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Houdini was born as Erik Weisz in Budapest, Hungary in 1874, but his family moved to Wisconsin shortly thereafter. Houdini started out as an illusionist and a circus act at a very early age, but he gained notoriety for his escape acts, in which he was able to escape handcuffs, shackles, chains and straightjackets.
Perhaps the most well-known Houdini stunt was his escape from the Chinese Water Torture Cell, in which he would escape a water tank while suspended upside down and shackled, while holding his breath for 3 minutes. The exact nature of Houdini's torture cell and the way in which he escaped is still a mystery.