There are few stronger symbols of confinement than the straitjacket. And few stronger symbols of liberation than escaping from one.
Which is why doing so was one of the vital thrilling spectacles Harry Houdini employed in his act.
Houdini first conceived of escaping from a straitjacket — which restrains an individual with sleeves that enclose their palms, cross their arms over their chest, and get secured with straps or buckles behind their again — whereas touring a psychological hospital and seeing a affected person combat to get out of 1. The picture obsessed him, and he puzzled how an viewers would react to seeing the identical.
But when Houdini first launched the straitjacket escape to his repertoire in 1899, it wasn’t successful. Believing that the viewers didn’t need to see him struggling to take away the restraint, he initially carried out the escape behind a curtain. However the spectators figured an assistant was serving to Houdini whereas he was out of view. The feat was considerably extra thrilling when he demonstrated it in entrance of the gang, sweating and writhing on the stage. He added much more anticipation, rigidity, and suspense by escaping from straitjackets whereas suspended from buildings and cranes (you may watch him in motion right here).
Houdini performed up the depth of his wrestle to make the escape appear practically unattainable and heighten the dramatic impact, even spreading the rumor that he needed to dislocate his shoulder to get out. However whereas escaping from a straitjacket is not any straightforward feat, it isn’t fairly as troublesome as Houdini made it seem, and popping physique elements out of sockets is just not required. There’s no magic to it; it simply takes the creation of some literal wiggle room and plenty of bodily exertion.
