The Science of Sword-Swallowing

An Over Coffee® special-edition podcast

Kids, don't try this at home--times about ninety!

Cyrus Pynn, who goes by the stage name, "Cydeshow Cy", is a professional circus artist.

And there's a considerable amount of science in his art.

When we visited ScareLA™, Southern California's first summertime Halloween convention, in 2018, Cy was on-hand, performing for the crowd.   "Crowd-pleaser" would be an understatement, for his program of sword-swallowing and (towards the end) eating a lightbulb!  We had also seen him perform in 2017, and he was amazing.

For 2019, Cy has just wrapped up performances at the Northern California Renaissance Faire, as well as with TruVariety Entertainment, according to his Facebook page.  And for Halloween, he's off to South Dakota, to perform at Cadillac Jack's Gaming Resort's "Freak Night" on October 26th.

At ScareLA 2018. we sat down for a quick conversation about the science behind his art.

 
On this edition of Over Coffee®, you will hear:

How Cy first became interested in sideshow acts;

What the learning process is, in learning sideshow skills;

Where Cy learned his professional skills:

How he learned to swallow two different types of swords;

What the process of sword-swallowing is like;

The science behind swallowing swords safely;

Where Cy focuses his mind, in order to swallow swords;

What’s involved in eating a light bulb (kids, don’t try this at home either!);

Why Cy chose sideshow performing, as opposed to other areas of performance arts;

What anyone giving a presentation, or leading a class or session, could learn from his showmanship.

Like to see Cy perform live?   He'll be at Queen Mary's Dark Harbor in Long Beach for two days only, this Halloween season: Halloween, Thursday, October 31st and then on Friday, November 1st.
Can't make those dates?  Cy messaged that he'll also be at Escondido Renaissance Faire.  According to their website, those dates are October 26-27th and November 2-3.
AND, Cy says he's also performing at the Dickens Fair, in the Bay Area, during the Christmas season!