During his lifetime, nobody ever managed to figure out how he had escaped. Two minutes later, a panting and dripping Houdini emerged from behind the cabinet. Time ticked away as the audience waited for Harry Houdini to drown. A cabinet was wheeled around the can to hide it from view. Holding his breath, he squeezed his entire body into the water-filled can as the lid was attached and locked from the outside with six padlocks. His blue bathing suit revealed an exceptional physique. His hair was parted down the middle and he wore a grave expression on his face.

Houdini was handcuffed with his hands in front of him. The can had already been poked, prodded and turned upside down to prove to the audience that there was no hole beneath the stage. Houdini was about to do something that looked like a really bad idea. The great master of illusion stepped inside of an over-size milk can, sloshing gallons of water on to the stage.

Louis and Harry Houdini was about to debut his first theatrical performance. It was January 27, 1908, at the Columbia Theater in St.

Houdini's book of magic