Wikipedia:Today's featured article/October 24, 2012



Hadji Ali (c. 1888–92 – 1937) was a vaudeville performance artist famous for acts of controlled regurgitation. Thought to be of Egyptian extraction, his best-known feats included water spouting, smoke swallowing and nut and handkerchief swallowing followed by disgorgement in an order chosen by the audience. The mainstay of Ali's act was "water spouting". After swallowing large amounts of water, 60 to 100 glasses at a time, he spouted it in a continuous stream for a sustained period of time, sometimes approaching one minute. Ali's most famous stunt, and the highlight of his act, was drinking copious amounts of water followed by kerosene, and then acting by turns as a human flamethrower and fire extinguisher as he expelled the two liquids onto a theatrical prop. Ali had a dedicated following on the vaudeville circuit in the United States and performed for heads of state including Tsar Nicholas II of Russia. Ali's unusual gastric abilities led to rumors that the Rockefeller Institute had offered a large sum of money to obtain his stomach post-mortem. After he died in England his body was offered to Johns Hopkins for study, though the offer was declined. (more...)

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