not museum.

The results?

We had 22 sword swallowers from around the world (18 men and 4 women) swallow a total of 84 swords at 10 Ripley’s Believe It or Not museums worldwide - a total of over 1658.5 inches of swords or 138.21 feet of steel! Believe It or NOT!

For my part on Saturday, I got to perform at the Ripley’s Believe It or Not Museum in Dallas (Grand Prairie), TX, where I swallowed the giant straight razor, the hedge clippers, and 7 swords at once! I even donated one of my favorite swords to their museum, making this the 5th Ripley’s Museum I have performed at that also has a display on me! What an honor! A special treat was to have my friend Paul Salos, the Frank Sinatra impersonator who made through to the finals in America’s Got Talent, come make an appearance, sing a few Sinatra songs, and pull a sword from my throat! Here’s a video from the
Dallas Morning News

The press we got was incredible! We made it on NPR, CBS News, CBS Morning Show, MSNBC News, and we were featured on the front page of AOL News, and on hundreds of radio stations and TV programs! Here’s a national interview I did with CBS News Correspondent Sam Litzinger

Tomorrow morning I will be swallowing a sword live on the Bob and Tom Show at 9:25am ET / 8:25am CST! If you get a chance, listen in!

Next week I’m off to the finals of a talent contest in Branson, MO and from there on to London and the Ig Nobel Tour of the UK, including Scotland, and from there, on to a major TV appearance in Rome, Italy! I’ve gotta say - I LOVE MY WORK!

Thanks for keeping in touch! Stay tuned for more over the next few weeks!

Dan

100 Feet of Steel to be Swallowed at Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Museums Worldwide

HARTSELLE, AL – Imagine sliding a steel sword down your throat! Now imagine 25 sword swallowers swallowing over 100 feet of solid steel down their throats! That’s just one of many unbelievable sword swallowing stunts in the works for the 4th Annual World Sword Swallowers Day at Ripley’s Believe It or Not! locations worldwide on February 27, 2010!

Sword Swallowers Association International (SSAI) President Dan Meyer proclaimed the 4th annual “World Sword Swallower’s Day” for the last Saturday in February, “National Swallowing Disorders Month”, with stunts occuring throughout the month culminating with World Sword Swallower’s Day on February 27. World Sword Swallower’s Day is co-sponsored by Ripley Entertainment, who with SSAI, is inviting sword swallowers around the world to put on incredible sword swallowing demonstrations at Ripley’s Believe It or Not! locations worldwide.

ENGLAND WAS AWESOME!

Had lots of fun opportunities to perform in lots of great and unique places such as Ripley’s Believe It or Not, Wellcome Trust, Cambridge, Oxford and Imperial College on the Ig Nobel Tour during National Science Week, got to meet lots of cool and interesting people, and came home with lots of great memories! Here are just a few:

Wellcome Trust Foundation - Got to do two fun shows at the world famous Wellcome Trust Collection museum on Feb 26 entitled “Inexplicable Acts” and a special panel and demonstration on the “History of Sideshow” on Feb 28.

BBC - While at Wellcome Trust, BBC did an AWESOME slideshow and audio narration.

Ripley’s Believe It or Not London Piccadilly Circus - Stopped traffic on Piccadilly Circus Square by doing a press conference and sword swallowing demonstration for the press and public on “International Sword Swallower’s Awareness Day” on Saturday, February 28 that was filmed by BBC and the Telegraph. They even filmed a video of it for inclusion in various Ripley’s museums around the world, the event will end up in a Ripley’s Believe It or Not cartoon syndicated around the world, and one of my swords is now on display there at the Ripley’s Odditorium in London! (If you’re ever there, go visit it and say “hi” for me!)

The Magic Circle - This is a very elite 100-year old secret club for magicians that very few non-magicians and non-Brits get to step foot inside the doors of! I was honored to be asked to speak to the Young Magicians group, and the audience of 10-18 year-olds were fixed so intently on the edge of their seats that you could hear a pin drop! Sadly, while I was in London, the Magic Circle’s past president, Ali Kabah passed away… (not from seeing my show).

Club Ivy - This is London’s TOP A-list spot where all the celebrities hang out, including Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, Paris Hilton, Britney Spears, Pers Morgan, and now… Dan Meyer! Was asked to perform a command performance and had fun making people’s heads spin!

Cambridge University - Was invited to lecture and perform for the Triple Helix of Cambridge. During this performance had my third “falling ovation” in the UK when an audience member passed out in the middle of the show!

Oxford University - Had a wonderful time returning to Oxford for another Ig Nobel lecture and performance and delicious meal afterwards!

Newcastle Centre for Life - Was great to be back to Newcastle again this year. Got to hang out with Cirque du Soleil as we all stayed at the same hotel. Performance that evening at the Centre for Life science museum was for a sold-out crowd, and the response was wonderful! Newcastle article

Portsmouth University - Fun show down on this port town on the southern coast. Dean Ann Ridley joined the “Lancelot Club” by pulling the sword out, and Andy Thorpe joined the “Indiana Jones Club” by reluctantly whiping the sword out of my throat.

Dean Ann Ridley of Portsmouth University reacts to the show

Hewlett Packard, Bristol - Another fun show at the Hewlett Packard headquarters.

Stonehenge - What a unique experience to be able to swallow a sword at Stonehenge! Got lots of strange looks, but it was fun!

Imperial College, London - Our final show of the tour was a sold-out show that was filmed by Reuters TV for international distribution and ended with a standing ovation! Imperial College’s Podcast | Improbable Research | New Scientist blog | Blogger’s blog | audience member’s cellphone footage

Dan performing for sold-out crowd at Imperial College London

Sword is whipped from Dan's throat at Imperial College, London

Imperial College audience member removing the sword using a whip

I was amazed at all the press interest in my shows! For more info, check out our “INNERviews” section to read the press interviews yourself and watch the videos!

Over 50 Feet of Solid Steel to be swallowed at Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Museums Worldwide

HARTSELLE, AL (SSAI) – At 2:28 pm on February 28, 2009, Sword Swallowers around the world will attempt to swallow over 600 inches of steel swords at Ripley’s Believe It or Not! museums worldwide for International Sword Swallowers Awareness Day. That’s over 50 feet of solid steel! Believe It or Not!

Sword Swallowers Association International (SSAI) President Dan Meyer proclaimed the third annual “International Sword Swallowers Awareness Day” to raise awareness of sword swallowers around the world. The day is co-sponsored by Ripley Entertainment, who together with SSAI, is inviting SSAI member sword swallowers to put on sword swallowing demonstrations at Ripley’s Believe It or Not! locations around the world.

Read more…

Ok, everybody… take a deep gulp… now swallow…

Welcome to February, National Swallowing Disorders Month!

In honor of National Swallowing Disorders Month, the Sword Swallowers Association International has proclaimed February 28th as “International Sword Swallowers Awareness Day”! Yes, if you’ve ever had an x-ray, a fluoroscope, or an endoscope, you can thank a sword swallower, and February 28th is the day to do it!

On February 29th, Sword Swallowers around the world will be doing what they do best - swallowing swords - to honor veteran sword swallowers for their contributions to this 4000 year old art, and to raise awareness of the contributions sword swallowers have made to the fields on medicine and science, ever since 1868 when Dr. Adolph Kussmaul enlisted a sword swallower in Freiburg Germany to help him develop the first rigid endoscope!

Keep your eyes open and be watching for Dan and other sword swallowers on the news around the world on February 28th!

For more info on International Sword Swallowers Day, click here