On this, what would have been Harry Houdini's 137th birthday, here are some of our favorite Harry Houdini facts.
*He loved flying and wanted to be known as an aviator, but felt that most flying "firsts" had already been done. So he went to Australia and to set a flying record there.
*Sometimes right after his handcuffs were put on, he would get them off and hold them, before he was even in the water/trunk/whatever.
*He was an apprentice to a locksmith, where he first learned about locks and handcuffs.
*He could swallow a key and spit it back up into his mouth.
*To become famous in a town, he would go to the police station and ask them to lock him up however they wanted, then he would get free.
*In Germany, they could arrest charlatans, so he performed in front of 300 policemen to get approved to do his show there.
*He would stay behind the curtain if he got out very quickly to make the trick more tense.
*He stipulated in his will that all of his equipment be destroyed after his brother's death. However, it was instead sold to a collector who opened a museum. The museum burned in the 1990's.
There you go - your enlightenment for the day :)
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