HARTSELLE, AL -- On Thursday, February 28, 2008, Sword Swallowers around the world will celebrate "International Sword Swallower's Awareness Day" by doing what they do best - Swallowing swords!
Sword Swallowers Association International (SSAI) President Dan Meyer proclaimed February 28th, 2008 as "International Sword Swallower's Day" to raise awareness of sword swallowers around the world.
Sponsored by SSAI, “International Sword Swallower’s Awareness Day” has been set for February 28th in conjunction with February as “National Swallowing Disorders Month” to highlight the contributions sword swallowers have made over the years in the fields of medicine and science, to honor veteran sword swallowers, and to preserve and promote the ancient art form that is still being carried on by a few dozen surviving practitioners of the art.
This year, mayors, governors, and other governing bodies around the world are requested to issue proclamations declaring February 28, 2008 as "International Sword Swallower's Awareness Day", with SSAI encouraging sword swallowers around the world to participate in activities and demonstrations by swallowing swords for medical facilities and the media throughout the day.
“We sword swallowers have been risking our lives to perform the ancient art of sword swallowing for over 4000 years, but many people don't believe sword swallowing is real, or they think that the art has died out," Meyer explained. "We are using this day to honor veteran sword swallowers for their contributions to the art, to raise awareness of the medical contributions that sword swallowers have made in the fields of medicine and science, and to correct myths and misconceptions about the art by performing for medical facilities and the media on this day all around the world.”
Since some sword swallowers perform charitable work for the medical community as a way of raising awareness for esophageal cancer, dysphagia, GERD, and other upper gastro-intestinal and swallowing disorders, the Sword Swallowers Association International adopted “Sword Swallower's Awareness Day” as a way of promoting the ancient art of sword swallowing by performing medical demonstrations at hospitals, medical centers, orphanages, and nursing homes for those who would have difficulty getting to theaters to see live performances.
“The sword swallowers who participate in these activities find them rewarding experiences,” explains Meyer. “On February 28th, many people will have the rare opportunity to see sword swallowing firsthand who would otherwise not have a chance to witness it."
The roots of sword swallowing date back over 4000 years, but the contributions sword swallowers have made to medical science have gone largely unrecognized over the past 140 years. In 1868, a sword swallower was enlisted by Dr. Adolf Kussmaul in Freiburg Germany to undergo the first rigid endoscopy, and in 1906 a sword swallower was used for the first esophageal electrocardiogram in Wales. Other sword swallowers have been prodded and examined by doctors and medical colleges over the years but without formal recognition.
A hundred years later in 2006, the British Medical Journal published the first international medical study "Sword Swallowing and its side effects" co-authored by Meyer and Dr. Brian Witcombe based on a year-long study of sword swallowers around the world. The article won its authors the 2007 Ig Nobel Prize in Medicine at Harvard University. The authors will appear on the 2008 UK Ig Nobel Tour in March at Oxford University, Imperial College, the BBC, and other venues in the UK in conjunction with National Science and Engineering Week, sponsored by the British Association for the Advancement of Science.
“Many of us have been sword swallowing for years, and we love what we do,” explains Meyer, a Ripley’s and multiple Guinness World Record holder. “Sword Swallowers Day is a great opportunity for us to show the medical community and the rest of the world what we do!”
Sword swallowers will be performing around the world on February 28th, with some setting individual and small group records. Immediately after International Sword Swallower's Awareness Day, sword swallowers will be asked to submit a report of their activities to the Sword Swallowers Association for review and consideration for a group record. "Usually most of us perform individually," Meyer says. "International Sword Swallower's Day gives us a chance to all work together to be part of something much bigger."
The art of sword swallowing began over 4000 years ago in India, and requires the practitioner to use mind-over-matter techniques to control the body and repress natural reflexes in order to insert solid steel blades from 15 to 25 inches down the esophagus and into the stomach. With the demise of the traveling circus sideshow over the past several decades, there are currently less than a few dozen full-time professional sword swallowers actively performing the ancient but deadly art of sword swallowing around the world today.
The Sword Swallowers Association International was founded in 2001 to preserve the ancient art of sword swallowing, and is comprised of sword swallowers from around the world, with a sister site with general information on sword swallowing for the common public at www.swordswallow.com. Contact us for additional information on “International Sword Swallowers Day” or to schedule a local sword swallower for medical demonstrations, interviews, and other events in your area for Sword Swallowers Day on February 28, 2008, or the Ig Nobel Tour of the UK March 6-15, 2008.
# # # END # # #
Media Contact:
Dan Meyer
President and Executive Director
Sword Swallowers Association Int'l
Dan@swordswallow.com
+1 (615) 969.2568 (GMT -6:00 Central Time)
www.swordswallow.org (SSAI)
www.swordswallow.com (General Info)
www.swordswallow.com/ssad.php (Sword Swallowers Day)
No comments:
Post a Comment