@@mbryson2899 - My mistake. I apologize. There are so many writers and their books out that I had never heard of Mr. Powers. A short explanation would have cleared it up. Does he write historical fiction? I do occasionally run into people online who don't seem to have read, listened to, or watched anything produced before they were born. In a world where a 21st-Century reader can write a patronizing review of _The Haunting of Hill House,_ and a UA-cam commenter call Eartha Kitt an 'imitator' of Lady Gaga, I mistook you for one of those.
@@julietfischer5056, no harm. He relies heavily upon history and facts in his fiction. Facts about Houdini and his life figure in at least two, "Expiration Date" and "Earthquake Weather."
He inspired guys like James Randi and Banachek to continue his legacy. If you want a good story look a pre-nuttery Joe Rogan with Banachek on his show, talking about how he helped James Randi bust Peter Popoff and how he demonstrates the charlatan nature of mediums.
@@ewoodley82 Dude THANK YOU for these items to check truly insightful especially as I am Bulgarian and have never heard of that piece of shit Popoff. Btw I am not sure how nuttery is Joe Rogan...just over time we got to know him better, maybe you've put him in some idealistic frame... he is just a human :)
@@dateebavguza these days, unfortunately most people who throw personal insults at, or claim Joe Rogan has changed, are just dead set against his personal politics. He opposes the identitarian far left, who in return use their protected status (via media favor) to safely portray him as a far right idiot, which isn't true at all. I suspect you had an inkling of that anyway; I've heard Bulgaria still has it's head screwed on properly with regards to resisting the creep of far left ideology. Not surprising considering you guys only escaped the soviet grasp 32 years ago!
@@cjlake5754 yeeep I was indeed meaning the same thing u elaborated regarding Joe Rogan! My country has a “baggage” from its Socialistic past. Still all the governments we’ve had so far are rather right oriented for business as the left is having a bit of that “stigma” from the Socialistic “paradise” we were sold on in the past. Corruption + socialism is a nightmare that ppl don’t talk about enough when they evaluate left vs right. There are no ultimate truths! Marry Christmas dude!
@@dateebavguza Unfortunately many idealistic young folks in America don't really seem to have learned the lesson of how badly the socialist/communist experiments of the 20th Century went wrong, so they cheer on the far-left creep, celebrating even as they lose their freedoms. We definitely don't want to go too far right but I don't think bring cautious of the left is a bad thing either! Merry Christmas to you too bud 😊
Harry Houdini is buried in the same cemetery as both sets of my grandparents so we’ve visited him before (in his escape-proof grave!) For a foreigner to command that level of celebrity in that time is nothing short of miraculous, and I had no idea about his legal case- total legend!
Technically a foreigner but he was raised in the states in Wisconsin. I think he moved here when he was 6 or so, I'd say he's an American since he chose to live here after his fame but tomato tomato right
He started debunking mysticism after he was nearly sucked into believing it, and he realized that people in grieving were being scammed by grifters. He saw that he could use his experience and fame to be something more than an entertainer. Moral of the story: Dont try to scam one of the worlds greatest magicians with cheap seance tricks.
It’s said a “Spiritualist” called Margery cursed him, “Houdini later died fr a ruptured appendix caused by punch to the abdomen …Or appendicitis”, and following this his then widowed wife Bess performed séances in an attempt to contact him for 10 years before moving on.
One of my Heros, Harry Houdini. This part of his life is what put him up there on that pedestal. They don't have people like him anymore & I never miss an opportunity to tell any stories I have about him to others, especially ones like this. I want to continue his memory properly and not let him fall by the wayside as just a magician. I would boldly say, he wasn't a magician. An escape artist and showman, yes. He did cards and close up magic at the beginning but once he found his niche with the locks it was on from there! The Great Harry Houdini was born in chains and in his death he left all of us in our own personal pair that we couldn't escape. All these years later we are still fascinated by this man
Your best one yet. I grew up with a stage magician uncle who loved Houdini and a legendary fraudulent medium who was long dead but her influence was still in the family. Luckly my uncle kept me right.
The 1960s produced a huge resurgence in the interest in all things psychic . Another magician , James Randi , fought a similar battle against that tide .
And in between was a magician named Walter Gibson. He was a friend of Hudini's and joined him on some of his visits to spiritualists and then took it up more seriously after Hudini's death. Gibson was the inspiration for the hero of a (bad) movie called "Miracles for Sale" (1939) in which the magician turned debunker investigates a murder at one of the seances.
“How simple cold-reading tricks could be used to work out even one’s most personal details or intimate secrets…” I was expecting a tangent about a road trip in Morocco or something right about then.
