On August 26, 1907, the famous illusionist Harry Houdini once again shocked the audience: chained in chains, he was thrown into the water, and he was able to get out in 57 seconds! These were Houdini's signature tricks: getting out of locked boxes under water and a Chinese water torture chamber, walking through brick walls, freeing himself from a straitjacket in limbo, getting out of a locked prison cell while being handcuffed, and so on. his followers have repeatedly stated secrets, but are all Houdini's secrets really revealed or is this just another hoax?
One of the most famous magicians of the early twentieth century.
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Harry Houdini's real name is Eric Weiss. He claimed to have been born in the United States, but was actually born in Hungary to a rabbi's family, and his family emigrated to the United States when he was 4 years old. From his youth, he was fond of complex mechanisms and the arrangement of locks, to which he easily picked up the master keys. At the age of 11, he dropped out of school and entered a locksmith's shop, where he honed his skills to the level of mastery.
The great illusionist Harry Houdini
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One of the first numbers in his arsenal was "Breaking Free". He became famous thanks to a successful publicity stunt: he came to the chief of police in Chicago and said that he could get out of a locked prison cell in handcuffs. The illusionist did this trick in the presence of reporters in a matter of minutes. Later, he repeated the same trick in the main prisons of Europe and the United States, as well as in Butyrka prison and the Peter and Paul Fortress, while touring Russia in 1903.
Harry Houdini
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Most of Houdini's tricks were really skillful: he knew everything there was to know about locks, keys, and handcuffs. Some handcuffs opened even without a key or wire loop - it was enough to knock them on a hard surface. During a preliminary visit to the prison, Houdini's wife distracted the attention of the police, while the magician, meanwhile, studied the locks on the cell doors in order to then pick up a miniature master key for them. He either hid it in his mouth, or received it from his wife during a farewell handshake or a kiss "for good luck" before a dangerous stunt.
The great illusionist Harry Houdini
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Houdini handled his muscles skillfully: when chained or in a straitjacket, he tensed his muscles and then relaxed them, resulting in gaps, and freeing his hands became a matter of technique. Sometimes he had to dislocate the bones in the joints. He got out of the milk can because the locks, which could not be opened from the outside, were easily pushed out from the inside along with the lid. Just like one of the sides of the box, in which the illusionist was lowered under the water: the 2 lower boards were not nailed, and they could be pushed back.
One of the most famous magicians of the early twentieth century.
Photo: flytothesky.ru
Harry Houdini performs one of the most famous tricks - freeing from a can of milk
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However, sometimes Houdini not only demonstrated skill, but also resorted to various tricks. So, for example, during the trick with the disappearance of the elephant in the circus, an optical illusion was used: the elephant was covered with a white veil - and it disappeared. In fact, there was another blanket under the white - of black velvet, identical to the back curtains on the stage. Against a black background, the box with a black blanket was invisible. The appearance of an assistant from a huge radio box is also a simple trick: the radio was on a table with a double table top, inside which the girl was hiding. When Houdini tuned the radio to the "desired wave", the "dream girl" appeared out of the box.
The great illusionist Harry Houdini with his assistant
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Harry Houdini walks through the wall
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Walking through the brick wall was also just a trick: on the stage, right on the carpet, workers erected a 3-meter wall in front of the audience. Houdini invited from the audience those who wanted to be convinced of its strength. The wall stood perpendicular to the audience, the illusionist entered from one side, then the curtain was lowered for a minute, and when it was raised, the magician was already on the other side of the wall. The answer was that under the carpet there was a narrow hole under the wall.
Harry Houdini
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The great magician never revealed his secrets. Once he promised to do this in his will, with the condition that it be opened and made public on the day of his centenary. In 1974, the excitement rose: everyone was waiting for the promised confessions, but it turned out that Houdini again twisted the public around his finger: there were no revelations there. The journalists called it "the last trick of the brilliant mystifier." And the illusionist explained his main secret as follows: “In all cases, the main thing for me is to overcome fear, … the main thing is to maintain absolute calmness and self-control. In this case, one has to act almost at lightning speed and with the greatest precision. If you give in to panic even for a second, death will become inevitable."
One of the most famous magicians of the early twentieth century.
Photo: smartnews.ru
Harry Houdini, despite the "miracles" that he demonstrated, did not believe in spiritualism and exposed the tricks of mediums, which is why he quarreled with his friend Arthur Conan Doyle