Death of Houdini : snopes.com - - Claim: Escape artist Harry Houdini died from a ruptured appendix caused by his being punched in the stomach. LEGEND Origins: Nearly everyone familiar with world-famous magician and escape artist Harry Houdini, no matter how little they know about his life, knows one thing about his death: That a boastful Houdini died from trying to impress some college students with his toughness. As legend has it, Houdini was fond of explaining to his fans that by tightening his abdominal muscles he could withstand the hardest punches to the midsection a man could deliver, and one day a college student who was present when Houdini repeated his boast decided to test the claim by raining blows to the magician's midriff. The stomach punches caught Houdini by surprise before he had time to prepare himself, however, resulting in a trauma that ruptured his appendix and ultimately caused his death a few weeks later. Although some of the basic facts of this narrative are correct, its assumption of the cause and effect that led to Houdini's untimely demise likely is not.

The chain of events leading up to Houdini's final passing began in mid-October 1926, while he was undertaking a series of shows in the northeastern part of North America. Despite having broken his ankle while performing his famous Water-Torture Cell escape in Albany several days earlier, Houdini, ever the trouper, kept his engagement at the Princess Theater in Montreal and opened there on 18 October 1926. The following day Houdini delivered a lecture at McGill University about exposing fraudulent spiritualists and mediums, and afterwards he stayed around to chat with various faculty members and students. A student named Samuel J. Smilovitch approached Houdini with a sketch he'd made of the escape artist; Houdini was impressed with the drawing and invited the young man to come backstage after one of his shows and do a full portrait. Smilovitch took Houdini up on his offer, bringing along his friend Jack Price to meet the magician in the lobby of the Princess Theater the morning of Friday, 22 October. They followed Houdini to his dressing room, and a few minutes later another McGill student named Joselyn Gordon Whitehead knocked on the door.

What then occurred was later described by Jack Price and included in a book by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle: Houdini was facing us and lying down on a couch at the time reading some mail, his right side nearest us. This first-year student [Whitehead] engaged Houdini more or less continually whilst my friend Mr. Smilovitch continued to sketch Houdini. This student was the first to raise the question of Houdini's strength. My friend and I were not so much interested in his strength as we were in his mental acuteness, his skill, his beliefs, and his personal experiences. Houdini stated that he had extraordinary muscles in his forearms, in his shoulders and in his back, and he asked all of us present to feel them, which we did. The first-year McGill student asked Houdini whether it was true that punches in the stomach did not hurt him. Houdini remarked rather unenthusiastically that his stomach could resist much, though he did not speak of it in superlative terms. Thereupon he gave Houdini some very hammer-like blows below the belt, first securing Houdini's permission to strike him.

Houdini was reclining at the time with his right side nearest Whitehead, and the said student was more or less bending over him. These blows fell on that part of the stomach to the right of the navel, and were struck on the side nearest to us, which was in fact Houdini's right side; I do not remember exactly how many blows were struck. I am certain, however, of at least four very hard and severe body blows, because at the end of the second or third blow I verbally protested against this sudden onslaught on the part of this first-year student, using the words, "Hey there. You must be crazy, what are you doing?" or words to that effect, but Whitehead continued striking Houdini with all his strength. Houdini stopped him suddenly in the midst of a punch, with a gesture that he had had enough. At the time Whitehead was striking Houdini, the latter looked as though he was in extreme pain and winced as each blow was struck.

Houdini immediately after stated that he had had no opportunity to prepare himself against the blows, as he did not think that Whitehead would strike him as suddenly as he did and with such force, but that he would have been in a better position to prepare for the blows if he had risen from his couch for this purpose, but the injury to his foot prevented him from getting about rapidly. Despite Price's first-hand account, much dispute remains over exactly what took place in Houdini's dressing room that day. Houdini's wife Bess, a nurse named Sophie Rosenblatt, and Bess's niece Julia Sawyer were also present, and the details of their stories differ. Did Joselyn Whitehead really show up after Smilovitch and Price arrived, or had Smilovitch brought him along? Was Whitehead really a McGill student, or was he an amateur boxer (or both)? Was he already known to Houdini (as he presumably was if, as some rumors report, he had shown up to return some books he had borrowed from the magician).

Did Whitehead really "secure Houdini's permission" before delivering blows to the magician's stomach, or did he mistake Houdini's casual response to his query as permission to proceed and strike before Houdini was prepared? Did Houdini even really boast that he could withstand such punches? Whatever happened, Houdini was definitely suffering from severe stomach pains by mid-afternoon, although he carried on with that evening's show and two more performances the next day. On the train to Detroit (where Houdini was scheduled to begin a two-week run of performances the following day) he was suffering mightily from the pain in his stomach, so a worried Bess telegraphed ahead and arranged for a doctor to be standing by at their hotel when they arrived. Unfortunately, their train was late, and the Houdinis thus had no time to check into their hotel and headed straight for the theatre instead. The doctor finally caught up with Houdini at the theatre, examined him in the dressing room, found him to be running a fever of 104°F, diagnosed acute appendicitis, and proclaimed that Houdini should be taken straight to a hospital by ambulance.

Bess allegedly did not hear the doctor's diagnosis, and Houdini supposedly told the worried theater owner, prophetically, "I'll do this show if it's my last." Houdini rushed through his show and clearly was not performing well; before the third act began he finally decided that he could not carry on by himself and had his assistants finish some of his tricks for him. (Houdini did not collapse on stage, as is often reported, nor did he have to be rescued from the Water-Torture cell by an axe-wielding assistant, as portrayed in various film biographies.) Even then, Houdini would still not seek medical treatment, returning to his hotel before finally Bess "threw a tantrum" and summoned the hotel physician. The physician called a surgeon, who examined Houdini and told him that he must be hospitalized at once. Still, Houdini demurred, calling his personal physician, Dr. William Only after Houdini and the other doctors had talked to Dr. Stone did Houdini finally relent and agree to be taken to Grace Hospital, where he underwent surgery to remove his appendix that afternoon (Sunday, 24 October).

The surgeon who performed the operation found that Houdini's appendix had ruptured and the magician was suffering from peritonitis. The odds of surviving such an infection in the days before antibiotics were small, but Houdini gamely hung on for another four days before undergoing a second operation on Thursday, 28 October. He seemed to be recovering by the next day, but on Saturday his condition worsened, and the renowned magician escape artist passed away the next day at 52. Fittingly, the date was 31 October 1926: Halloween. The official cause of death was listed as diffuse peritonitis (i.e., an infection of the tissue lining the inner wall of the abdomen, typically resulting from an abdominal rupture), with ruptured appendicitis listed as a contributory factor.

