Hadji Ali demonstrating controlled regurgitation Crisco edit

Water spouting is a

sideshow In North America, a sideshow is an extra, secondary production associated with a circus, carnival, fair, or other such attraction. Types There are four main types of classic sideshow attractions: *The Ten-in-One offers a program of ten ...

regurgitation act in which a performance artist drinks a large amount of fluid, such as water, and regurgitates it in a controlled manner with muscle control. Typically the act includes an element of

stage magic Magic, which encompasses the subgenres of illusion, stage magic, and close up magic, among others, is a performing art in which audiences are entertained by tricks, effects, or illusions of seemingly impossible feats, using natural means. It ...

in the transformation of the fluid; for example, ingesting water and regurgitating it as a stream of red wine or milk.

History

Water spouting has been performed since the 17th century. During this time, performance artists such as

Jean Royer Jean Royer (31 October 1920 – 25 March 2011) was a French catholic and conservative politician, former Minister, and former Mayor of Tours. Biography Mayor of Tours Born in Nevers, Nièvre, Royer was at first a teacher. In 1958 he was elec ...

() and Blaise Manfre were known for their spouting technique. Floram Marchan performed a "water to wine" trick, where he would drink 30 glasses of water on stage, then spout glasses of red "wine". He had actually swallowed red dye in advance, in order to give the appearance of wine. The act was revived by

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

artist

Hadji Ali Hadji Ali (Arabic: حاج علي) ( 1887–92 – November 5, 1937) was a vaudeville performance artist, thought to be of Egyptian descent, who was famous for acts of controlled regurgitation. His best-known feats included water ...

( 1937). Ali was known to drink water and then kerosene which he would use to start a fire and then extinguish it. Other performers during this time include

Mac Norton Claude Louis Delair (1876 – 1953) was a French vaudeville performance artist and magician known as Mac Norton. He was called "The Human Aquarium" for his controlled regurgitation of live animals including fish, turtles and frogs as well as his ...

, who was billed as the "Human Aquarium" due to his swallowing and regurgitating of goldfish and frogs. The German performer Dagomarr Rochmann, known as the "Great Waldo", swallowed and regurgitated jewellery, coins, lemons, and mice. Waldo performed at

Robert Ripley LeRoy Robert Ripley (February 22, 1890 – May 27, 1949) was an American cartoonist, entrepreneur, and amateur anthropologist, who is known for creating the '' Ripley's Believe It or Not!'' newspaper panel series, television show, and radio show ...

's Odditorium in New York City. ''

David Blaine David Blaine (born April 4, 1973) is an American illusionist, endurance artist, and extreme performer. He is best known for his high-profile feats of endurance and has set and broken several world records. Early life Blaine was born and r ...

performed Ali's water and kerosene act on

Jimmy Kimmel Live! ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'' is an American late-night talk show, created and hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC. The nightly hour-long show debuted on January 26, 2003, at Hollywood Masonic Temple in Hollywood, Los ...

in November 2013. Blaine explained the process he took to emulate Ali on the show David Blaine: Real or Magic''. A British magician Kieron Johnson, also known as the "human fountain" has been performing this act on his TikTok and YouTube account. In 2018 he performed it on German talent show where he was water spouting over judges. He can also swallow and regurgitate small objects, like coins and bring them up on either heads or tails, choosed by the audience.

History

See also

References

Further reading