Harry Houdini made only three major accomplishments but they were huge! He invented hundreds of magic tricks. The most famous was “Metamorphosis”, an act where he and his wife, who was locked in a trunk, switched places in three seconds. He could escape from anything from a straitjacket to a huge, locked, milk jug.

Houdini is said to be one of the most influential magicians of the 20th century. His specialty was any type of escape, including slipping out of ropes, chains, and handcuffs while locked in trunks and milk cans, or submerged under water. Houdini became world famous by barnstorming across America and around the globe.

Harry Houdini’s grand illusions and daring, spectacular escape acts made him one of the most famous magicians of all time.

Harry Houdini

The most difficult magic trick would be a card trick requiring a number of sleights. It’s difficult to perform hard sleights when folks are right on top of you and your performance. Even with lots of practice, nerves take over.

The Balducci levitation is a levitation illusion first described by Ed Balducci. It is an impromptu magic trick, which has been popularized by many magicians, such as David Roth, Paul Harris, and David Blaine.

An object floats when the weight force on the object is balanced by the upward push of the water on the object. Many objects that are hollow (and so generally contain air) float because the hollow sections increase the volume of the object (and so the upwards push) for very little increase in weight force down.

The density of an object determines whether it will float or sink in another substance. An object will float if it is less dense than the liquid it is placed in. An object will sink if it is more dense than the liquid it is placed in.

Key Concepts. Density is a measure of how heavy something is compared to its size. If an object is more dense than water it will sink when placed in water, and if it is less dense than water it will float. Density is a characteristic property of a substance and doesn’t depend on the amount of substance.

The air that is inside a ship is much less dense than water. That’s what keeps it floating! As a ship is set in water, it pushes down and displaces an amount of water equal to its weight.

If an object has a greater density than water, it sinks. If it is less dense than water, it floats. Salt dissolved in the water makes it more dense. So even if you haven’t changed your body composition, you are less dense relative to the salty water, which helps you float on the surface.