February is Over And the Moon Is Still Here: David Copperfield Update!

 

Last Fall, David Copperfield told the world he would make the Moon Vanish in February 2024. And, February has now come and gone, but the Moon still remains. What gives? Well, according to an article on SPACE.COM, 

" a lot of organizations have said they want to collaborate and make it an even bigger event that could do even more good.

We're going to try to use it to get telescopes in rural schools and indigenous schools around the country, to encourage kids to really look at the sky and dream about their future, and become scientists and engineers. So, because we're trying to make it bigger, we're just moving it a little bit into the future, to make sure we get all those ideas together."

There was another reason for Copperfield being interviewed on Space.com, and that is his contribution to the recent Odysseus Lunar Lander. Odysseus recently landed on the Moon, and in it's payload, the archives of David Copperfield's secrets. In addition,  Richard Kaufman's Project Magic book! All of this on nickel plated disc which will last a million years. 

Oh, and if that isn't exciting, this is not the first time David's archives have been sent to the moon. Back in 2019, Israel attempted to send a lander to the moon, which sadly crashed. It too contained a library disc and on it, yep, Copperfield's secrets. Here is an article on that event: https://www.fastcompany.com/90335254/the-lunar-library-crashed-on-the-moon-but-you-can-help-find-it

Sadly, it won't even take a million years before the tech to play the disc will be obsolete. That will be about 3 years. Anyway, if you'd like to read the interesting interview with David Copperfield, visit the attached link:  https://www.space.com/intuitive-machines-moon-mission-david-copperfield-interview

And keep watching here for more news about David's exciting Vanishing Moon Event!

Chita Rivera Has Died

 

Dolores Conchita Figueroa del Rivero was her real name, the Broadway World knew her as Chita Rivera. And she was a singer, dancer, actress and Broadway Royalty!  She was nominated 10 times for Tony Awards and she won twice. One of those nominations was for her role as The Queen, in the magical musical MERLIN, also starring Doug Henning. 

She died January 30th, 2024, she was 91 years old and didn't look a day over 60. She had an amazing career. 

Houdini vs Dunninger Water Torture Cells

 

I will begin by saying, I have no idea what is going on here. The top image is from the book, Houdini His Legend and Magic by Doug Henning and Charles Reynolds. I assume this image first appeared in a magazine article during Houdini's time. If you flip it upside down, clearly the face looks like that of Houdini. 

So explain to me the image below. This is the exact same image except it has been doctored. A drawing has been placed over Houdini's name. The name DUNNINGER has been added. If you flip it over, the previous face of Houdini has been altered very slightly, but more hair has been put on to look more like Joe Dunninger. 

At first glance, I wonder if this is just a bit of youthful fun. Not something meant to be seen by the public, but just something Joe did on his own. Yet, it did appear in a Dunninger book. And I don't think it's something the original artist did, though I suppose that is possible. 

My next question is, did Dunninger have a Water Torture Cell? I know he did handcuff escapes, strait jacket escapes, jail escapes and more. But did he have a WTC? Houdini went after folks who tried to duplicate this. There were others who had Milk Cans, but that trick had seen it's day. The Water Torture Cell was really Houdini's big sensational escape. I'm very curious.

I know there are at least a dozen, and probably MORE Dunninger Scrapbooks out in the magic collecting world. I've seen them on the various auctions. IF you have one, can you help me shed some light on this curious question? Did Dunninger own a Water Torture Cell?