Sword swallowers will be sharpening their resolve and their blades today because it's World Sword Swallowers Day.
Now in its eighth year, World Sword Swallowers Day is when blade gobblers gather at 13 Ripley's Believe It Or Not! Odditoriums to gobble blades at exactly 2:28 p.m. local time.
Dan Meyer, the president of Sword Swallowers Association International, expects at least 55 sword swallowers will be participating this year.
"Last year, we had 44 sword swallowers swallowing 89 swords," Meyer told The Huffington Post. "This year, we're blowing that out of the water. We're going to swallow 70 swords just in Orlando."
Meyer started World Sword Swallowers Day to focus attention on the activity, which has been around for more than 4,000 years, and to raise money for esophageal cancer research.
Some of the more cutting-edge sword swallowers participating today include Brett Loudermilk, who will swallow a curved sword at the Times Square Odditiorium and 7-foot-3 inch tall George "The Gentle Giant" McArthur, who will swallow an extra-long blade at Ripley's Hollywood location.
The most extreme sword swallow may be the one taking place in Atlantic City.
David Peyre-Ferry will attempt to swallow a sword while sandwiched between two beds of nails -- then have someone smash a cinder block with a sledgehammer right on top of him.
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