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Chinese Water Torture Cell
The Chinese Water Torture Cell is a predicament escape made famous by Hungarian-American magician Harry Houdini. The illusion consists of three parts: first, the magician's feet are locked in stocks; next, he is suspended in mid-air from his ankles with a restraint brace; finally, he is lowered into a glass tank overflowing with water and the restraint is locked to the top of the cell. History The original Chinese Water Torture Cell was built in England in 1911. Houdini first performed the escape for an audience of one person as part of a one-act play he called ''Houdini Upside Down!''. This was so he could copyright the new escape (having learned with his Milk Can escape that patents failed to stop imitators). The first public performance was at the Circus Busch in Berlin, Germany, on September 21, 1912. In letters Houdini referred to the effect as "the Upside Down" or "USD". Houdini continued to perform the escape until his death in 1926. Despite two Hollywood movies depictin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Houdini Performing Water Torture Cell
Erik Weisz (March 24, 1874 – October 31, 1926), known professionally as Harry Houdini ( ), was a Hungarian-American escapologist, illusionist, and stunt performer noted for his escape acts. Houdini first attracted notice in vaudeville in the United States and then as Harry "Handcuff" Houdini on a tour of Europe, where he challenged police forces to keep him locked up. Soon he extended his repertoire to include chains, ropes slung from skyscrapers, straitjackets under water, and having to escape from and hold his breath inside a sealed milk can with water in it. In 1904, thousands watched as Houdini tried to escape from special handcuffs commissioned by London's ''Daily Mirror'', keeping them in suspense for an hour. Another stunt saw him buried alive and only just able to claw himself to the surface, emerging in a state of near-breakdown. While many suspected that these escapes were faked, Houdini presented himself as the scourge of fake spiritualists, pursuing a personal cr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Twist Ending
A plot twist is a literary technique that introduces a radical change in the direction or expected outcome of the plot in a work of fiction. When it happens near the end of a story, it is known as a twist ending or surprise ending. It may change the audience's perception of the preceding events, or introduce a new conflict that places it in a different context. A plot twist may be foreshadowed, to prepare the audience to accept it, but it usually comes with some element of surprise. There are various methods used to execute a plot twist, such as withholding information from the audience, or misleading them with ambiguous or false information. Not every plot has a twist, but some have multiple lesser ones, and some are defined by a single major twist. Since the effectiveness of a plot twist usually relies on the audience's not having expected it, revealing a plot twist to readers or viewers in advance is commonly regarded as a ''spoiler''. Even revealing the fact that a work cont ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Escapology
Escapology is the practice of escaping from restraints or other traps. Escapologists (also classified as escape artists) escape from handcuffs, straitjackets, cages, coffins, steel boxes, barrels, bags, burning buildings, fish-tanks, and other perils, often in combination. History The art of escaping from restraints and confined spaces has been a skill employed by performers for a very long time. It was not originally displayed as an overt act in itself but was instead used secretly to create illusions such as a disappearance or transmutation. In the 1860s, the Davenport Brothers, who were skilled at releasing themselves from rope ties, used the art to convey the impression they were restrained while they created spirit phenomena. Other illusionists, including John Nevil Maskelyne, worked out how the Davenports did their act and re-created the tricks to debunk the brothers' claims of psychic power. However, the re-creations did not involve overt escape, merely a replica ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
CBS News
CBS News is the news division of the American television and radio broadcaster CBS. It is headquartered in New York City. CBS News television programs include ''CBS Evening News'', ''CBS Mornings'', news magazine programs ''CBS News Sunday Morning'', ''60 Minutes'', and ''48 Hours (TV program), 48 Hours'', and Sunday morning talk show, Sunday morning political affairs program ''Face the Nation''. CBS News Radio produces hourly newscasts for hundreds of radio stations, and also oversees CBS News podcasts like ''Major Garrett, The Takeout Podcast''. CBS News also operates CBS News 24/7, a 24-hour digital news network. Up until April 2021, the president and senior executive producer of CBS News was Susan Zirinsky, who assumed the role on March 1, 2019. Zirinsky, the first female president of the network's news division, was announced as the choice to replace David Rhodes (CBS News President), David Rhodes on January 6, 2019. The announcement came amid news that Rhodes would step do ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
SportsCenter
''SportsCenter'' (SC) is an American television sports news broadcasting show broadcast by ESPN. Originally anchored by Chris Berman, George Grande, Greg Gumbel, Lee Leonard, Bob Ley, Sal Marchiano and Lou Palmer, it premiered on September 7, 1979. Cristina Alexander, Victoria Arlen, Matt Barrie, Nicole Briscoe, John Buccigross, Linda Cohn, Kevin Connors, Shae Cornette, Elle Duncan, Michael Eaves, Jay Harris, Alyssa Lang, Steve Levy, David Lloyd, Zubin Mehenti, Kevin Negandhi, Stephen Nelson, Arda Ocal, Kelsey Riggs Cuff, Amina Smith, Ryan Smith, Hannah Storm, Gary Striewski, Scott Van Pelt and Christine Williamson currently serve as anchors. The show covers various sports teams and athletes from around the world and often shows highlights of sports from the day. Originally broadcast only once per day, ''SportsCenter'' now has up to twelve airings each day, excluding overnight repeats. The show often covers the major sports in the U.S. including basketb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
ESPN
ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Communications (20%) through the joint venture ESPN Inc. The company was founded in 1979 by Bill Rasmussen, Scott Rasmussen and Ed Eagan. ESPN broadcasts primarily from studio facilities located in Bristol, Connecticut. The network also operates offices and auxiliary studios in Miami, Orlando, New York City, Las Vegas, Seattle, Charlotte, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles. James Pitaro has been chairman since March 5, 2018, following the resignation of John Skipper on December 18, 2017. , ESPN is available to approximately 70 million pay television households in the United States—down from its 2011 peak of 100 million households. It operates regional channels in Africa, Australia, Latin America, and the Netherlands. In Ca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kristen Johnson (escape Artist)
Kristen Johnson is an American escape artist who works with her husband, magician Kevin Ridgeway, under the names Living Illusions, Ridgeway & Johnson, and Breathless. She was the featured magician on the cover of the June 2009 issue of the magicians' magazine ''The Linking Ring''. Early life Johnson was born in Glens Falls, New York, and grew up in Carmel, Indiana. Her mother, Sunny Johnson, was also a performer best known for her work as a clown. Sunny was featured on the front cover of ''The Linking Ring'' magazine in March 2002 and still lives in Carmel, where she owns a clowning supply company. Johnson began learning magic when she was a teenager and used it to earn money to pay for college. Performing career Johnson and her husband Kevin Ridgeway are Christians and, under the name Living Illusions, built up a reputation as performers specializing in faith based events such as the Will Graham Celebration with evangelist Billy Graham's grandson in May 2008. In 2007, they l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
PM Magazine
''PM/Evening Magazine'' is a television series with a news and entertainment format. It was syndicated to stations throughout the United States. In most areas, ''Evening/PM Magazine'' was broadcast from the late 1970s into the late 1980s. Origins During the summer of 1976, KPIX in San Francisco, California, a CBS affiliate then owned by Westinghouse (Group W) Broadcasting, premiered a local weeknight television news and entertainment series titled ''Evening: The MTWTF Show''. The show was designed to add localism as suggested by the newly enacted "Prime Time Access Rule." At its inception, the rule was created by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to give back the half-hour preceding primetime (7:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in the Eastern and Pacific time zones; 6:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. in the Central and Mountain time zones) to local network-affiliated stations in the top fifty television markets, prohibiting them from accepting network-originated progr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive with a respective county. The city is the geographical and demographic center of both the Northeast megalopolis and the New York metropolitan area, the largest metropolitan area in the United States by both population and urban area. New York is a global center of finance and commerce, culture, technology, entertainment and media, academics, and scientific output, the arts and fashion, and, as home to the headquarters of the United Nations, international diplomacy. With an estimated population in 2024 of 8,478,072 distributed over , the city is the most densely populated major city in the United States. New York City has more than double the population of Los Angeles, the nation's second-most populous city. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tannen's Magic Shop
Tannen's Magic Shop is the oldest operating magic shop in New York City. It was founded by Louis Tannen in 1925. The shop sponsors Tannen's Magic Camp, a summer camp for young magicians, held since 1974, Tannen's Magic Shop Jubilee convention, where the ''LOUIE award'' is given and Tannen's Magic School in New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w .... References External links * Shops in New York City Magic shops 1925 establishments in New York City {{US-retail-company-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John R
John R. (born John Richbourg, August 20, 1910 – February 15, 1986) was an American radio disc jockey who attained fame in the 1950s and 1960s for playing rhythm and blues music on Nashville radio station WLAC. He was also a notable record producer and artist manager. Richbourg was arguably the most popular and charismatic of the four announcers at WLAC who showcased popular African-American music in nightly programs from the late 1940s to the early 1970s. (The other three were Gene Nobles, Herman Grizzard, and Bill "Hoss" Allen.) Later rock music disc jockeys, such as Alan Freed and Wolfman Jack, mimicked Richbourg's practice of using speech that simulated African-American street language of the mid-twentieth century. Richbourg's highly stylized approach to on-air presentation of both music and advertising earned him popularity, but it also created identity confusion. Because Richbourg and fellow disc jockey Allen used African-American speech patterns, many listeners thought t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Fonz
Arthur Herbert Fonzarelli, better known as "Fonzie" or "The Fonz", is a fictional character played by Henry Winkler in the American sitcom ''Happy Days'' (1974–1984). He was originally a secondary character, but was soon positioned as a lead character when he began surpassing the other characters in popularity. The Fonzie character was so popular that in the second season producers considered renaming the show to "Fonzie's Happy Days." Fonzie was seen by many as the epitome of coolness and a sex symbol. ''Happy Days'' producer and writer Bob Brunner created both Arthur Fonzarelli's "Fonzie" nickname, and the invented put-down, "Sit on it". The character was a stereotypical greaser who was frequently seen on his motorcycle, wore a leather jacket, and typified the essence of cool, in contrast to his circle of friends. On November 8, 1980, Hanna-Barbera Productions and Paramount Television produced the ABC Saturday morning ''The Fonz and the Happy Days Gang'' animated se ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
