How Houdini DIED (in Slow Motion) - Smarter Every Day 108

Destin, a white male with short brown hair, is holding an open book titled 'The Secret Life of Houdini' in front of him. He smiles and points at the book, then gestures with his hands as he speaks. The video cuts to black and white archival footage of men in early 20th-century attire, one wearing goggles, then to a biplane on the ground, and finally to the biplane flying. The video cuts back to Destin, who is now holding the book open and pointing at an image of a man in handcuffs.

"Hey, it's me, Destin, and welcome back to Smarter Every Day. So did you realize that Harry Houdini was the first person to fly an airplane in Australia? I didn't either. That's crazy. In fact, this guy's whole life was interesting because he lived it out daily cheating death in front of thousands of people."

Setting: indoor — bright, even

Destin looks towards his left ear, then pulls a small, brown, spherical rock from it with a flourish. He smiles and gestures with the rock, then puts it in his pocket while holding a black jacket.

"Now, this eventually caught up. What's in your ear? Oh, it's a rock in your ear. Magic. So, this is convenient because Harry Houdini was Jewish. And it's a Jewish custom if you're going to honor the dead to go and lay a rock on top of their tombstone. Why don't we do that?"

Setting: indoor — bright, even

Destin zips up a black hoodie, then holds the small, brown rock in his right hand, gesturing with it as he speaks. He points to his left with his left hand.

"Let's go to Queens, New York, where he has a really cool tombstone, and we'll lay this rock there, and I'll explain to you how Harry Houdini died."

Setting: indoor — bright, even

The camera pans across a cemetery, showing numerous ornate gravestones and bare trees under an overcast sky. The camera then focuses on a large, grey granite monument with a circular, colorful mosaic depicting the 'Society of American Magicians New York' seal. The text 'M-I-PRESIDENT-1917-1927' is carved in an arc above the mosaic, and 'HOUDINI WEISS' is carved below it. A hand places a small, brown rock on the monument. The camera pans up to reveal a white bust of Houdini on top of the monument.

"Houdini was a genius. He became famous by putting himself in seemingly impossible situations, and then he would miraculously appear as though he had just cheated death."

Setting: Queens, New York — overcast, natural light

Text: "M-I-PRESIDENT-1917-1927", "HOUDINI WEISS"

The video shows black and white archival footage. First, a chained box is lowered into water, surrounded by a crowd. Then, Houdini's head and shoulders emerge from the water, looking exhausted. Next, Houdini, wearing a dark swimsuit, stands on a stage surrounded by four men in dark coats, gesturing towards a large box. Finally, Houdini is shown hanging upside down, chained, above a water-filled tank, with several men assisting him on stage. The scene cuts to a newspaper clipping with the headline 'Science Solves the "Secret" of Harry Houdini's Death How One Punch Was Fatal to the Master Magician'. The article features an image of a shirtless man with an arrow pointing to his abdomen, and a diagram of internal organs.

"Since many people had a fear of drowning, Houdini often did tricks that involved being chained up underwater. His most famous trick was called the Chinese water torture trick. For some reason, I thought that he had drowned when this trick went horribly wrong, but in actuality, it was only a punch to the gut that did him in."

Setting: outdoor, theater — natural, stage lighting

Text: "Science Solves the "Secret" of Harry Houdini's Death How One Punch Was Fatal to the Master Magician"

The video shows a black and white image of a boxing match, where a large man in a white shirt and tie is punching a smaller man, presumably Houdini, who is being held by another man. A crowd of men watches in the background. The scene then transitions to an illustrated drawing of a man in a white shirt lying on a couch, being punched in the stomach by another man in a brown jacket. The scene cuts to a close-up of a death certificate, highlighting the date of death as '10-31' and the cause of death as 'Diffuse peritonitis (S. Streptococci)'.

"Houdini was famous for being able to take a punch, but on October 22nd, 1926, while he was laying on a couch backstage in Montreal, a man punched him several times before he had the chance to brace himself. According to his death certificate, he died on Halloween from something called peritonitis."

Setting: indoor — studio lighting

Text: "10-31", "Diffuse peritonitis (S. Streptococci)"

The death certificate remains on screen, with the date '10-31' and 'peritonitis' highlighted.

"So how could a punch in the stomach lead to Houdini's death when he had done it before?"

Setting: indoor — studio lighting

Text: "10-31", "peritonitis"

Destin, wearing a black hoodie, walks outdoors, filming himself in a selfie style. He smiles and talks to the camera, gesturing with his hands. Trees with bare branches are visible in the background, and a modern hospital building appears briefly as he pans the camera.