Didn't several spiritualists "predict" Houdini's death within the year, several years before he actually died? If they keep repeating someone will die, eventually they'll be right:]
@@mfaizsyahmi Even that can be untrue, my 1903 clock, awaiting restoration, has both hads pointing at the 6, which can never be correct! Still, your aphorism holds true in that someone will eventually get such a guess correct.
Spiritualist: "Spiritualism is a real thing and we can talk to ghosts" Houdini: "Can I come watch you work to see you prove it" Spiritualist: "Ummmm... no, that's ok. Just take my word for it"
@@julietfischer5056 On occasion, yes, but considering how many people make such claims and that only a small number of them actually made an effort to claim the prize, I think the “nahh” was a significant portion of the response 😝
My major disagreement with Randi's stuff is the way he listed things out with his challenge...basically, the thing of anyone who might actually have the ability to win it would have a lot of reasons not to do so because of the conditions there which limited what they could do with it afterwards if they had abilities in the first place. Other than that and a few things about his personality which rubbed me the wrong way in his interviews.
Had men not be easily swayed and not bee white knighting simps, Houdini would have lived longer. Spiritualism, especially if run by a woman, is utter manipulative bullsh-t and can be dangerous if people in power seek them out.
@@NightMotorcyclist How is a male spiritualist less manipulative & possibly dangerous? Ps Houdini would have lived longer if he hadn’t been repeatedly punched in the gut basically without warning by some idiot. Also if he visited a doctor sooner, and waiting to see a doctor till it’s too late is common in both men and women.
After hearing this... I wouldn't be surprised if the claims that he was "murdered" were true. Someone could have paid the student to catch him off guard with a gut punch. Sounds like he pissed off a lot of people. I love the fact that he was a bad ass, and was willing to take on anyone who argued to the contrary.
That incident certainly made me SERIOUSLY wonder if the disgruntled gang of mediums and spiritualist leaders had paid the student in question!! Simon didn't mention whether it was ever investigated as foul play rather than manslaughter...?
I’ve always found it fascinating that Arthur Conan Doyle was such a staunch believer in the supernatural. Do you have a man who created perhaps the greatest detective in history, a man who was the ultimate master of deductive reasoning, and yet his creator was a complete and total believer in the supernatural and even believed harry Houdini achieved his magic tricks through otherworldly means
Belief in the supernatural is is far different than the belief in “psychic mediums”. So whats fascinating is his belief in mediums which are so obvious a proven fraud, whereas belief in the supernatural is not- hence why Houdini himself was an open believer in the possibility of the supernatural while being the number one crusader fighting to expose mediums
@@LiveFreeOrDie2AI think people need to understand it’s more of what you said then them just believing everything or nothing. I myself have done a bunch of ghost haunts that I knew were frauds afterwards and been in haunted houses that are not. That doesn’t mean I rule out the possibility of such things being true which I believe was the case for Arthur Conan Doyle. He obviously understood the frauds but still believed in the spiritual realm.
I wish you had included the tidbit about how houdini had left his wife with a "password" of sorts so that she would know if it was him speaking through a medium. I believe it was something along the lines of the inscription inside her wedding ring. The reason that she gave up on the search was because the information got leaked, so now she had no way of knowing if it was the real deal or not.
These days, illusionists like the late James Randi and Penn & Teller continue Houdini's legacy. The fact that it's even necessary is worrying, but it's heartening to see that dry truth can be just as charismatically captivating as sweet lies. Also, Big Think of the day: Communing with the afterlife and the dead would mean the afterlife isn't the afterlife, just 'life' - and communing with the dead would mean the dead would be alive, certainly legally.
I have friends who have just passed visit me then see their obituary later. the first was my grandfather when I was in social studies class in the fifth grade, to the teacher asking me what was up, I told him my grandfather just passed, to arrive home that afternoon to my mom crying I said to her pappy passed huh, which freaked her out when I told her what happened in school
on the continent of Africa the daily papers contain a lot of adverts promising cures from curses , black magic , and readings from the afterlife , it is big business . I have even more respect and interest in harry houdini after listening to simon , thanks
The scientific American challenge was instrumental in the future debut of the million dollar challenge from the James Randi educational foundation. No one ever came close to claiming that one either
While it's often asserted that the punches to the stomach ruptured Houdini's appendix, this would be (if true) the only instance in medical history that a blow caused someone's appendix to rupture. More likely, he already had appendicitis and the punches were simply very very poorly timed, as the pain of the punches prevented Houdini from realizing that he had a serious medical issue.
Not sure where Houdini's mom is from but i find it neat hie My Grandma is also named Cecilia she was born in Budapest Hungary my youngest Sister is named Celia after herb
Plot twist: that medium contacted Houdini after his death just to tell him, "I told you so", so after that he has refused to talk from the far beyond not to give mediums credit.