When the details of Houdini's final weeks became known in the aftermath of his passing, the common assumption took hold that the blows to the right-hand side of his abdomen (the side on which the appendix is located) Houdini had received a few weeks before his death and his ruptured appendix were directly connected: It seemed a logical conclusion at the time, even to some of his doctors, and so the Houdini death legend began. But although we will likely never know precisely what caused the magician's fatal bout of appendicitis, with the advantage of several decades of hindsight we have good reason to be skeptical about that legend. First of all, given the contradictory accounts provided by the persons who were present when Houdini was punched in his dressing room by Gordon Whitehead, it's unclear what injury the magician sustained, and how badly he was hurt (if indeed he was injured at all), by those blows.

Second, reported cases in medical literature of appendicitis following blunt abdominal trauma are quite rare, and a 2010 review of such cases noted that there "has been much debate as to whether acute appendicitis following trauma is coincidental or causal." It's possible that the onset of Houdini's appendicitis was the result of his being punched in the stomach, but a direct connection between those two events is far less common or obvious than is widely believed. It's also possible (and perhaps much more likely) that there was a connection between the stomach blows Houdini experienced in his Montreal dressing room and his death from peritonitis a few weeks later, but in a different and more indirect fashion than is commonly assumed. Houdini may have already been suffering from the onset of appendicitis at the time Whitehead punched him and then attributed his subsequent abdominal discomfort to residual pain from those blows, causing him to delay seeking medical treatment for what otherwise would have been a routine case of appendicitis until after the organ had ruptured (producing a fatal case of peritonitis).

Had the dressing room incident not occurred, Houdini might have realized the pain he was experiencing was actually a symptom of a serious medical condition and not delayed so long in consulting doctors and undergoing surgery to deal with it. Sightings: The 1987 film Planes, Trains and Automobiles includes the following quote: "Hey you could have killed me by punching me in the stomach like that when I wasn't ready ... that's how Houdini died, ya know." Last updated: 2 September 2014 Sources: Harry Houdini - Biography - IMDb Harry Houdini Jump to: Overview (5) | Mini Bio (1) | Spouse (1) | Trivia (19) | Personal Quotes (17) Overview (5) 5' 7" (1.7 m) Mini Bio (1) The great American escape artist and magician Houdini (immortalized by a memorable performance by Tony Curtis in the eponymous 1953 film) was born Erich Weiss on March 24, 1874 in Budapest, Hungary, though he often gave his birthplace as Appleton, Wisconsin, where he was raised.

One of five brothers and one daughter born to rabbi Samuel Weiss and his wife Cecilia, the future Houdini was four years old when his parents emigrated to the U.S., where Weiss, as "Harry Houdini", became one of the major celebrities of the first age dominated by the mass media. His boyhood was spent in poverty and, when he was 17, he conjured up a magic act with his friend Jack Hayman, in order to escape the poverty and anonymity of manual labor which would likely have been his lot in life. Young Erich had been fascinated with magic since he was a young lad, when he was in the audience of a magic show put on by a traveling magician named Dr. Lynch. Billing themselves as the "Houdini Bros." in tribute to French magician Jean-Eugène Robert-Houdin, Erich Weiss became an entertainer, though it took him some seven years to catch on. Weiss and Hayman specialized in the Crate Escape (eventually known as Metamorphosis or The Substitution Trunk), and Houdini's brother Theodore replaced Hayman when he became uninterested in the act.

Eventually, Theodore -- billed as Hardeen -- was replaced by Wilhemina Rahner (known as Bess), the woman "Harry Houdini" would eventually marry. The marriage on June 22, 1894 caused a conflict with his Jewish family as Bess was a Roman Catholic. They married in secret, then again at a synagogue and in a Catholic church to please both of their families. While developing his act, Houdini was not above the old carny trick of posing as a spirit medium, making the rounds of the town clerk's office and nearby cemeteries in order to provide "messages from beyond". In 1896, while visiting a doctor friend in Nova Scotia, he saw his first strait jacket, which gave him the idea of developing an act in which he would escape from it. Houdini finally hit the big-time when he was 24 years old with his Challenge Act in 1898, while he was making the rounds of vaudeville. Houdini's Challenge Act consisted of him escaping from a pair of handcuffs produced by an audience member.

Eventually, this evolved into escapes from strait jackets, boxes, crates, safes, and other instruments and devices (such as his Water Torture Cell), as well as from jail cells. Houdini was also adept at escaping from being "buried alive". Hand-cuffed and strait-jacketed, he could escape while being hung upside down from a crane, or while lowered from a bridge, or even make his escape from padlocked crates lowered into a river. Houdini also became famous as a debunker of mediums and "experts" of the paranormal, but this was done in hope he could find an actual medium that could communicate with the dead so that he could communicate with his beloved mother Cecilia after she passed away. He became quite famous in the ragtime age of the first quarter of the last century, even appearing in motion pictures produced by his own company. Harry Houdini, the greatest magician ever produced by America, died in Detroit, Michigan during a national tour. The cause of death officially was peritonitis from a ruptured appendix. His death came nine days after having been punched in the stomach during the Canadian leg of the tour by J.

Gordon Whitehead, a McGill University student who was testing Houdini's famed ability to take body blows. Always the trouper, Houdini had soldiered on despite stomach pains. (Early during the tour, he had broken an ankle but did not let it stop him or the tour.) His wife Bess, to whom Houdini left his half-million dollar estate, collected a double indemnity on his life insurance policy, as the blow was considered to have shortened the great magician's life and contributed to his premature death at the age of 52. The date of his death was October 31, 1926 -- Halloween, one of three days (October 31-November 2) of Samhain, the Celtic New Year, when the veil between the living and the dead allegedly is at its thinnest and the living can make contact with the dead. Annually on Halloween from 1927 to 1937, Bess held a séance to try to contact her departed husband. She did not succeed, though she helped keep the memory of her husband alive in the American consciousness.

Even today, magicians worldwide conduct séances on Halloween in an effort to contact the late escapologist. - IMDb Mini Biography By: Jon C. Hopwood Spouse (1) ( 22 June 1894 - 31 October 1926) (his death) Trivia (19) Married to his wife three times; first in secret, and then once in each of their respective religions' churches. Based his stage name on that of the French magician Jean-Eugène Robert-Houdin, whom he would later denounce as charlatan! In addition to his career as a stage magician and an escape artist, he also had a part time career as a debunker of mediums and other so called experts of the paranormal. However, his reasons for this campaign included a hope he could find an actual medium that could communicate with the dead. His cousin was the wife of Stooge Moe Howard Pictured on a USA 37¢ commemorative postage stamp issued in his honor 3 July 2002. Became the first person to make a successful aircraft flight in Australia. At the time he said he may be forgotton as an escapologist but he would be remembered as an aviation pioneer.

