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The master illusionist
has announced he has discovered--wait for it--the Fountain of Youth.
Copperfield, 49, told Reuters that the magical healing
waters of yore are actually located in the Exuma archipelago, a chain of
four small islands in the Bahamas that he just so happened to have
purchased recently for $65 million.
"I've discovered a
true phenomenon," Copperfield told the wire service. "You can take dead
leaves, they come in contact with the water, they become full of life
again...Bugs or insects that are near death, come in contact with the
water, they'll fly away. It's an amazing thing, very, very exciting."
And a very, very good marketing ploy.
Copperfield recently transformed one of the isles, Musha Cay, into a
posh, private retreat that the ultra-rich can enjoy for up to $392,000 a
week. Spiking the Mai Tais with a couple drops of the elixir of life
could easily add a zero or two to the final bill.
To
prove he's not kidding, the TV trickster says he intends to authenticate
his finding, hiring biologists and geologists to scientifically evaluate
the purported curative pool's effects. In the meantime, he's keeping the
waters off limits.
Copperfield's publicist, Stacy Wolfe
said the entertainer was currently on the island and unreachable for
comment.
The myth of the Fountain of Youth dates backs
centuries. Ponce de Leon and his conquistador crew first heard about in
from natives encountered in the Caribbean who believed that a spring
with rejuvenating properties was located in the Bahamas not far from
Copperfield's chain.
The Spaniards set out for the
fabled spot and ended up landing in St. Augustine, Florida, in 1513.
Today, St. Augustine pays tribute to the legend via the Fountain of
Youth National Archaeological Park, which, includes a museum, various
artifacts, an Indian village and a spring--not the spring--but
one that tourists can drink from in the hopes of turning back the clock
on the aging process.
And what do the locals think of
Copperfield's claim?
Dr. C. Randall Harrell, founder of
the Tampa-area Fountain of Youth Institute (www.fountainofyouth.com),
suggested the illusionist might want to stick to sleight of hand.
"I'm a big fan of David Copperfield, but obviously he's an
illusionist and we deal with reality," Harrell said by phone, adding
that his institute offers more science-based approaches to everlasting
youth, such as cosmetic surgery, a medi-spa for such non-invasive
procedures as laser skin tightening, and "rejuvenation vacation"
packages.
Then again, if Copperfield can make the
Statue of Liberty vanish, we wouldn't bet against him when it comes to
making liver spots disappear.
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Claudia Schiffer and used his superpowers to thwart would-be robbers,
but those were mere parlor tricks. Now David Copperfield is ready for
his greatest feat: immortality." border="0" />Sure he may have walked through the Great Wall of China, wooed