PT Barnum as Petey? Rapping as wrapping? Seance comes out as sales, sails, sciences and saiyance? Doyle as Dole and Doll? Houdini as Zoudini? Clairvoyant as Clair Boynt? We need more subscribers so Mr. Whistler can afford a more advanced captioning program. Otherwise, the content is terrific!
Was Houdini also an atheist, or did he see that kind of magic as "different." Just as much harm may have been done by faith healers and prophets as by someone faking a seance....
He was Jewish. His father was a Rabbi in Appleton, WI. I'm Jewish & used to live there where I learned about him as a kid. He wasn't very religious like his father, but he was a Jew. He hated the lies & tricks used to defraud people & dupe gullible people who lost someone.
According to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's writings, human bones were found in the cellar. Also, on her death bed, one of the sisters recanted her statements of their actions being hoaxes (which they apparently signed because they were broke and I believe they received money for those "confessions") . I've also read that the nurse or maid who attended her during her final days, also heard wrappings in the bedroom. I'm intrigued.
When I got into spiritualism, it was Houdini that I initially studied bc I felt like Doyle. You have to know the lies to know the truth. And as I learned more and watched people to this day (well, that time) to use the same old tricks, I was like WOW! I still think that maybe one day we will be able to communicate with some sort of entities that exist in a realm near to ours. There are all types of science and technology today that wldv been deemed “real magic” only a 50yrs ago so.... who knows? I don’t. And I would never say that not having proof of or a way to do something means that it isn’t real or possible. I do think that if something is proven true, it won’t be anything that we currently think it is like - I’m NOT STATING THIS TO BE FACT OR EVEN A LEGIT THEORY BUT JUST AN IDEA! - like maybe time travel is real BUT we can only go back AND we can’t change anything. But the “ghosts” or whatever that we see today is a shadow or left over of the future person and when they go back, they can’t specify. They just kinda jump willy nilly into pieces of time and also they only see the shadow of what once was.... I don’t think I’m explaining this concept very well as I’m not a good writer but a great at manipulative speak. And although some people think, well if you speak proper then you can write proper and that’s just not true bc without someone asking me questions or making statements then I have a more difficult time detailing whatever weird thought I’m trying to get across bc when verbally communicating I can switch how I use the words to fit the person or persons in the room vs this ramble.... sorry, I’m done
@@borisjohnsonslostcomb7457 Yo! Did you REALLY read all that?... bc i just went back to and TLDR! And i wrote it so.... uh..... Anyone that reads that DESERVES the best cookie in all of the whole world!!!
I would just like to point out one of the reasons the Houdini sayonara percessed is to slip prove the man right and to remind people to always be scapitacl of the supernatural
I feel strangely moved by his self-righteousness and unstoppable loyalty to pursue transparency. Even though I do believe in the spiritual, in some way.
Thanks for this one, Simon & the TIFO crew! It's not every day that I actually find out something new, even though I strive to - Daddy always told me a day win which I learn something is a day not wasted, and even on the wrong side of 50 years old, I still work to never waste a day. You helped me not waste today, and I have barely started the day! I mean, yeah, I knew a lot of this, in bits and pieces, but you were able to get it all organized in my mind, fill in some blanks, and tie it all up with a neat little bow. I bow to you, Simon and team, and offer, along with my sincere thanks, a like and this comment for the Almighty Algorithm! I can't subscribe, though. 🤷♀️ I'd have to unsubscribe, first, and that just seems... silly. 😄
I lost count on how many books I have read about Harry Houdini. He was a fascinating man. For the time, his celebrity was as world wide as one could get. As this video states, he REALLY hated these FAKERS stating they could speak with the dead. You're loved ones are always in your memories and in your heart. You may speak to them, and I encourage you to do so, just do not expect them to talk back, and DO NOT pay for it.
Yes ! ✔️ Sir Arthur Conan Doyle probably sent Whitehead to "rough up" Houdini, after Houdini had exposed Doyle's wife as being a fraudulent medium. Additionally, there was a movement to exhume Houdini's body to check for arsenic, but the remaining family wouldn't allow it. 🌹
Ruling class propaganda, offsetting anger rightly directed toward them. It's damage control, and can still be found in our court system, freeing up the same villainous intent with claims of mental illness.
I find it frustratingly hilarious when people claim Jesus was anything more then a ethnic Jew. The Jews of his time had him crucified as a heretic precisely because his teachings and beliefs went against the Jewish faith. Sure there are many teachings of the Jewish faith that he recognized as truth but there were many that he did not. Religions do not allow you to pick and choose what parts you believe and what parts you don't. It's an all in equation and Jesus certainly was not all in with the Jewish Faith. He was a Christian from birth. Everything he taught and believed were of the Christian Faith. Which hold true to this day.