[March 1910] Although born in Budapest, Hungary, he often gave his birthplace as Appleton, Wisconsin, where he was raised. Today, his boyhood home there is maintained as a museum. A common misconception is that his death was caused by a student who tried to test his famously strong stomach muscles by punching him. Although it is true that Houdini was not given sufficient time to prepare himself for the blows, landing him in a hospital, this is not what he died of. He died of diffuse peritonitis, nine days later, despite his appendix being ruptured by the unprovoked assault. Was one of five children of a penniless rabbi who died when Houdini was 18 years old. Was fanatically devoted to his mother, Cecilia. When he died, his casket was adorned with a wreath that spelled, "Mother Love," and his head lay on a pillow of Cecilia's letters. He is mentioned in the song "Ghost Town" by Cat Stevens . His will stated that a bronze bust of himself be placed on his tomb to guide his spirit back from "the other side".

Willed his collection of books on magic to the American Society for Psychical Research, on the condition that J. Malcolm Bird, an ASPR official whom he hated, resign. Bird refused, so the books went to the Library of Congress. His original stage name was Eric the Great. Co-founded (with Arthur B. Reeve , John Grey and Louis Grossman) Supreme Pictures Corp. (1919-20), a film production company. The image of Houdini dying while attempting to escape from a water tank in the popular movies has overshadowed the real cause of death: a fan testing his body-strength when he was unprepared for the blow, as he would have been doing his act, which resulted in peritonitis. Some water-tank escapologist showmen even introduce their trick as "The one that killed Houdini". He was posthumously awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7001 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on October 31, 1975.

Houdini traveled in the same same show with The Three Keatons, and after a particularly hard fall down the stairs by the (at the time) youngest Keaton, Houdini supposedly said to Joe Keaton , "That's quite a Buster your kid took", which is how Buster Keaton got his name. Has been portrayed in films by Tony Curtis and Adrien Brody --both, like Houdini, of Hungarian ancestry. Personal Quotes (17) Only one man ever betrayed my confidence, and that only in a minor matter. How the early priests came into possession of these secrets does not appear, and if there were ever any records of this kind the Church would hardly allow them to become public. My professional life has been a constant record of disillusion, and many things that seem wonderful to most men are the everyday commonplaces of my business. No performer should attempt to bite off red-hot iron unless he has a good set of teeth. I think that in a year I may retire. I cannot take my money with me when I die and I wish to enjoy it, with my family, while I live. I should prefer living in Germany to any other country, though I am an American, and am loyal to my country.

It is still an open question, however, as to what extent exposure really injures a performer. Flames from the lips may be produced by holding in the mouth a sponge saturated with the purest gasoline. But then, so far as I know, I am the only performer who ever pledged his assistants to secrecy, honor and allegiance under a notarial oath. Another method of eating burning coals employs small balls of burned cotton in a dish of burning alcohol. Fire has always been and, seemingly, will always remain, the most terrible of the elements. But it must not be thought that I say this out of personal experience: for in the many years that I have been before the public my secret methods have been steadily shielded by the strict integrity of my assistants, most of whom have been with me for years. To cause the face to appear in a mass of flame make use of the following: mix together thoroughly petroleum, lard, mutton tallow and quick lime. Distill this over a charcoal fire, and the liquid which results can be burned on the face without harm. Eating coals of fire has always been one of the sensational feats of the Fire Kings, as it is quite generally known that charcoal burns with an extremely intense heat.

The great day of the Fire-eater--or, should I say, the day of the great Fire-eater--has passed. The eating of burning brimstone is an entirely fake performance. In all feats of fire-eating it should be noted that the head is thrown well back, so that the flame may pass out of the open mouth instead of up into the roof, as it would if the head were held naturally. I make the most money, I think, in Russia and Paris, for the people of those countries are so willing to be amused, so eager to see something new and out of the ordinary. See also Articles about Houdini - tribunedigital-chicagotribune McDowell relief after another Houdini escape at Match Play Reuters | February 20, 2014 (Reuters) - Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell felt emotionally drained but extremely fortunate after pulling off a Houdini-like escape for a second successive day at the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship on Thursday.

McDowell had delivered the biggest surprise in Wednesday's opening round when he rallied from four down after seven holes, and three down after 15, to beat American Gary Woodland one up after 19 holes. Twenty-four hours later, he battled past... NEWS Book Talk: Steven Galloway on magic, memories and Houdini Reuters | June 19, 2014 By Nicholas P. Brown NEW YORK, June 19 (Reuters) - Canadian author Steven Galloway explores the fickle nature of memory in "The Confabulist," his book about the life and death of one of the world's most famous magicians, Harry Houdini. The book's main character, Martin Strauss, reflects on a life in which he believes he killed the Hungarian-American escape artist. Both Houdini, who died suddenly in 1926 of a ruptured appendix after being punched... Advertisement Australia`s `Houdini` Can`t Escape Creditors December 31, 1991 Failed tycoon Alan Bond, once called Australia's corporate Houdini, was unable Monday to escape being served with a bankruptcy notice.

After a six-day chase, agents acting for a group of banks caught Bond at Sydney's Kingsford-Smith Airport to serve him with the notice requiring payment of $190 million within 28 days. ENTERTAINMENT Johnny Depp May Materialize in Harry Houdini Movie Dave McNary and Variety | May 27, 2014 Johnny Depp is in early talks to star as Harry Houdini in Lionsgate 's "The Secret Life of Houdini: The Making of America's First Superhero." If the deal closes, Depp's producing partner Christi Dembrowski will produce through their Infinitum Nihil banner along with Frank Marshall and Bruce Cohen. The project is based on the 2007 biography by William Kalush and Larry Sloman that traces the life of Houdini from poverty to wordwide fame, providing details into the... FEATURES Authors claim Houdini spied for Scotland Yard By Spencer Rumsey, Tribune Newspapers: Newsday | January 11, 2007 Was the King of Handcuffs a master spy? Was the World's Greatest Escape Artist murdered by fanatic Spiritualists working on behalf of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle?

You might need the deductive powers of Sherlock Holmes to get to the bottom of these audacious claims. But we mere mortals must rely on the investigative prowess of William Kalush and Larry Sloman, authors of "The Secret Life of Houdini: The Making of America's First Superhero" (Atria, 608 pages, $29.95). Kalush is the... NEWS McDowell relief after another Houdini escape at Match Play Reuters | February 20, 2014 (Reuters) - Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell felt emotionally drained but extremely fortunate after pulling off a Houdini-like escape for a second successive day at the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship on Thursday. McDowell had delivered the biggest surprise in Wednesday's opening round when he rallied from four down after seven holes, and three down after 15, to beat American Gary Woodland one up after 19 holes. Twenty-four hours later, he battled past...

