CONJURING TRICK

Wairarapa Times-Age, 23 August 1938, Page 6

CONJURING TRICK

RAZOR BLADE SWALLOWED. DEATH OF A DENTIST. A conjuring trick led to the death of a Brisbane dentist, Vivian Hensley, aged 43, who died four days after he had swallowed a razor blade while showing his son how a “sword swallowing” act was done. In this trick, Hensley, who . was a clever amateur entertainer, would “Jalm” a razor blade, pretend to throw it into his open mouth, and slip the blade into his coat sleeve, at the same time chewing and swallowing vigorously. He would complete the trick by passing his hand below his mouth and producing the blade quickly from his sleeve. On the tragic occasion the blade slipped from his palm and flew into the back of his throat, causing him to swallow involuntarily. Mrs Hensley immediately took her husband to a doctor, who fed him with cotton wool and sent him to hospital. Hensley told doctors that he did not feel any pain when he swallowed the blade. An X-ray examination was made and an operation performed. The blade, however, had shifted in the two hours between the X-ray examination and the operation, and could not be located. A second Xray examination was made, and the blade discovered near the spot where it had been when the first examination was made. Three days later Hensley was operated on for complications, but his condition was such that no further attempt could be made to recover the blade, and he died the next day.

An amazing “swallower,” curiously, came to light a few days after Hensley’s death occurred. He is Denis Frederick Harman, aged 24, a prisoner in the Fremantle (Western Australia) gaol. Last year, when awaiting trial, he swallowed a number of needles. Soon after his sentence he swallowed a razor blade broken' in small pieces, and wrapped in bread. Recently, following symptoms of illness, he was

found to have swallowed three pieces of wire, each about six inches long. Doctors removed the wire, but did not consider it wise to attempt to extract certain other metal objects disclosed by an X-ray • photograph.