Some types of photographic plates could be reused. If the photographer didn't do a proper job of cleaning them, or accidentally reused a few, double-exposures occurred. There were also manipulated photos almost from the first. Not to mention straight up staged images.
Thanks to Keeps for sponsoring this video! Go to www.keeps.com/BRAINFOOD to get 50% off off your first order of Keeps hair loss treatment.
Video starts at 1:08
Simon you actually look good bald though, kind of look like Kratos from God of War.
Please stop with the weird jangly background music on this channel. It's annoying and has zero upside
Honnestly, stop accepting sponsorship by scammers. This is quite pathetic coming from a channel that always talks about facts.....
The choice of keeps sponsor and the subject of the video is wonderfully ironic......
All the channels are great simon.....keeps it up..:)👍
Harry Houdini was an absolute legend.
Who, the character from the Tim Powers books?
@@mbryson2899 - Are you trying to be clever, or did you not watch the video.
@@julietfischer5056, you've not read the books I take it. Mr. Powers knows his history, you might want to check his works out.
@@mbryson2899 - My mistake. I apologize. There are so many writers and their books out that I had never heard of Mr. Powers. A short explanation would have cleared it up. Does he write historical fiction?
I do occasionally run into people online who don't seem to have read, listened to, or watched anything produced before they were born. In a world where a 21st-Century reader can write a patronizing review of _The Haunting of Hill House,_ and a UA-cam commenter call Eartha Kitt an 'imitator' of Lady Gaga, I mistook you for one of those.
@@julietfischer5056, no harm. He relies heavily upon history and facts in his fiction. Facts about Houdini and his life figure in at least two, "Expiration Date" and "Earthquake Weather."
I love Houdini for this story, more than all the other stories about him.
He inspired guys like James Randi and Banachek to continue his legacy. If you want a good story look a pre-nuttery Joe Rogan with Banachek on his show, talking about how he helped James Randi bust Peter Popoff and how he demonstrates the charlatan nature of mediums.
@@ewoodley82 Dude THANK YOU for these items to check truly insightful especially as I am Bulgarian and have never heard of that piece of shit Popoff. Btw I am not sure how nuttery is Joe Rogan...just over time we got to know him better, maybe you've put him in some idealistic frame... he is just a human :)
@@dateebavguza these days, unfortunately most people who throw personal insults at, or claim Joe Rogan has changed, are just dead set against his personal politics. He opposes the identitarian far left, who in return use their protected status (via media favor) to safely portray him as a far right idiot, which isn't true at all. I suspect you had an inkling of that anyway; I've heard Bulgaria still has it's head screwed on properly with regards to resisting the creep of far left ideology. Not surprising considering you guys only escaped the soviet grasp 32 years ago!
@@cjlake5754 yeeep I was indeed meaning the same thing u elaborated regarding Joe Rogan! My country has a “baggage” from its Socialistic past. Still all the governments we’ve had so far are rather right oriented for business as the left is having a bit of that “stigma” from the Socialistic “paradise” we were sold on in the past. Corruption + socialism is a nightmare that ppl don’t talk about enough when they evaluate left vs right. There are no ultimate truths! Marry Christmas dude!
@@dateebavguza Unfortunately many idealistic young folks in America don't really seem to have learned the lesson of how badly the socialist/communist experiments of the 20th Century went wrong, so they cheer on the far-left creep, celebrating even as they lose their freedoms. We definitely don't want to go too far right but I don't think bring cautious of the left is a bad thing either! Merry Christmas to you too bud 😊
Harry Houdini is buried in the same cemetery as both sets of my grandparents so we’ve visited him before (in his escape-proof grave!) For a foreigner to command that level of celebrity in that time is nothing short of miraculous, and I had no idea about his legal case- total legend!
Technically a foreigner but he was raised in the states in Wisconsin. I think he moved here when he was 6 or so, I'd say he's an American since he chose to live here after his fame but tomato tomato right
He started debunking mysticism after he was nearly sucked into believing it, and he realized that people in grieving were being scammed by grifters.
He saw that he could use his experience and fame to be something more than an entertainer.
Moral of the story:
Dont try to scam one of the worlds greatest magicians with cheap seance tricks.
It’s said a “Spiritualist” called Margery cursed him, “Houdini later died fr a ruptured appendix caused by punch to the abdomen …Or appendicitis”, and following this his then widowed wife Bess performed séances in an attempt to contact him for 10 years before moving on.
I knew all this already, but Simon's voice made me feel like this was the first time I've heard the story.