ENTERTAINMENT After messing with Peter Pan, House puts spin on Houdini By Chris Jones, Tribune arts reporter | August 29, 2003 This time last year, the fledgling House Theatre of Chicago was ablaze with the huge success of "The Terrible Tragedy of Peter Pan." Most theater reviewers--especially this one--were very taken with Philip Klapperich's dark but freewheeling adaptation of the complex 1904 J. M. Barrie text about Wendy and the Lost Boys. Aside from some overexuberance that I attribute to the over-exuberance of youth, this was a superb and daringly original show. Directed by Nathan... BUSINESS Executive Profile: Lou Raizin By Kathy Bergen, Chicago Tribune reporter | November 4, 2013 Broadway in Chicago President Lou Raizin, who prefers to work behind the scenes, has one academic milestone he's happy to tout: getting tossed out of high school. As technical director for a student production of "Sweet Charity," he and the show's director broke the rules by sneaking into their suburban Detroit school one night to finish the set for the next day's rehearsal.

They toiled through the night, only to be busted in the morning by the theater teacher, who found them asleep in the... BUSINESS Executive Profile: Lou Raizin By Kathy Bergen, Chicago Tribune reporter | November 4, 2013 Broadway in Chicago President Lou Raizin, who prefers to work behind the scenes, has one academic milestone he's happy to tout: getting tossed out of high school. As technical director for a student production of "Sweet Charity," he and the show's director broke the rules by sneaking into their suburban Detroit school one night to finish the set for the next day's rehearsal. They toiled through the night, only to be busted in the morning by the theater teacher, who found them asleep in the... ENTERTAINMENT Voila! It's MCA's First Friday October 5, 2013 It's going to be a sleight of hand night at the Museum of Contemporary Art's First Friday. Illusionists and magicians perform, including Dave Kovac in the "Suitcase Act," Dennis Watkins performing Houdini's "Metamorphosis" and close-up magic by Eugene Burger.

Why go : The magic-themed evening also includes film shorts by artist Christy LeMaster, artist and musician Plastic Crimewave spinning psychedelic music, and a performance by cover band, Girl Group Chicago. Reconsider : MCA's... FEATURES Melvins Houdini (Atlantic) (STAR)(STAR)(STAR... By Greg Kot | October 28, 1993 Melvins Houdini (Atlantic) (STAR)(STAR)(STAR) These godfathers of grunge flew in the face of hard-core fashion in the mid-'80s when they slowed everything to a molasses-like lurch. "Houdini" asserts that a major-label deal hasn't watered them down a bit, though their king-size slam sounds clearer and punchier. Former Melvins groupie Kurt Cobain was enlisted to produce a half-dozen tracks, and he brings out the band's musicianly side. Mark Deutrom's bass and Dale...

ENTERTAINMENT Hugh Jackman Stirs Speculation for Broadway 'Houdini' Gordon Cox and Variety | July 24, 2013 Hugh Jackman has been touting his upcoming Broadway tuner "Houdini" from "The Wolverine" red carpets, and even if definite plans are far from finalized, the possible 2014 bow mentioned by the thesp could shake up the Rialto landscape with a new heavyweight contender. The only certainty right now for "Houdini," produced by Scott Sanders ("The Color Purple") and David Rockwell, is the industry reading planned for the fall. Decisions about the title's future timeline will... ENTERTAINMENT Chicago openings for the week of Jan. 27 to Feb. 2 January 25, 2012 Friday "Legally Blonde": Oh my God, you guys! Here's an in-the-round staging of the musical about a California girl at Harvard Law, starring Chelsea Packard.

Through April 1 at the Marriott Theatre, 10 Marriott Drive, Lincolnshire; $40 to $48 at 847-634-0200 and marriotttheatre.com "The Houdini Box": Fresh from his triumph as the author behind "Hugo," Brian Selznick works with Chicago Children's Theatre on this first dramatic staging of... ENTERTAINMENT 'Houdini' is back, more entrancing than ever Chris Jones and Theater critic | July 17, 2013 There's a moment in "Death and Harry Houdini," the dazzling House Theatre of Chicago show that has returned for an encore engagement this summer, when Dennis Watkins tells those seated in the back rows of the Chopin Theatre to stand up, so they can see. At the time, Watkins, playing the famous Wisconsin-raised escapologist, is walking across broken glass in bare feet. Each time I've seen this show, which was a big hit here in 2012 and moved thereafter to Miami, audience members have... ENTERTAINMENT Voila!

It's MCA's First Friday October 5, 2013 It's going to be a sleight of hand night at the Museum of Contemporary Art's First Friday. Illusionists and magicians perform, including Dave Kovac in the "Suitcase Act," Dennis Watkins performing Houdini's "Metamorphosis" and close-up magic by Eugene Burger. Why go : The magic-themed evening also includes film shorts by artist Christy LeMaster, artist and musician Plastic Crimewave spinning psychedelic music, and a performance by cover band, Girl Group Chicago. Reconsider : MCA's... SPORTS Houdini act on as QPR make it two wins in a row Stephen Wood and Reuters | March 9, 2013 LONDON (Reuters) - Harry Redknapp punched the air in delight for the second week running after bottom club Queens Park Rangers beat Sunderland 3-1 on Saturday to gain fresh hope of securing an extraordinary Premier League escape act. Three of manager Redknapp's January acquisitions - French striker Loic Remy, Tottenham Hotspur loan signing Andros Townsend and free transfer Jermaine Jenas - scored for the home side at Loftus Road.

It is the first time since December 1995 that... NEWS Daniel Joseph Morlock February 6, 1998 Daniel Joseph Morlock, 36, of Springfield and formerly of Aurora, died Tuesday in Provena Covenant Medical Center in Urbana. Born in Aurora, Mr. Morlock founded Morlock Inc., an Aurora printing company in 1993, serving as its president. He also was the first male candy striper at Mercy hospital in Aurora and performed magic tricks for children in the hospital's pediatric unit. A member of the Society of American Magicians, Mr. Morlock had been performing magic since he was 9 years old and was known as the... ENTERTAINMENT Chernin chains helmer to 'Houdini Box': Irish filmmaker Kealan O'Rourke to write, direct adaptation Jeff Sneider and Variety | January 8, 2013 Chernin Entertainment brandished its magic wand to tap Irish filmmaker Kealan O'Rourke, who will write and direct the adaptation of Brian Selznick's young adult novel "The Houdini Box." A representative for Chernin had no comment.

