Word: houdini
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Milbourne Christopher, a recognized experton Houdini, points out that the key to the Escape King's success was challenge: "His reputation was always on the line." Locksmiths, jailers and packing-box makers all came to test his powers, convinced that they had a lock or a crate that could hold him. He defeated them all, but there was always the possibility that he might fail...
...Houdini's success was based on more than defiance of the establishment; he seemd to defy fate itself. In 1916, for instance, Houdini narrowly escaped from a box buried six ft. underground. (Once free, he had to dig his way to the surface.) Another of his death-defying tricks was the Chinese Water Torture Cell: padlocked by the ankles in a glass-fronted water tank, Houdini hung upside down, but would make his escape within harrowing minutes. (He did not die doing this stunt, despite the efforts of Hollywood producers to make people think...
Such feats are the stuff of fantasy. Houdini did them daily, and men could believe in miracles; but when he died, a void appeared to be left behind. Who would now keep doing the impossible things in which Houdini had made us believe...
Lots of people. Escape artists have survived to the present day, all trying--probably in vain--to match the caliber of Houdini. One such artists is Ron Fable, a 35-year-old performer from Milwaukee, who works at fairs and public gatherings in the Midwest. Fable specializes in strait-jacket escapes, using a skin tight jacket that is particularly difficult to master. Like Houdini, he hangs from a crane or flagpole while making his escape...
...been without accidents. More than once, the Board of Death has perforated him, and various other mishaps have landed him in the hospital several times. But he insists on making his escapes more dangerous, and seems determined to continue in the profession. Bigelow bills himself as the "reincarnation of Houdini," and appears to believe...