If Houdini was alive today, he would have ALMOST as many youtube channels as Simon
Incorrect.... Houdini came second to no one, watch your mouth/fingers on this guy my friend...still liked the comment 😎
Nah more
I'm pretty sure Sherlock Holmes would have joined Houdini's side.
Indubitably
Not necessarily. In Hound of the Baskervilles, he displays a belief in Astral Projection, claiming to have visited the moors in the spirit. *Sigh*
He probably would not have cared. He did not know the Earth orbited the Sun because it had no effect on his life.
@@gibsonc22 everyone knew that at that time
@@wingerding Everyone knew what?
One of my Heros, Harry Houdini. This part of his life is what put him up there on that pedestal. They don't have people like him anymore & I never miss an opportunity to tell any stories I have about him to others, especially ones like this. I want to continue his memory properly and not let him fall by the wayside as just a magician. I would boldly say, he wasn't a magician. An escape artist and showman, yes. He did cards and close up magic at the beginning but once he found his niche with the locks it was on from there! The Great Harry Houdini was born in chains and in his death he left all of us in our own personal pair that we couldn't escape. All these years later we are still fascinated by this man
As a man once said, I believe people can talk to the dead. I just don't believe the dead talk back to them...
This has to be my favourite video from Simon thus far, I knew about Houdini but I knew nothing about this side of him. Exceptional video
Your best one yet. I grew up with a stage magician uncle who loved Houdini and a legendary fraudulent medium who was long dead but her influence was still in the family. Luckly my uncle kept me right.
I love Houdini for all this. He was spot on with every word he said.
The 1960s produced a huge resurgence in the interest in all things psychic . Another magician , James Randi , fought a similar battle against that tide .
And in between was a magician named Walter Gibson. He was a friend of Hudini's and joined him on some of his visits to spiritualists and then took it up more seriously after Hudini's death. Gibson was the inspiration for the hero of a (bad) movie called "Miracles for Sale" (1939) in which the magician turned debunker investigates a murder at one of the seances.
The Amazing Randi!
“How simple cold-reading tricks could be used to work out even one’s most personal details or intimate secrets…”
I was expecting a tangent about a road trip in Morocco or something right about then.
Didn't several spiritualists "predict" Houdini's death within the year, several years before he actually died? If they keep repeating someone will die, eventually they'll be right:]
just like a broken clock is right twice a day.
Same reason The Simpsons get predictions right occasionally
@@mfaizsyahmi Even that can be untrue, my 1903 clock, awaiting restoration, has both hads pointing at the 6, which can never be correct! Still, your aphorism holds true in that someone will eventually get such a guess correct.
I have predicted my own death. I will die in 6 months time. One day, I'll be right...
@@chadfalardeau5396
Alex Jones, frighteningly frequently 🙄
Spiritualist: "Spiritualism is a real thing and we can talk to ghosts"
Houdini: "Can I come watch you work to see you prove it"
Spiritualist: "Ummmm... no, that's ok. Just take my word for it"
James Randi: I’ll give you a million dollars for a sufficient demonstration of your claims
Spiritualist: Nahhh…
@@thefourshowflip- They agree to the terms, fail the tests, then go around claiming Randi moved the goalposts.
@@julietfischer5056
On occasion, yes, but considering how many people make such claims and that only a small number of them actually made an effort to claim the prize, I think the “nahh” was a significant portion of the response 😝
@@thefourshowflip- True. But he encountered enough of the other sort.
@@julietfischer5056
Oh, that he did…and made for some entertaining videos on UA-cam 😬
I would have loved to see a netflix show in the style of the masked magician of Houdini debunking the occult. We need more like him indeed.
We did have more. We had good old Randi :D Magician carrying on the torch of calling out bs mediums
@@Neko141212 Thanks for the heads up, did not hear from him, will give his material a watch.
@@IndicatedGoodLife The Amazing Randi!
Watch his Niagara Falls escape!
Netflix has a special about him called An Honest Liar, or something close
houdini & doyle. it only had one season, sadly
You can watch the 4 hour movie
“Jesus was a Jew and he did not charge 2$ a visit”
Okay that such a good comeback, like damn my man, don’t send them to the sprits now
He was given money though judas was the treasurer so he was getting money from somewhere
Mic dropped 🎤
Now we need a follow-up about the late James Randi and his similar crusade against modern spiritualism and other similar bullshit.
Its on Biographics
ua-cam.com/video/UwLN7HVr28o/v-deo.html
My major disagreement with Randi's stuff is the way he listed things out with his challenge...basically, the thing of anyone who might actually have the ability to win it would have a lot of reasons not to do so because of the conditions there which limited what they could do with it afterwards if they had abilities in the first place.