"Okay, we're back in Alabama to figure this out. We have come to the hospital. We're going to meet a surgeon that I've known for a long time. He's known for his steady hand and his good bedside manner. Let's go meet Dr. Gilbert."

Setting: outdoor, hospital grounds — natural, overcast

Destin walks down a brightly lit hospital hallway, holding the camera in front of him. He greets Dr. Gilbert, a Black man in teal scrubs and a light blue surgical cap, who is walking towards him. They exchange pleasantries and jokes about weight gain. Dr. Gilbert then turns and walks down the hallway, away from the camera.

"Long time no see, how you been? Long time, you look good, man. You look like you put on a little weight, huh? Oh, thanks. I appreciate that. I guess she's fattened you up. That's good."

Setting: indoor, hospital — bright, fluorescent

Destin, wearing a light blue surgical cap and gown, is in a hospital operating room, filming himself. He smiles and gestures. Dr. Gilbert, also in teal scrubs and a light blue surgical cap, is seated on a hospital bed behind him, smiling. Destin then turns the camera to Dr. Gilbert, who explains the pronunciation of 'peritonitis'.

"Okay, so clearly I've known Dr. Gilbert for a long time. He let me in his OR. So, uh, I've asked you to tell me about Houdini's death, and we know it's, how do you say it? Peritoni- Peritonitis. Peritonitis. Okay. Peritonitis."

Setting: indoor, hospital — bright, fluorescent

Destin gestures with his hand towards the empty hospital bed. Dr. Gilbert, seated on the bed, looks at Destin and then at the camera, preparing to explain.

"So let's say you got punched in the gut. Right. Houdini's laying on this table right now. And, uh, what do you do?"

Setting: indoor, hospital — bright, fluorescent

Dr. Gilbert, a Black man in teal scrubs and a light blue surgical cap, is seated on a hospital bed. He gestures with his right hand as he explains the medical situation, looking towards Destin (off-camera) and then directly at the camera. The background shows medical equipment and white walls.

"Well, Houdini, once he gets this table, he's already consented to surgery. The first thing we'd have to do is get him to, we have to examine him, say you do have peritonitis. You have an irritation of your abdominal lining. And you clearly have a surgical problem."

Setting: indoor, hospital — bright, fluorescent

Dr. Gilbert continues to explain, gesturing with his right hand and occasionally looking up thoughtfully. He maintains a serious and informative expression.

"It could have been appendicitis, but appendicitis typically doesn't happen because of trauma. It would have been a serendipitous occasion after the, the trauma. What he might very well have had is a rupture of his intestine."

Setting: indoor, hospital — bright, fluorescent

Destin's fist, wearing a light blue surgical gown, is shown in the foreground, facing Dr. Gilbert, who is seated on the hospital bed. Destin asks a question about the mechanics of a punch. Dr. Gilbert looks at Destin's fist and then at the camera.

"So when you take a punch in your gut, what's happening there? I know muscles have something to do with it."

Setting: indoor, hospital — bright, fluorescent

Dr. Gilbert, seated on the hospital bed, explains the body's response to a punch. He gestures with his right hand, emphasizing the muscles absorbing the energy. He looks towards Destin (off-camera) and then directly at the camera.

"If you're prepared, you're going to tense up your muscles, and they are absorbing almost all of the energy of the punch, and your internal organs are seeing much less of that energy."

Setting: indoor, hospital — bright, fluorescent

Destin's fist, wearing a light blue surgical gown, is shown in the foreground, facing Dr. Gilbert, who is seated on the hospital bed. Destin gestures with his fist, then Dr. Gilbert responds, gesturing with his right hand and looking at the camera. He smiles as he explains the impact of an unprepared punch.

"So it's, it's like distributing that load around your abdomen. That's right. Now, if he's caught off guard, and somebody who really knows how to throw a punch, and really prepared for it, he could he could be hurt."

Setting: indoor, hospital — bright, fluorescent

Destin, wearing a light blue surgical cap and gown, is in a hospital operating room, filming himself. He smiles and laughs, gesturing with his right hand. Dr. Gilbert, seated on a hospital bed behind him, also laughs. Destin looks at Dr. Gilbert, who shakes his head playfully.

"I punched a guy in the stomach, and I recorded on high speed, and I was trying to figure out how to transition to it, but you kind of alluded to the fact that I don't know how to throw a punch. Well, no, I was saying that."

