B Premanand
The Hata Yogi leaps
barefoot from a table onto broken glass.
Experiment: 136
Effect: Leaping on broken
glass.
Props: 50 to 100 kg of the
bottom of soda water bottles or beer bottles. Roll them in a big sack to grind
down the sharp edges and make the pieces smooth. A table.
Method: The more glass
there is, the safer it is to jump, because the force is absorbed by the heap of
glass which is spread out to cushion your weight. First practise with shoes,
then with socks, and finally barefooted.
While uploading the present writing of the late B Premanand, we stumbled upon an interesting and detailed exposition on the same topic at www.howstuffworks.com. We reproduce the article below. The original article is here
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While uploading the present writing of the late B Premanand, we stumbled upon an interesting and detailed exposition on the same topic at www.howstuffworks.com. We reproduce the article below. The original article is here
How can someone walk across broken glass without getting hurt?
A magician or street performer walking barefooted
across broken glass is a dramatic spectacle. If you have a close-up view, you
can see the person's feet pressing against the jagged edges. Sometimes, you can
even hear glass breaking underfoot. It's clearly dangerous, and some performers
claim that it requires the utmost concentration or even mystical intervention.
It's possible to fake a glass walk or to boost your
chances of completing it without injury. Breakaway glass, also known as sugar
or candy glass, is an easy-to-shatter substitute for real glass. When
you see an actor break a bottle over someone's head, the bottle is usually made
from candy glass. Broken edges can still be sharp, but the pieces aren't
usually strong enough to pierce the sole of the foot. However, some types of
candy glass can become sticky or powdery during the walk, ruining the illusion.
You can also protect your feet instead of using
fake glass. One option is to use an adhesive like spirit gum to hold a
flexible sole to the bottom of your foot. Another is to use over-the-counter
skin-toughening products to make your feet a little sturdier and less
sensitive.
However, none of this is really necessary for an
experienced performer. Although it's possible to be badly cut, there are
physical factors that make it possible to walk on broken glass unharmed:
- Many glass walkers use broken wine or champagne bottles. Unlike broken bottle necks or drinking glasses, these pieces have a relatively gentle curve. You're not very likely to find a piece of glass with multiple sharp edges sticking straight up.
- The bed of glass is usually thick. When you step down, the pieces shift against each other, moving the edges away from your foot. Some people use a slightly padded surface under the glass, adding a little extra give.
- Glass walkers typically take slow steps, repositioning their feet if they feel very sharp points. This gives the glass lots of time to settle and adds an extra measure of protection against punctures.
- Tiny pieces of glass that are likely to embed themselves into the skin naturally sift to the bottom of the pile.
If you've ever stepped on a single piece of
broken glass and hurt yourself, this might not sound like much protection. But
the surface involved in a glass walk is not like your kitchen floor. In a glass
walk, the weight of your body is spread out over lots of pieces, which have the
freedom to move. When you step on a single sliver of glass, your weight is
concentrated over that one sharp point. In addition, if you accidentally cut
yourself on a piece of glass, the culprit is usually the movement of your skin
along the sharp edge. Walking on glass, on the other hand, requires you to put
your feet straight down onto the edges, not to slide them around on the
surface.
Even though glass walking is possible, it's still a
dangerous activity. Don't try it at home.
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