Other than that and a few things about his personality which rubbed me the wrong way in his interviews.
Had men not be easily swayed and not bee white knighting simps, Houdini would have lived longer. Spiritualism, especially if run by a woman, is utter manipulative bullsh-t and can be dangerous if people in power seek them out.
@@NightMotorcyclist How is a male spiritualist less manipulative & possibly dangerous?
Ps Houdini would have lived longer if he hadn’t been repeatedly punched in the gut basically without warning by some idiot. Also if he visited a doctor sooner, and waiting to see a doctor till it’s too late is common in both men and women.
Don't let his peddling fool you dear reader.
Simon didn't lose his hair, his follicles merely migrated to the southern hemisphere of his head.
His head is upside down.
After watching Brain Blaze, i find it hilarious and impressive that Simon can keep a straight face during this video.
This isnt the same Simon as the one in Brain Blaze. This one is a robot doppelganger with humour coded out.
Damn. He has a lot of channels.
After hearing this... I wouldn't be surprised if the claims that he was "murdered" were true. Someone could have paid the student to catch him off guard with a gut punch. Sounds like he pissed off a lot of people. I love the fact that he was a bad ass, and was willing to take on anyone who argued to the contrary.
That incident certainly made me SERIOUSLY wonder if the disgruntled gang of mediums and spiritualist leaders had paid the student in question!! Simon didn't mention whether it was ever investigated as foul play rather than manslaughter...?
@@anna_in_aotearoa3166 I don't think it was investigated, people didn't think it anything but a tragic accident
@@anna_in_aotearoa3166 my money is on Madam Marcia. It's not a coincidence that she's the one who predicted Houdini's death.
There is an episode on Buzzfeed Unsolved on Houdini. Shane and Ryan have this as one of the theories on his death.
I’ve always found it fascinating that Arthur Conan Doyle was such a staunch believer in the supernatural. Do you have a man who created perhaps the greatest detective in history, a man who was the ultimate master of deductive reasoning, and yet his creator was a complete and total believer in the supernatural and even believed harry Houdini achieved his magic tricks through otherworldly means
Belief in the supernatural is is far different than the belief in “psychic mediums”. So whats fascinating is his belief in mediums which are so obvious a proven fraud, whereas belief in the supernatural is not- hence why Houdini himself was an open believer in the possibility of the supernatural while being the number one crusader fighting to expose mediums
@@LiveFreeOrDie2AI think people need to understand it’s more of what you said then them just believing everything or nothing. I myself have done a bunch of ghost haunts that I knew were frauds afterwards and been in haunted houses that are not. That doesn’t mean I rule out the possibility of such things being true which I believe was the case for Arthur Conan Doyle. He obviously understood the frauds but still believed in the spiritual realm.
I wish you had included the tidbit about how houdini had left his wife with a "password" of sorts so that she would know if it was him speaking through a medium. I believe it was something along the lines of the inscription inside her wedding ring. The reason that she gave up on the search was because the information got leaked, so now she had no way of knowing if it was the real deal or not.
Houdini was like the original precursor to Penn & Teller. Neat!
🤦🏼♂️
P & T aren't anywhere near being in the same league as Houdini ! 😅
"Escape-proof grave..." nice touch. Love your work(s)! Keep it up!
Well researched and well presented. The complex life of a complicated man. Thank you.
I really enjoyed this video. Thanks Simon. Keep them coming
There should be a Today I found Out episode on where the “Witches on broomsticks” trope came from. It’s an interesting thing I learned in college.
These days, illusionists like the late James Randi and Penn & Teller continue Houdini's legacy.
The fact that it's even necessary is worrying, but it's heartening to see that dry truth can be just as charismatically captivating as sweet lies.
Also, Big Think of the day: Communing with the afterlife and the dead would mean the afterlife isn't the afterlife, just 'life' - and communing with the dead would mean the dead would be alive, certainly legally.
Top comment material
I have friends who have just passed visit me then see their obituary later. the first was my grandfather when I was in social studies class in the fifth grade, to the teacher asking me what was up, I told him my grandfather just passed, to arrive home that afternoon to my mom crying I said to her pappy passed huh, which freaked her out when I told her what happened in school
I had no idea Houdini was this absolutely based
me: "o nice a video about magich"
opens video: "DID YOU KNOW YOU'RE GOING BALD?!!"
Always interesting and informative . Well done team 👏
Skip ahead to 1:08 and bypass the ad.
on the continent of Africa the daily papers contain a lot of adverts promising cures from curses , black magic , and readings from the afterlife , it is big business . I have even more respect and interest in harry houdini after listening to simon , thanks
Making Muti from body parts. Babies are said to make the strongest medicine.
