Gin Minsky, who is a New York City-based sword swallower, has grabbed internet attention with a breathtaking video that shows the inside of her throat while performing her act, the New York Post reported. Minsky is a professional sword swallower who shared an endoscopic view of her throat when she appeared to have swallowed an 18-inch blade down her throat.
Watch the video here:
The Instagram video, filmed at Columbia University Medical Center in Midtown East, shows the sword moving over her larynx and into her oesophagus.
The medical centre has shared the video as part of an educational series where doctors and other experts analyse the throats of musicians like a trumpet player and a flautist.
Minsky, who has been practising the art form for a very long time, hopes that the video will reveal the truth. "I was just performing this weekend, and I could see a woman in the audience that was going to her husband [about the sword], 'It collapses!'" she told The Post.
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The video of sword swallowing, which is often seen at speciality events or circus-like performances, sparked curiosity among social media users.
"This allows us to see and record the entire throat and larynx [voice box], areas we cannot see when looking through the mouth," Dr Michael Pitman, who is the chief of the division of laryngology at Columbia, said as quoted in the report. Pitman performed the procedure on Minsky, which is called a laryngoscopy.
"We can see these structures in high detail and also watch them in action as people speak, sing and swallow."
Holly Reckers, who is the speech-language pathologist at Columbia, said, "I watch the function of people's voices and swallows all the time, so when you think about sword swallowing, it makes sense what's happening, but to actually see it happen is mind-blowing."
Reckers, the one who filmed the clip, said she was amazed by Minsky's art form.
According to the report, Minsky said that she has never been injured while performing the stunt. However, she noted that she has had some uncomfortable moments, especially if she has eaten something spicy right before performing.
"Just because my sword goes into my stomach, it pulls up some of that stomach acid. So I will pull up some of my food sometimes. So anything spicy you can feel that burn just in your esophagus. It's not nice."
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