Published in 1991, book centers on a young boy and aspiring magician who meets his idol Harry Houdini at a train station and begs the famed illusionist to explain his tricks, eliciting a promise from... NEWS Fictional Mob Term Enters Trial By Michael Martinez, Tribune Staff Writer | February 3, 1995 The idea of decapitating and dismembering the body of Dean Fawcett came from a piece of pulp fiction about the Mafia in New York City, according to court testimony Thursday. That sort of mutilation even had a special phrase that allegedly was used by Robert Faraci and Paul Modrowski, the two men now standing trial for Fawcett's murder in December 1992. It was called "to Houdini" someone, an expression so unusual that not even a former 16-year Chicago cop had heard of it, according to... How Did Houdini Die? marketing genius How Did Houdini Die? marketing genius how did Houdini die? is this the real story? How did Houdini die? He was a marketing genius and even his death was a brilliant promotion.

Anticipating how to carry on his name even after he was dead he arranged for the ritual of trying to contact his spirit. The Punch? Although it is generally believed that Houdini was punched by a student who didn’t allow the escape artist the proper time to prepare for the blow, it is not known for certain whether or not the blow actually ruptured his appendix. Because this does not cause appendicitis. Appendicitis is in fact a bacterial infection. Prior Condition? It is commonly felt that Harry had peritonitis prior. And the punch in his abdomen just aggravated the situation.Regardless, Harry “Erhich Weiss” Houdini went to the great beyond at 1:26 p.m.on October 31 1926. He was 52 years old. Final Resting Place Machpelah Cemetery in Queens, New York is the final resting place for Houdini. Where was he really Born? An interesting note is that Houdini had always said that he was born in Appleton Wisconsin, which is where a museum in his memory now stands. Houdini would tell others that his birth date was April 6, 1874 in Appleton.

In truth, it has recently been revealed from logs from the boat that Houdini’s family traveled to America in, that he was actually born on March 24, 1874 in Budapest, Hungary. This means that Houdini came by ship as a toddler with his family to America. Young Erhric’s father was Rabbi Mayer Samuel Weiss who had a job available to him in the U.S. Benefiting from Houdini Marketing Concepts How Did Houdini Die? by Harry Houdini to Help You Promote Yourself or Your Business A Concentrated Mini Report Still Promoting Even in Death Harry Houdini who died in 1926 is still widely known as having been the world’s greatest magician. This is a testament in large part to his extraordinary marketing skills. Now in “How Did Houdini Die & Other Brilliant Marketing Concepts” by Digital Communication Arts you will learn from Houdini’s promotional secrets how to successfully promote yourself or your business. Includes a special section updated to include internet techniques and variations. Did you know Houdini was such an amazing promoter that he anticipated promoting his name brand even in death by arranging to have his wife and others try to contact him from beyond the grave?

These highly publicized seances continue even today building curiosity about Houdini facts including “How Did Houdini Die”! Points and Plans There are some basic promotional points and plans that Houdini adhered to that contributed to his success. The good news is that you or your business can benefit from learning about these areas. Harry Houdini’s advertising premises never become dated because they can be adapted to any environment including show business, the modern world of commerce and yes, the internet. Harry Houdini, 1874-1926: The Great Escape Artist Harry Houdini, 1874-1926: The Great Escape Artist December 18, 2010 Legendary escape artist Harry Houdini is shown in chains in this photo circa 1899. Share Or download MP3 (Right-click or option-click and save link) BARBARA KLEIN: I’m Barbara Klein. STEVE EMBER: And I’m Steve Ember with the VOA Special English program PEOPLE IN AMERICA. Today we tell about Harry Houdini, the great escape artist and magician. BARBARA KLEIN: It was a hot July day in nineteen twelve.

A huge crowd gathered near New York City’s East River. They were there to watch a man whose hands and legs had been locked together. The man was put into a wooden box on a tugboat near the riverbank. The box was nailed shut. Ropes were wrapped around the box. More than ninety kilograms of lead weight were put on top. The box was then lowered into the water. STEVE EMBER: Time seemed to go by slowly. The crowd was sure the man would soon be dead. But suddenly, there were bubbles in the water. The man swam to the surface, his arms and legs free. When the box was pulled to the surface, it was still nailed shut and the ropes were still wrapped around it. Scientific American magazine later wrote it was “one of the most remarkable tricks ever performed.” The man who had just escaped death was named Harry Houdini. (MUSIC) Harry Houdini prepares to be closed in the crate and lowered into the New York Harbor. BARBARA KLEIN: Harry Houdini’s real name was Ehrich Weisz. He was born in Budapest, Hungary in eighteen seventy-four. His father was a rabbi, a Jewish religious leader.

His family moved to the United States two years later. Young Ehrich worked at many different jobs to help earn money for his poor family. But he really wanted to be in show business. STEVE EMBER: When he was nine years old, he performed a trapeze act on a swing high above the audience. He was “Ehrich, the Prince of the Air.” Then he read about a famous French magician named Jean Eugène Robert-Houdin. It changed his life. Erich took Houdin’s last name, changed the pronunciation and added and “i” at the end. He then began learning magic tricks, and called himself Harry Houdini. He took his act to many places in New York State. For a while, he worked in a traveling circus. BARBARA KLEIN: At first, Houdini performed regular magic tricks, using cards, coins, and other objects that he would make disappear. But the audience seemed to like it best when Houdini performed an escape. He soon became famous for being able to free himself from danger. Most of the time, his wrists would be held together by handcuffs. Sometimes chains would be wrapped around his body and locked.

At other times, he wore a straightjacket, like the kind used in mental hospitals to restrain patients. He once escaped from a straightjacket while hanging high in the air, upside down, from a crane. Houdini escaped from milk cans. He escaped from the strongest jails in the United States. No one ever found a pair of handcuffs that would hold him. STEVE EMBER: But Houdini’s most famous escape was called “The Chinese Water Torture.” First, his feet were locked together. Then he was lowered, upside down, into a glass box filled with water. A curtain was placed in front of the box so the audience could not see how the trick was done. Several minutes would go by. Houdini’s helpers on stage acted as if something were wrong. The audience feared that the Great Houdini was drowning. They would yell: “Pull him out. Lift him up. He is dying!” BARBARA KLEIN: But, of course, he was not dying. Finally, the curtain would drop. Houdini would be standing next to the box, free and unharmed.

Audiences around the world loved this trick so much, Houdini performed it for the rest of his career. (MUSIC) STEVE EMBER: During Houdini’s lifetime, some people thought it was possible to talk with or somehow communicate with dead people. Houdini hoped this were true. He had loved his mother very much. After she died, he tried to talk with her spirit. But after years of trying, he realized that he was wasting his time. He decided that no one could talk with the dead. Magician Harry Houdini was also well known for his card tricks. BARBARA KLEIN: But many other people thought Houdini was wrong. They held meetings, or séances, to try to communicate with the “other world.” Usually, people would sit around a table in a darkened room and hold hands. They would close their eyes. The leader of the group, called a medium, would speak out and ask a spirit to come into the room. Sometimes they asked the spirit to speak to them, or to make some kind of sound. Often, the medium would charge money in order to try to contact the spirits. STEVE EMBER: Harry Houdini knew it was all false.