Sick Burn! So well done Simon... I feel like these Twitter retweet’s made the video.
The scientific American challenge was instrumental in the future debut of the million dollar challenge from the James Randi educational foundation. No one ever came close to claiming that one either
While it's often asserted that the punches to the stomach ruptured Houdini's appendix, this would be (if true) the only instance in medical history that a blow caused someone's appendix to rupture. More likely, he already had appendicitis and the punches were simply very very poorly timed, as the pain of the punches prevented Houdini from realizing that he had a serious medical issue.
And this video is right up Simon's alley/
I don’t understand people that will seriously say that all this is supernatural but then will go to church every Sunday….
You should make a video about Crash At Crush. It happened in my home town over 120 years ago
"Jesus was a Jew and he didn't charge two dollars a visit."
I had to stop the video, I laughed so hard. Scorched so hard it tips the geiger counter.
didn't know this about Houdini, what a top geezer.
Not sure where Houdini's mom is from but i find it neat hie My Grandma is also named Cecilia she was born in Budapest Hungary my youngest Sister is named Celia after herb
I think his mom was Hungarian
Plot twist: that medium contacted Houdini after his death just to tell him, "I told you so", so after that he has refused to talk from the far beyond not to give mediums credit.
Video idea:
Jasper Maskelyne, the magician that made WW2 tanks, bunkers, and even Alexandria harbor disappear.
Fact boy giving us a video the night before Thanksgiving…ABSOLUTE LEGEND.
Harry's quips really hit the mark
Conan Doyle
Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and Cromlech Temple Initiate
man, imagine becoming famous for a skill you’ve spent years honing, then your buddy goes “cool, must be ghosts”
Good video 👍
"...whether Houdini then proceed to drop his mic after delivering such a sick burn".... xD Nice Gilles, nice :D :D
PT Barnum as Petey? Rapping as wrapping? Seance comes out as sales, sails, sciences and saiyance? Doyle as Dole and Doll? Houdini as Zoudini? Clairvoyant as Clair Boynt? We need more subscribers so Mr. Whistler can afford a more advanced captioning program. Otherwise, the content is terrific!
At 17:59 you use a sentence which contains both the words "media" and "mediums"... which is it?
Thank you
19:45 - Hahahhahahaha, LOL’d at work again. Fantastic
Should make a video about the poisoning of the treaty tree in Austin TX in 1989
I CERTAINLY KNOW IT...
*oh my heart, Simon* 😂♥️
What a wonderful title
A Simon with hair would seem odd to me. Your beautiful shaved cap is iconic!
Was Houdini also an atheist, or did he see that kind of magic as "different." Just as much harm may have been done by faith healers and prophets as by someone faking a seance....
That's a really good question, would love to know that my self.
I think Houdini was Jewish.
Most of Humanities by virtue of Chimerical Reification are undifferentiated from Religion.
He was Jewish. His father was a Rabbi in Appleton, WI. I'm Jewish & used to live there where I learned about him as a kid. He wasn't very religious like his father, but he was a Jew. He hated the lies & tricks used to defraud people & dupe gullible people who lost someone.
According to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's writings, human bones were found in the cellar. Also, on her death bed, one of the sisters recanted her statements of their actions being hoaxes (which they apparently signed because they were broke and I believe they received money for those "confessions") . I've also read that the nurse or maid who attended her during her final days, also heard wrappings in the bedroom. I'm intrigued.
again i loved your videos but the wildly varying volume levels make it almost unwatchable please fix this
a promise of interaction with the dead from any medium is just as hollow as houdinis grave
Brilliant learning about Houdini
When you know Simon Whistler, this is one of the most hilarious videos on UA-cam!🤣🤣🤣
When I got into spiritualism, it was Houdini that I initially studied bc I felt like Doyle. You have to know the lies to know the truth. And as I learned more and watched people to this day (well, that time) to use the same old tricks, I was like WOW! I still think that maybe one day we will be able to communicate with some sort of entities that exist in a realm near to ours. There are all types of science and technology today that wldv been deemed “real magic” only a 50yrs ago so.... who knows? I don’t. And I would never say that not having proof of or a way to do something means that it isn’t real or possible. I do think that if something is proven true, it won’t be anything that we currently think it is like - I’m NOT STATING THIS TO BE FACT OR EVEN A LEGIT THEORY BUT JUST AN IDEA! - like maybe time travel is real BUT we can only go back AND we can’t change anything. But the “ghosts” or whatever that we see today is a shadow or left over of the future person and when they go back, they can’t specify. They just kinda jump willy nilly into pieces of time and also they only see the shadow of what once was.... I don’t think I’m explaining this concept very well as I’m not a good writer but a great at manipulative speak. And although some people think, well if you speak proper then you can write proper and that’s just not true bc without someone asking me questions or making statements then I have a more difficult time detailing whatever weird thought I’m trying to get across bc when verbally communicating I can switch how I use the words to fit the person or persons in the room vs this ramble.... sorry, I’m done
Your brain = my brain
@@borisjohnsonslostcomb7457
Yo! Did you REALLY read all that?... bc i just went back to and TLDR! And i wrote it so.... uh.....
