Harry Houdini!

Today I went to the Outagamie Museum in Appleton, WI. The main exhibit was on Harry Houdini, who from the ages of four through eight lived in the city. His father was the city's first rabbi until he was fired (possibly for not speaking English -- I wonder why it took them four years to figure that out).

Possibly to help Houdini hide his Jewish/Hungarian heritage, he would often claim Appleton as his hometown. He would later move to Milwaukee and then New York, and after his death would be buried about two miles from where I grew up in Queens, NY.


This was my favorite display. It had contemporary shackles and handcuffs, along with the tools used to pick the locks. It basically teaches the children of Appleton how to break into buildings. I'm sure a crime spree will ensue.


Children were encouraged to lock up their sister in an effort to make her dissappear. It didn't work though for this kid. I'm not sure how he felt about that.


The displays would go to great lengths to explain how Houdini performed his tricks, and this supposedly caused a great uproar in the magician community! Talk about a group of guys not to be messed with!


Want to get out of handcuffs? Come to this museum!


The museum also had a quilt exhibit. I have no witty comment here. There's nothing funny about quilts.


Oh yeah, I got my Perkins fix!

RELATED LINKS:
America's Treasures