He easily discovered that these mediums were using some kind of trick just to make money. He began to give speeches, telling how the mediums were fooling people. He even spoke before the United States Congress. He said: JIM TEDDER: “Please understand that I am not attacking a religion. I respect every genuine believer in spiritualism or any other religion. But this thing, wherein a medium communicates with the dead, is a fraud from start to finish. In thirty-five years, I have never seen one genuine medium.” BARBARA KLEIN: Houdini was so sure that he was right, he offered ten thousand dollars to anyone who could prove he was wrong. No one ever collected the money. (MUSIC) STEVE EMBER: Harry Houdini had a long career as a magician and an escape artist. He became the most famous magician in the world. He wrote books and acted in movies. He made a lot of money and lived well. He bought a small airplane and flew it himself. His name was always in the newspapers. It seemed the entire world knew the name of Harry Houdini. But Houdini would not live to see old age. His life ended suddenly in nineteen twenty-six.

A group of celebrities pose in front of the star for legendary illusionist Harry Houdini on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. BARBARA KLEIN: Houdini was resting in a private room after giving a speech at McGill University in Montreal, Canada. He had not felt well for several days. A young college student asked to meet the great magician. Houdini agreed. The young man asked if it were true that Houdini would not be harmed even if hit very hard in the stomach. Houdini said that was true. The student drew back his fist and hit Houdini in the stomach three times. STEVE EMBER: Houdini had not had time to stiffen his stomach muscles. He fell backward in great pain. Doctors found that Houdini’s appendix had burst. In those days, this almost always caused death. Poisons had been released in Houdini’s body. He lived for a few more days. Then died on October thirty-first -- Halloween. Thousands of people came to New York City for Houdini’s funeral. He was buried next to his parents on Long Island. Under his head lay a pillow, filled with letters his mother had written to him.

(MUSIC) BARBARA KLEIN: But the story of Harry Houdini did not end there. He had said that no one could communicate with the dead. Yet he had told his wife, Bess, to try to speak with him after he passed into the spirit world. Harry told her two words that he would say to her so that she would not be fooled by some trick. Those words were, “Rosabelle, believe.” “Rosabelle” was the name of a song that Bess had sung many years before. No one but Houdini and his wife knew these secret words. STEVE EMBER: Bess tried to talk with Harry’s spirit each year on Halloween night. The years passed. Once, Bess said that she thought that one time she had made contact with Harry. But she then said she was wrong. She had been sick. She had heard nothing. Finally, after ten years of trying, something unexpected did happen. Bess gave up. She said that was long enough to wait for any man. BARBARA KLEIN: Bess was said to have kept a lighted candle by a picture of Harry in her home.

Her last attempt at communicating with him was in nineteen thirty-six at the Knickerbocker Hotel in Hollywood, California. She took the candle with her and kept it lit while she called to Harry’s spirit. She tried again and again. When nothing happened, she finally said, almost in a whisper: FAITH LAPIDUS:“I do not think that Harry will come back to me or anyone. I think the dead don’t speak. I now regretfully turn out the light. This is the end, Harry. Goodnight!” BARBAR KLEIN: Then she blew out the candle. (MUSIC) STEVE EMBER: This program was written by Jim Tedder and produced by Dana Demange. Jim Tedder was the voice of Harry Houdini. Faith Lapidus was the voice of his wife, Bess. I’m Steve Ember. BARBARA KLEIN: And I’m Barbara Klein. Our programs are online with transcripts and MP3 files at voaspecialenglish.com. And you can find us on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube at VOA Learning English. Join us again next week for PEOPLE IN AMERICA in VOA Special English. How Did Houdini Die? How Did Houdini Die?

A popular but misleading explanation states that a McGill student, in an attempt to test Harry Houdini's widely known strength, punched the magician in his stomach, thus causing his untimely death. The real story, however, is a little more complex. On October 20th, 1926, Houdini had been visiting McGill University, giving students a presentation on his recent debunking of a Boston medium. Later on after the presentation at least two students came to visit him: Jocelyn Gordon Whitehead and Samuel J. Smilovitz, who decided to sketch Houdini. During the course of the meeting, Jocelyn Gordon Whitehead decided to challenge Houdini's strength and, without warning Houdini, delivered about three non-malicious punches to his stomach. It appears that Whitehead's punch to Houdini's stomach, while not fatal, aggravated an existing but still undetected case of appendicitis. Although in serious pain, Houdini nonetheless continued to travel without seeking medical attention. Houdini was visiting Montreal to perform at the Princess Theatre and was invited to McGill by the Dean of the faculty of psychology to talk to students about debunking spiritualism. A student named Samuel J.

Smilovitch approached Houdini with a sketch he'd made of the escape artist; Houdini was impressed and invited the young man to come backstage after one of his shows and do a full portrait. Smilovitch took Houdini up on his offer, bringing along his friend Jack Price to meet the magician in the lobby of the Princess Theater the morning of Friday, 22 October. They all followed Houdini to his dressing room, and a few minutes later another McGill student named Jocelyn Gordon Whitehead knocked on the door. What then occurred was later described by Jack Price and included in a book by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle: Houdini was facing us and lying down on a couch at the time reading some mail, his right side nearest us. This first-year student engaged Houdini more or less continually whilst my friend Mr. Smilovitch continued to sketch Houdini. This student was the first to raise the question of Houdini's strength. My friend and I were not so much interested in his strength as we were in his mental acuteness, his skill, his beliefs, and his personal experiences.

Houdini stated that he had extraordinary muscles in his forearms, in his shoulders and in his back, and he asked all of us present to feel them, which we did. The first-year McGill student asked Houdini whether it was true that punches in the stomach did not hurt him. Houdini remarked rather unenthusiastically that his stomach could resist much, though he did not speak of it in superlative terms. Thereupon he gave Houdini some very hammer-like blows below the belt, first securing Houdini's permission to strike him. Houdini was reclining at the time with his right side nearest Whitehead, and the said student was more or less bending over him. These blows fell on that part of the stomach to the right of the navel, and were struck on the side nearest to us, which was in fact Houdini's right side; I do not remember exactly how many blows were struck. I am certain, however, of at least four very hard and severe body blows, because at the end of the second or third blow I verbally protested against this sudden onslaught on the part of this first-year student, using the words, "Hey there.

