Magic tricks are nice and all that. But David Blaine is putting his body (and his reputation) on the line by testing the limits of human performance in a very real way. His latest endeavor is to break the world record for staying awake the longest. The record: 11.5 days.

This attempt hasn’t been officially announced yet; Blaine will only confirm that he has a new stunt lined up for May. However, New York Post gossip columnist Cindy Adams spilled the beans a couple of weeks ago. Betting on Blaine to succeed in breaking the record opened at +800, but has since been bet down to +200.

This is some serious stuff Blaine is messing with. Sleep deprivation is a torture technique. Excuse me, “alternative interrogation” technique. But Blaine has already proved his endurance through such death-defying bravery as standing on a 105-foot pillar for 35 hours, and dating Madonna.

I’ll leave you with a video clip of David Blaine performing street magic for paid actors posing as civilians…wow.