Last week at our #LSCAfterDark: Freak Show party, guests had the opportunity to attend a presentation by Adam Realman, a performer at the Coney Island Circus Sideshow.

Adam performed several unbelievable tricks on stage in LSC’s JDW 3D Science Theater, from sword-swallowing to pinching his tongue on a mouse trap. Best of all? He explained the science behind all of these acts.

Guests watch as Adam performs his acts on stage

It turns out, any average person can perform these stunts with the right amount of training (though Liberty Science Center definitely does NOT condone trying them at home!).

Adam’s first act involved hammering a metal nail into the center of his face. Sounds difficult right? Well, the science behind this trick has to do with simple anatomy. Instead of sticking the screw directly up the nasal cavity, the nail goes right into the nose which causes less discomfort and risk of serious injury.

Either way, sticking a nail in your nose is no easy task and it takes a couple of months of consistent practice to get used to it.

Adam hammers a nail into his nose

Another trick involved sticking a urethral catheter into his nose and having it hang out of his mouth as he spoke. Again, Adam used a diagram of the nose anatomy to show how the nasal cavity and mouth are all connected.

The last lesson in anatomy came from sword swallowing. Much like the nasal cavity, everything is connected. When inserting something long into your oral cavity it goes past the epiglottis, through the esophagus and straight down.

The most dangerous sword Adam swallowed was 27 ½ inches long; the danger with a sword this long is that as it’s going down your esophagus it is also passing through very important areas of your body such as the heart and lungs. Nonetheless, Adam was able to successfully swallow all three of the swords he brought on stage.

Adam swallows a sword

Guests got a lesson in physics, too. Adam used two different traps to pinch different parts of his body. First, he used an animal trap to pinch four of his fingers. Then, Adam used a mouse trap to pinch his tongue.

The easiest way to do these tricks with as little pain as possible is to make sure you spread out the pressure as much as you can. Instead of using one finger he used four, and instead of pinching the tip of his tongue, he used the “meatiest” part of the tongue in the center.

Although these tricks can be done by anyone, they require immense mind and body control. Adam pointed out that the mind is a very powerful thing, and if at any point in attempting these tricks you begin to doubt yourself, then you will not be able to complete the trick.

Thanks to Adam for joining us at the “Freak Show” party. Tickets are now available for May’s LSC After Dark event, “Grecian Gala.” Get them here.