You must be crazy, what are you doing?" or words to that effect, but Whitehead continued striking Houdini with all his strength. Houdini stopped him suddenly in the midst of a punch, with a gesture that he had had enough. At the time Whitehead was striking Houdini, the latter looked as though he was in extreme pain and winced as each blow was struck. Houdini immediately after stated that he had had no opportunity to prepare himself against the blows, as he did not think that Whitehead would strike him as suddenly as he did and with such force, but that he would have been in a better position to prepare for the blows if he had risen from his couch for this purpose, but the injury to his foot prevented him from getting about rapidly. As for Whitehead, information provided by McGill University's archives suggests the student was never investigated for any wrongdoing in Houdini's death. As well, a professor of psychology denied that any punching took place after Houdini delivered his lecture at McGill. It's possible, however, that the blow took place at a different time in Houdini's dressing room.

In the end, Houdini's widow was apparently the beneficiary of an insurance policy worth $25,000 that doubled if the escape artist's death was deemed accidental rather than from an aggressive action. Her New York lawyers inquired about the Montreal incident, but signed an oath saying Whitehead had no intention of hurting Houdini. Despite Price's first-hand account, much dispute remains over exactly what took place in Houdini's dressing room that day. Houdini's wife Bess, a nurse named Sophie Rosenblatt, and Bess's niece Julia Sawyer were also present, and the details of their stories differ. Did Joselyn Whitehead really show up after Smilovitch and Price arrived, or had Smilovitch brought him along? Was Whitehead really a McGill student, or was he an amateur boxer (or both)? Was he already known to Houdini (as he presumably was if, as some rumors report, he had shown up to return some books he had borrowed from the magician).

Did Whitehead really "secure Houdini's permission" before delivering blows to the magician's stomach, or did he mistake Houdini's casual response to his query as permission to proceed and strike before Houdini was prepared? Did Houdini even really boast that he could withstand such punches? Whatever happened, Houdini was definitely suffering from severe stomach pains later by mid-afternoon, although he carried on with that evening's show and struggled through another performance the next day (Saturday). On the train to Detroit (where Houdini was scheduled to appear on Sunday) Houdini was suffering mightily from the pain in his stomach, so a worried Bess telegraphed ahead and arranged for a doctor to be standing by at their hotel when they arrived. Unfortunately, their train was late; the Houdinis had no time to check into their hotel and headed straight for the theatre. The doctor finally caught up with Houdini, examined him in the dressing room, found him to be running a fever of 104, diagnosed acute appendicitis, and proclaimed that Houdini should be taken straight to a hospital by ambulance.

Bess allegedly did not hear the doctor's diagnosis, and Houdini supposedly told the worried theater owner, prophetically, "I'll do this show if it's my last." Houdini rushed through his show and was obviously not performing well, and before the third act began he finally decided that he could carry on no longer. (Houdini did not collapse on stage, as is often reported; nor did he have to be rescued from the Water-Torture cell by an axe-wielding assistant, as portrayed in various film biographies.) Even then, Houdini would still not seek medical treatment, returning to his hotel before finally Bess "threw a tantrum" and summoned the hotel physician. The physician called a surgeon, who examined Houdini and told him that he must be hospitalized at once. Still, Houdini demurred, calling his personal physician, Dr. William Stone, back in New York sometime after 3:00 A.M. Only after Houdini and the other doctors had talked to Dr. Stone did Houdini finally relent and agree to be taken to Grace Hospital, where he underwent surgery to remove his appendix that afternoon (Sunday, 24 October). His appendix was removed by a Dr.

Charles Kennedy. Houdini remained in hospital for a few more days, apparently getting better at one point and then taking a turn for the worse. In another Canadian connection to all this, Dr. Kennedy concluded that Houdini's appendix must have ruptured sometime on the train ride near St. Thomas, Ont. The odds of surviving such an infection in the days before antibiotics were small, but Houdini gamely hung on for another four days before undergoing a second operation on Thursday, 28 October. He seemed to be recovering by the next day, but on Saturday his condition worsened, and the renowned magician escape artist passed away the next day at 52. Fittingly, the date was 31 October 1926: Halloween. Jocelyn Gordon Whitehead was registered at McGill University in 1926, which places him in the correct time period as Houdini's appearance at the University. However, he does not appear as a graduate of the University. Apparently Whitehead later accepted a job as a religious minister in the U.S. and disappeared into anonymity. In the aftermath of Houdini's death, the assumption was made that the blows to his stomach and his ruptured appendix were related.

It seemed a logical conclusion at the time, even to his doctors, and so the legend began. With the advantage of several decades of hindsight, however, we now know this explanation to be impossible: no cases of acute appendicitis caused by physical trauma have since been documented. The blows to Houdini's stomach may indeed have hastened his death, but in a way different than commonly believed: he was likely already suffering from appendicitis at the time Whitehead struck him, and he may have written off his subsequent stomach pain as being caused by the punches he took rather than the appendicitis. Had the dressing room incident not occurred, Houdini might have realized the pain was an indicator that something was very wrong and not delayed so long in seeking medical treatment. As a postscript to the accepted story, in March 2007, the authors of the new Houdini book "The Secret Life of Houdini - The Making of America's First Superhero" announced at a press conference held at the American Jewish Museum in New York City their plan to exhume the body of Houdini to determine whether he had been poisoned. They theorize that sinister elements of the Spiritualist movement may have poisoned Houdini.

His symptoms might suggest such a possibility. Since there was never an autopsy, new forensic testing is a method of determining whether this may be true. Houdini's great-grand nephew George Hardeen, according to news reports, has agreed to pursue this investigation. We look forward to learning more about this story in the days ahead. (3/23/2007) Dr. Gabe Mirkin on Health, Fitness and Nutrition. | Houdini’s Appendix Subscribe to Dr. Mirkin's free FITNESS & HEALTH NEWSLETTER Houdini’s Appendix Harry Houdini was probably the most famous escape artist, magician, and stunt performer of all time. He was short at five feet, five inches, stocky and bow-legged, with a sharp chin, bright blue eyes and curly black hair. He usually appeared in a long coat and tie, and was one of the cockiest performers ever to appear on stage. He died at age 52 from a ruptured appendix, reportedly caused by being punched in the stomach. At that time, doctors thought that the appendix was a worthless appendage. Today we know how important it really is.

Early Life and Career His real name was Erik Weisz and he was born in Budapest, Austria-Hungary. He came to the United States at age four, when his father accepted a job as a Rabbi in Appleton, Wisconsin. Two years later, his father lost his job and the family moved to New York City. He was always more athletic than everyone else. At age nine he gave public performances swinging on a trapeze, and he became a champion cross country runner. At age 17, he turned his talents as a magician into a professional act and changed his name to Harry Houdini after the French magician, Jean Eugene Robert-Houdin. He did not get any recognition until he started to escape from seemingly-impossible situations. At age 20, he married a fellow stage performer Wilhelmina Beatrice "Bess" Rahner who also became his life-long stage assistant. At age 25 his handcuff escape acts became so popular that he had a very successful tour of Europe. He would ask the local police to strip him naked, tie him up and lock him in their jails. He returned from his European tour a very rich and famous man.

