The name was likely chosen by Houdini to add a sense of mystery and exoticism to his act.

It's worth noting that the name of this trick is somewhat misleading, as it did not originate in China and has no connection to traditional Chinese torture methods. He had to hold his breath for several minutes while attempting to escape the constraints and free himself before drowning.

His feet were locked in stocks, and his hands were manacled in handcuffs. In this trick, Houdini was suspended upside down and lowered into a glass tank filled with water. The Chinese Water Torture Cell was a famous escape trick performed by the legendary magician and escape artist Harry Houdini during the early 20th century. During his career he as was also a stunt performer, actor and film producer. His is regarded as the greatest escape artist in history. Besides, you already know the answer – magic.Houdini Water Torture Cell by Strobridge - Art PrintĮrich Weiss, aka, Harry Houdini (1874-1926) was a Jewish Hungarian-American magician. So just how did he accomplish these seemingly miraculous feats? Well, that would ruin the mystery. The doors were closed, the curtains fell, and the cabinet was opened – and lacking an elephant. He presented the audience with a large cabinet that the elephant walked inside. While making birds and rabbits disappear was de rigueur at the time, in 1918 Houdini attempted to go much, much bigger. His mouth and throat were then inspected before he removed the string with all of the needles attached – ouch! But how did he do it? In different iterations of this act, Houdini swallowed between 50 and 100 needles, plus 20 yards of thread, aided only by a quick glug of water. Impressive enough in its own right, but Houdini upped the stakes by doing it while suspended upside down with his ankles bound.Īpparently, hanging upside down actually aided Houdini in his task, as he allegedly found it easier to move his arms over his head in this position – we’ll take his word for it. And nowhere was this truer than in his most famous escapology act, which involved escaping from a straitjacket. As you’ve probably established by now, Houdini had a knack for working his way out of a tight spot.

Harry houdini water tank escape