Anyone that reads that DESERVES the best cookie in all of the whole world!!!
I would just like to point out one of the reasons the Houdini sayonara percessed is to slip prove the man right and to remind people to always be scapitacl of the supernatural
Wait, how does one prepare oneself before being punched? Why wouldn’t his organs have burst eventually from all of the punching anyway?
We are a very simple creature. Gullible does not even begin to describe it.
Why do I keep hearing Migos add libs when he says “wrapping sounds” …?
and then Houdini became a Japanese superhero in Kamen Rider Ghost.
His mother never called him Harry, and these mediums would never call him by his real name.
I feel strangely moved by his self-righteousness and unstoppable loyalty to pursue transparency. Even though I do believe in the spiritual, in some way.
That Jesus didn't charge 2 dollars line was a master burn.
Has he done one for the Reagan’s Astrologist?
Makes you wonder if Madam Marcy may have had something to do with Houdini's death.
Thanks for this one, Simon & the TIFO crew! It's not every day that I actually find out something new, even though I strive to - Daddy always told me a day win which I learn something is a day not wasted, and even on the wrong side of 50 years old, I still work to never waste a day. You helped me not waste today, and I have barely started the day!
I mean, yeah, I knew a lot of this, in bits and pieces, but you were able to get it all organized in my mind, fill in some blanks, and tie it all up with a neat little bow. I bow to you, Simon and team, and offer, along with my sincere thanks, a like and this comment for the Almighty Algorithm!
I can't subscribe, though. 🤷♀️
I'd have to unsubscribe, first, and that just seems... silly. 😄
4:38 sounds like my ex at a college party
I lost count on how many books I have read about Harry Houdini. He was a fascinating man. For the time, his celebrity was as world wide as one could get. As this video states, he REALLY hated these FAKERS stating they could speak with the dead. You're loved ones are always in your memories and in your heart. You may speak to them, and I encourage you to do so, just do not expect them to talk back, and DO NOT pay for it.
Yes ! ✔️
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle probably sent Whitehead to "rough up" Houdini, after Houdini had exposed Doyle's wife as being a fraudulent medium.
Additionally, there was a movement to exhume Houdini's body to check for arsenic, but the remaining family wouldn't allow it.
🌹
i use houdini 3d software. my parents were spiritualist. neither have come back from the big sleep to tell me to tidy my room.
How about a TIFO LC? :D
Would be a nice change. I wish you a pleasant Thanksgiving.
@@Robert-zz7qj @Robert thank you, Robert! I wish you a happy day! ♡ One thing for which I'm thankful - all my OGLC frands.♡
Why did I expect so. Ethi g to happen with the brick wall at the end..... 😂😂
Please continue the "duels" please. Lol
cold readings are fun if you lie about everything..
Did he say H.D. Wells? Or did I mis hear a g?
Video starts at 1:08
When are you going to do Papa Doc?
When he got really sick, and knew he was dying, he must have thought about the irony that the fortune teller was correct about his death.
Steven Wright joke: "I once played poker with tarot cards. I got a full house and four people died."
Ruling class propaganda, offsetting anger rightly directed toward them. It's damage control, and can still be found in our court system, freeing up the same villainous intent with claims of mental illness.
You can do the same thing with religious people. They are never convinced.
I find it frustratingly hilarious when people claim Jesus was anything more then a ethnic Jew. The Jews of his time had him crucified as a heretic precisely because his teachings and beliefs went against the Jewish faith. Sure there are many teachings of the Jewish faith that he recognized as truth but there were many that he did not. Religions do not allow you to pick and choose what parts you believe and what parts you don't.
It's an all in equation and Jesus certainly was not all in with the Jewish Faith. He was a Christian from birth. Everything he taught and believed were of the Christian Faith. Which hold true to this day.
He had some he failed to debunk altogether--one very notable failure was Edgar Cayce, the Sleeping Prophet.
do a bit on Edgar Cacye
Has a Biographics been done on Harry Houdini yet?
Some types of photographic plates could be reused. If the photographer didn't do a proper job of cleaning them, or accidentally reused a few, double-exposures occurred. There were also manipulated photos almost from the first. Not to mention straight up staged images.