At Last! The Secrets To Houdini’s Top 10 Magic Tricks Are Finally Revealed!
There’s no name more synonymous with “magician” than Harry Houdini. Even today, Houdini remains one of the most captivating illusionists to ever capture the imaginations of the public. But how did he pull off so many death-defying feats? Today, the magician’s secrets will be revealed!
Chinese Water Torture Cell
The trick: Houdini’s most well-known and daring act was this one, in which he was shackled and fully submerged in a glass water case, with only 2 minutes to escape.
The secret: Houdini worked really hard and believed in himself. That’s the key to 95% of magic tricks.
The Vanishing Elephant
The trick: Most magicians can make rabbits disappear, but Houdini wasn’t going to stop there. On January 7, 1918, Houdini made Jennie, an elephant, vanish into thin air!
The secret: Well, he didn’t do it alone! Most people discount the work that the assistants do, so when the box containing Jennie was closed, two of Houdini’s most trusted assistants ate the live elephant, bones and all, before the box was re-opened. Amazing!
East Indian Needle Trick
The trick: In one of his more disgusting feats, Houdini would routinely swallow between 50 and 100 needles as well as 20 yards of thread. After showing the audience his empty mouth, he would pull out all of the needles, perfectly threaded together.
The secret: Houdini suffered from both pica as well as from bulimia. As for how the needles were threaded together? That still remains a mystery.
Escape From Murderer’s Row
The trick: In 1906, Houdini attempted to escape Murderer’s Row in Washington, D.C. Guards locked his clothes up in a different cell before handcuffing him and throwing him in a cell. From there, Houdini escaped, grabbed his clothes, and switched all the other prisoners around in their own cells, and locked the doors again.
The secret: Houdini was white, so everyone thought he was a guard and let him freely walk around and do whatever he wanted.
The Overboard Box Escape
The trick: Though Houdini performed many box escapes, this one was particularly noticeable because someone remembered to take a picture of it. Houdini had manacles placed on his hands and feet before climbing to a box that was then nailed shut. Then, it was bound with ropes and weighed down with 200 pounds of lead before being thrown into the East River in New York. Houdini escaped this in an alarmingly quick 57 seconds.
The secret: They forgot to add a bottom to the box, so Houdini fell out right away and spent most of his time trying to get the manacles off.
Debunking Mina Crandon
The trick: In 1924, Scientific American offered a $2500 cash prize to any individual who could demonstrate real psychic abilities. Mina Crandon managed to pass every psychic test they could throw at her and nearly walked away with the prize that would’ve helped her pay for her son’s education, but Houdini stepped in and proved that she was a fraud, effectively damning her son to a bleak future.
The secret: Houdini was kind of a dick.
The Stomach Punch
The trick: Houdini liked to let kids punch him in the stomach as hard as they could and then saying, “Didn’t hurt.”
The secret: Houdini flexed his tummy muscles real hard. On the rare occasions that it did hurt, he would still say, “Didn’t hurt.”
The Milk Can Escape
The trick: Houdini would lock himself in a milk can filled with water, asking that the audience held their breath as he tried to escape. To the relief of the audience, he would make it out within two minutes.
The secret: No big secret here. Houdini would just wait until he was really thirsty to do this trick, and then drank all the water in the can.
Buried Alive!
The trick: Houdini performed this once, where he was shackled inside of a coffin and buried six feet in the ground. The weight of the dirt scared and exhausted him so much that when he broke free of the coffin and made it to the surface, he collapsed from exhaustion.
The secret: Houdini did a lot of pushups and was strong enough to push up through the earth.
Buried Dead!
The trick: Houdini would be buried in the ground and not try to rise up again.
The secret: He died. =(
