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Art Bell welcomes Todd Robbins, a New York City performer and creative artist who has spent decades immersed in the dark worlds of sideshows, magic, con artists, and seances. Todd shares how he became fascinated with arcane entertainment as a child in Southern California, from visiting a local magic shop to discovering the sideshow at a traveling carnival.
The conversation turns to Todd's most famous feat: eating real light bulbs. He explains the anatomy and physics behind safely chewing and swallowing glass, revealing he has consumed roughly 5,000 bulbs over his career. He then eats a Sylvania bulb live on the air, crunching through it in seconds while Art and listeners react with a mixture of horror and fascination.
Todd also discusses the Magic Castle in Hollywood, the decline of the traditional sideshow, his Investigation Discovery series True Nightmares, and a chilling coincidence involving a corporate event he performed at months before September 11, 2001. Art and Todd explore what draws people to the dark and mysterious, the nature of real magic, and whether truth and opinion are often confused.
The conversation turns to Todd's most famous feat: eating real light bulbs. He explains the anatomy and physics behind safely chewing and swallowing glass, revealing he has consumed roughly 5,000 bulbs over his career. He then eats a Sylvania bulb live on the air, crunching through it in seconds while Art and listeners react with a mixture of horror and fascination.
Todd also discusses the Magic Castle in Hollywood, the decline of the traditional sideshow, his Investigation Discovery series True Nightmares, and a chilling coincidence involving a corporate event he performed at months before September 11, 2001. Art and Todd explore what draws people to the dark and mysterious, the nature of real magic, and whether truth and opinion are often confused.
Key Moments
Sideshow, magic, con artists, seances: Art introduces Robbins as immersed in sideshows, magic, con artists, and seances.
Inside the Magic Castle: Robbins describes the Magic Castle as a private magicians' club in a Victorian house above Grauman's Chinese Theatre.
Five thousand light bulbs: Robbins estimates he has eaten around 5,000 light bulbs and insists it is not a trick.
Good eating bulbs: Before eating a bulb on air, Robbins jokes that GE stands for good eating.