Never will I be able to construct anything that will be more dangerous or difficult for me to do.' I believe it it is the climax of all my studies and labors. 'Imagine yourself jammed head foremost in a Cell filled with water, your hands and feet unable to move, and your shoulders tightly lodged in this imprisonment. In 1914 it became The Chinese Water Torture Cell, although Houdini himself always called it the 'USD' or 'Upside Down'. The Water Torture Cell became a staple of Houdini's vaudeville act and later his full evening roadshow. For the occasion, special solid brass presentation pieces were made (in 2007 one of these sold in auction for $37,500). The first public performance of the Water Torture Cell occurred on Septemat the Circus Busch in Berlin, Germany. Houdini received his copyright ('Special Licence from the Lord Chamberlain') on May 2, 1912. This is my challenge, in the rough of course.

In the play a 'multimillionaire sportsman' named Tim Connor eyeballs his clubhouse aquarium and concocts the idea of locking Houdini inside it.Ĭonnor: Well, my idea is to put this Houdini fellow into that aquarium head first, understand me, head first, with his feet in the air, then put a lid or cover on, fasten his feet to this cover and lock him in. The purpose of the playlet, which was performed only once for a single audience member, was so he could copyright the new effect. On April 29, 1911, Houdini performed the escape in Southampton as part of a one-act play called Challenged or Houdini Upside Down. The earliest performance of Houdini's Water Torture Cell was actually 18 months before its official public debut. Houdini had a nearly complete second cell created in case anything happened to the effect while on tour (on one occasion the glass did break because the water was too hot - so Houdini believed). The apparatus weighed around three-quarters of a ton and the cell held 250 gallons of water. It disassembled into pieces that fit into four custom traveling cases and three crates. The front consisted of a plate of half-inch tempered glass. The frame and heavy stocks were made of Honduras mahogany and nickel-plated steel with brass fixtures. It stood 59 inches tall, 26.5 inches wide. Houdini had his cell built in England at a cost of more than $10,000.

Harry houdini water torture cell