Setting: indoor, hospital — bright, fluorescent

Destin, wearing a red t-shirt and a baseball cap, stands next to Mike, a muscular Asian man with long dark hair and a white bandana, who is shirtless. Destin talks to the camera, gesturing towards Mike's abdomen. Mike flexes his abdominal muscles. Destin then punches Mike in the stomach with a playful grin. Mike reacts with a surprised expression, then smiles and gives a thumbs up.

"Okay, this is Mike from Six Pack Shorts. He's about to hit my stomach, right? I got to hit his stomach. So, so Mike, he's that like sexy guy you always see in the sidebar that really irritates people like me because I don't look like that. Stop it. Now, are you ready? You think we got it? You good? You good? You can take that? Yes. Okay, all right, let's see."

Setting: indoor — spotlight on Mike, dark background

Text: "Phantom Miro 320S Filming at 3,200 fps"

The video slows down dramatically. Destin, wearing a red t-shirt, punches Mike, who is shirtless. Mike's abdominal muscles visibly tense and absorb the impact of the punch.

"Now, watch Mike's muscles absorb this punch at 3200 frames per second."

Setting: indoor — spotlight on Mike, ambient light

Text: "3200fps", "Smarter Every Day"

A close-up of Mike's bare torso shows Destin's fist making contact with his abdomen. Mike's abdominal muscles contract and ripple as they absorb the punch in extreme slow motion. The surrounding skin also visibly deforms around the fist.

Setting: indoor — focused spotlight

Text: "3200fps", "Smarter Every Day"

Destin's fist remains pressed into Mike's abdomen in extreme slow motion. Mike's muscles continue to absorb the impact, showing the full extent of the deformation before the fist slowly retracts, and the muscles return to their original state.

Setting: indoor — focused spotlight

Text: "3200fps", "Smarter Every Day"

Destin's fist remains pressed into Mike's abdomen in extreme slow motion. Mike's abdominal muscles contract and ripple as they absorb the impact of the punch. The surrounding skin also visibly deforms around the fist.

Setting: indoor — focused spotlight

Text: "3200fps", "Smarter Every Day"

Mike, the muscular Asian man, is shirtless and smiling, talking directly to the camera. He gestures to his chest. Destin, wearing a red t-shirt and baseball cap, is next to him, smiling and nodding. Other people are visible in the background, walking around an event space.

"He just sucked me in the stomach, and we just watched it in slow-mo, and it was awesome. And now we're about to watch your boobs bounce, right? Yes. Movies are about to bounce in high speed. All right."

Setting: indoor — ambient, bright

Destin, wearing a black hoodie, is seated in front of a bookshelf and a world map. He holds up a book titled 'The Secret Life of Houdini' and gestures towards it as he speaks. He points to his left ear, then to the book, and then makes a hand gesture of a flat surface. He looks directly at the camera, smiling and engaged.

"Okay, before you go watch Mike's boobs bounce, which is something I hope I never say again, and before you see Dr. Gilbert teach me how to throw a punch, I figured I'd mention this book, which was instrumental in making this video. Go to audible.com/smarter, and you can download The Secret Life of Houdini. It's a pretty cool book, and it's one of the more expensive audiobooks. So, you can use your free trial at audible.com to download this thing. It's probably worth it. Anyway, it taught me about how Houdini's personality played a factor into his death because initially he refused surgery."

Setting: indoor — bright, even

Dr. Gilbert, seated on the hospital bed, explains Houdini's personality and his refusal of treatment. He gestures with his right hand, emphasizing his points. Text appears on screen stating, 'It took 4 doctors to convince Houdini to go to the hospital for treatment. Had he been less stubborn would he have survived?'

"His personality had to be a very strong personality, and a man that obviously takes risk. He actually refused treatment, and that was part of the problem, right? That was the problem. But he needed it framed in the proper way. So you're saying that the the bedside manner or how a patient and a doctor interact is very important. That's what you're trying to tell me. Yes, yes. And depending on the personality of the physician with a very strong patient such as Houdini, I could see that it may have been very difficult for the physician to have made his point."

Setting: indoor, hospital — bright, fluorescent

Text: "It took 4 doctors to convince Houdini to go to the hospital for treatment. Had he been less stubborn would he have survived?"

Destin, wearing a black hoodie, is seated in front of a bookshelf and a world map. He holds up a book titled 'The Secret Life of Houdini' and gestures towards it as he speaks. He points to his left ear, then to the book, and then makes a hand gesture of a flat surface. He looks directly at the camera, smiling and engaged.

