Q 01/05

Under what name was Harry Houdini born on March 24, 1874?

A) Erik Weisz

B) Harry Weiss

C) Erik Steiner

D) Ehrich Houdin

Answer · why

A) Erik Weisz

Erik Weisz became Ehrich Weiss once the family reached America, where the surname was respelled. 'Ehrie', his family nickname, is the likeliest root o...

Q 02/05

In which city was Houdini born?

A) New York

B) Vienna

C) Prague

D) Budapest

Answer · why

D) Budapest

Budapest was not the answer he gave: once famous, he told the public he had been born in Appleton, Wisconsin, where his family settled when he was fou...

Q 03/05

What was the profession of Houdini's father when the family settled in Appleton, Wisconsin?

A) Tailor

B) Locksmith

C) Schoolteacher

D) Rabbi

Answer · why

D) Rabbi

Rabbi of a small Reform congregation, he lost the post after about four years, and the family slid into poverty in Milwaukee.

Q 04/05

Billed as 'the Prince of the Air', nine-year-old Houdini made his first public appearance as what?

A) A trapeze artist

B) A balloonist

C) A stilt walker

D) A high diver

Answer · why

A) A trapeze artist

A trapeze artist, but not under any big top: the 'circus' was a neighbourhood show that the boy and his friends staged themselves.

Q 05/05

How did the teenage Houdini come to idolise the French magician Robert-Houdin?

A) He saw his stage show

B) He became his assistant

C) He read his memoirs

D) He met him in Paris

Answer · why

C) He read his memoirs

He read his memoirs: Robert-Houdin, a clockmaker turned conjurer now called the father of modern magic, had died before Houdini was born. The teenager...