While tied with straitjackets, handcuffs, chains and ropes, he escaped from large crates, milk cans, and the belly of a dead whale. His most famous escape was from a locked steel and glass chamber while he was hung upside down with his head under water, unable to breathe for more than three minutes. His brilliance was that he continued all his life to invent new acts that frightened the many people who came to see him. He almost died while escaping from a six-foot deep pit. While trying to dig himself out of the sand, he had to call for help and be dragged from the pit after he passed out. In another escape, he stayed underwater in a sealed casket for one and a half hours. How Houdini Died Houdini had broken his ankle while performing. A few days later, on October 22, 1926, he was lying on his couch in his dressing room, looking at his mail, when two McGill University students came to visit him. A third student, J. Gordon Whitehead, came in and asked Houdini if he was strong enough to withstand a punch in his belly. He hit Houdini with all his might four times in the belly.

Houdini winced with each punch and stopped Whitehead from hitting him a fifth time, stating that he had no opportunity to prepare himself because he did not expect Whitehead to strike him with such hard blows. That evening, Houdini was in such great pain that he gave a poor performance, but he refused to see a doctor. Two days later, his temperature was 102 °F. His doctor told him that he had acute appendicitis and needed surgery immediately. He chose to perform his scheduled show and arrived at the Garrick Theater in Detroit, with a fever of 104 °F. He gave the worst performance of his life. He missed cues and in the middle of the third act, he told his assistant to lower the curtain. He had to be carried back to his dressing room, but he refused to see the doctor. The next morning his wife rushed him to the hospital where he had his already-ruptured appendix removed. On October 31, 1926 with his wife and brother at his side, he died. Houdini’s Killer Jocelyn Gordon Whitehead was the 31-year-old McGill University medical student who punched Houdini.

He was not invited into Houdini’s dressing room, but snuck in, allegedly to return a borrowed book to another McGill student who had been invited to visit Houdini. Whitehead was a very strange and troubled person. He was not charged with Houdini’s death. He died as a recluse and hoarder in 1954, at age 59, and was buried in an unmarked grave in Montreal, Canada. What is the Appendix? When you eat, food passes down your esophagus, into your stomach, through about 20 feet of small intestine, through five feet of large intestine, and then to the outside. The appendix is a small structure shaped like your finger, ranging from one to nine inches long (average length five inches). It is located where the small intestine enters the large intestine. Houdini refused the recommendation of his doctor to have his appendix removed. At that time, doctors had no antibiotics and a ruptured appendix could spread germs through the belly to kill a person. Today, you want to keep your appendix unless it is at high risk for bursting. Up until a few years ago, doctors thought that the appendix was a worthless organ.

They used to remove healthy appendices whenever they did any surgery in the belly. Now we understand that the appendix appears to have an important function in maintaining the colony of healthful bacteria in your intestines. Healthful Bacteria in Your Intestines Help You Absorb Food You have more than a hundred trillion bacteria in your intestines, more bacteria than you have cells in your body. They live in your intestines because every time you eat, you feed these bacteria. They eat the same foods that you do. In return, the bacteria feed you. You cannot absorb food. Before food can get into your bloodstream, it must first be separated into carbohydrates, fats and proteins. However you can not absorb these components either. Carbohydrates must be broken down into single sugars, fats into fatty acids and protein into single and chains of amino acids. If you can‘t break down food into single sugars, fatty acids and chains of amino acids, you can’t absorb them. Your intestines make many of the enzymes that break down foods, but some foods cannot be broken down in your intensities. The bacteria repay you for giving them a place to live by breaking down some of the unabsorbed foods so you can absorb and use them.

If it were not for the bacteria in your intestines, much of the food that you eat would pass right out of your body without being absorbed. Plant-Eating Mammals Have the Largest Appendices We have learned about the beneficial functions of the appendix by looking at different mammals. Mammals that eat the most plants have the largest appendices. Bacteria provide the enzymes necessary to digest plants so that they can be absorbed into the bloodstream. When an animal gets an infection in the intestines, the invading bacteria can replace the good bacteria that help them absorb foods. Having a large appendix provides a large storage area to keep the good bacteria so that they can return to the intestines after the animal’s immunity has controlled the infection. How Your Appendix Helps You and Can Save Your Life Your normal good intestinal bacteria protect you from other harmful bacteria growing in your intestines. If you suffer an infection with bad bacteria, the bad bacteria can replace your good bacteria and make you sick to cause diarrhea and fever. You can also lose the good bacteria when you take antibiotics of any sort. A leading theory to explain the value of the appendix was proposed by illiam Parker, a surgeon at Duke University.

The good bacteria remain in the appendix after you develop diarrhea or have taken an antibiotic and the bad bacteria have replaced them in your intestines. Then, the good bacteria can return to your intestines from the appendix to help you be healthy again (Journal of Theoretical Biology, 21 December 2007; 249(4):826–831). If your appendix has been removed, it will take far longer for the good bacteria to return to grow and live in your intestines. The appendix is also an endocrine organ that makes IGA antibodies that kill germs that invade your intestines. In Profile: Harry Houdini Photos and Images | Getty Images In Profile: Harry Houdini July 07, 1912 License A man lowers a wooden box which contains Hungarian-born American magician, escape...A man lowers a wooden box which contains Hungarian-born American magician, escape artist, and psychic debunker Harry Houdini into the East River as part of one of the beloved entertainers amazing feats of escapology, New York, July 7, 1912. Houdini returned to the surface within one minute of the box sinking below the water.

LessMore Unlocking the secrets of Houdini: How escape artist would hide handcuff key in a false finger, taught WWI troops how to break out and even spied for the British | Daily Mail Online Unlocking the secrets of Houdini: How escape artist would hide handcuff key in a false finger, taught WWI troops how to break out and even spied for the British New mini-series will reveal the secrets that made Harry Houdini great History Channel show called Houdini stars Adrien Brody in the title role It explores the mast magician's life, his psyche and his greatest tricks Harry Houdini is regarded as the greatest illusionist and stuntman ever He died of peritonitis a week after being punched by a student in 1926 Houdini Is Often Said To Have Died After Being Punched In The Stomach And Though This Is True Such A Blow Could Not Have Caused His Appendix To Burst Which Was The Cause Of His Death. | Just-One-Liners.com Harry Houdini born Erik Weisz (1874 – 1926) Hungarian-born American magician, stunt performer & escape artist

Question: What escape artist died after being punched in the stomach?
Answer: Harry Houdini