"That's pretty crazy, isn't it? Anyway, check out this book, The Secret Life of Houdini, at audible.com/smarter. Listening to audiobooks is probably something you should be doing anyway. You might as well help Smarter Every Day out by downloading one at audible.com/smarter. Anyway, back to your, the weird thing you want to watch."

Setting: indoor — bright, even

Mike, the muscular Asian man, is shirtless and smiling, standing in front of a camera on a tripod. Destin, wearing a baseball cap, is operating the camera, which is focused on Mike's chest. Destin talks to the camera, then instructs Mike to flex.

"Okay, I must admit this is the first time I've ever focused on a man's nipple. Go."

Setting: indoor — spotlight on Mike, ambient light

Mike, the muscular Asian man, is shirtless and smiling, standing in front of a camera on a tripod. Destin, wearing a baseball cap, is operating the camera, which is focused on Mike's chest. Destin talks to the camera, then instructs Mike to put his shirt on.

"This is messed up. Put your shirt on now."

Setting: indoor — spotlight on Mike, ambient light

A close-up of Mike's bare torso shows his chest muscles flexing and contracting. The lighting highlights the definition of his muscles.

Setting: indoor — focused spotlight

A close-up of Mike's bare torso shows his chest muscles flexing and contracting. The lighting highlights the definition of his muscles. Text overlays appear on the screen, including 'SUBSCRIBE AND GET SMARTER EVERY DAY', 'audible.com/Smarter', and 'Thanks to Mike from SixPackShortcuts'.

Setting: indoor — focused spotlight

Text: "SUBSCRIBE AND GET SMARTER EVERY DAY", "audible.com/Smarter", "Thanks to Mike from SixPackShortcuts"

Destin, wearing a white Taekwondo uniform, stands next to Master Burwell, a Black man also in a white Taekwondo uniform. They are in a Taekwondo studio. Destin introduces Master Burwell, who smiles. Master Burwell then holds up a black Taekwondo belt with yellow embroidery, showing it to the camera. Destin comments on the belt, and then asks Master Burwell for his opinion.

"This is Master Burwell. He is our, uh, Taekwondo master. Yes, sir. That's fancy. Tell me what you think."

Setting: indoor — bright, fluorescent

Text: "SUBSCRIBE AND GET SMARTER EVERY DAY", "audible.com/Smarter", "Thanks to Mike from SixPackShortcuts for letting me punch him as hard as I could! Download info in video description.", "Music: "A Little Discomfort, a Lot of Freedom" and "Piano Improvisation" by Gordon McGladdery."

Master Burwell, in a white Taekwondo uniform, explains proper punching technique. He demonstrates on Destin's bare stomach, showing how Destin's wrist folded and how his body collapsed. He emphasizes keeping the wrist straight and locking the core. Small inset videos play on the right side of the screen, showing Houdini's tombstone, a drawing of an eye, and a street scene.

"No hip reaction. Your wrist gave. Already when you did, you did this. Okay. You collapsed because you didn't lock your wrist. Wrist remained straight."

Setting: indoor — bright, fluorescent

Text: "SUBSCRIBE AND GET SMARTER EVERY DAY", "audible.com/Smarter", "Thanks to Ben Eells for answering my Facebook request and spending his weekend filming in NY.", "Thanks to John Cox, Houdini Historian from wildabouthoudini.com."

Master Burwell demonstrates a punch on a tan, human-shaped punching dummy. He strikes the dummy with a straight wrist, then looks at Destin (off-camera) and smiles, confirming his wrist did not fold. The dummy has a stern expression.

"So your wrist didn't fold. Not at all."

Setting: indoor — bright, fluorescent

The tan, human-shaped punching dummy remains on screen, with its stern expression. The video then transitions to a white bust of Houdini on his gravestone, with small rocks placed on the base. The camera pans out to show the entire Houdini monument in the cemetery. The scene fades to black and white archival footage of Houdini performing various escape tricks, including being restrained in a chair, suspended upside down, and being lowered into water in a box. Text appears on screen identifying him as Harry Houdini (Ehrich Weiss) and providing his birth and death dates.

"So there you have it. Houdini was killed by a punch, and possibly just a little bit of his own ego."

Setting: indoor, outdoor — bright, overcast, natural

Text: "Harry Houdini (Ehrich Weiss) Born March 24, 1874 - Died October 31, 1926"