Q 01/05

Harry Houdini took his stage name from which French magician?

A) Jean-Eugene Robert-Houdin

B) Georges Melies

C) Buatier de Kolta

D) Alexander Herrmann

Answer · why

A) Jean-Eugene Robert-Houdin

He later turned on his idol, publishing The Unmasking of Robert-Houdin in 1908.

Q 02/05

In which city was Houdini born?

A) Vienna

B) Budapest

C) Prague

D) New York

Answer · why

B) Budapest

He was born Erik Weisz in 1874; the family emigrated to Appleton, Wisconsin, in 1878.

Q 03/05

What escape did Houdini introduce at the Circus Busch in Berlin in 1912?

A) The Milk Can Escape

B) The Vanishing Elephant

C) The Chinese Water Torture Cell

D) The Buried Alive stunt

Answer · why

C) The Chinese Water Torture Cell

He was suspended upside-down in a locked, water-filled cabinet, holding his breath for more than three minutes.

Q 04/05

Which London newspaper challenged Houdini in 1904 with handcuffs said to have taken five years to make?

A) The Times

B) The Daily Mail

C) The Evening Standard

D) The Daily Mirror

Answer · why

D) The Daily Mirror

He emerged free after an hour and ten minutes and broke down in tears; many now think the stunt was arranged.

Q 05/05

Houdini was the first person to do what in Australia, in 1910?

A) Escape from a prison

B) Fly a powered aircraft

C) Perform on radio

D) Drive a car across the outback

Answer · why

B) Fly a powered aircraft

He flew a French Voisin biplane at Diggers Rest, Victoria, and never flew again after the tour.