10 – The Chinese Water Torture Cell,

• Harry Houdini is unquestionably history’s most famous magician. He performed many death-defying tricks, but being handcuffed and placed upside down in a giant water-filled Chinese torture cell is one of his iconic.

• Modern interpretations of this illusion differ, but Houdini’s consisted of three parts: first, his feet were shackled in stocks; then, he was suspended mid-air by his ankles with a restraint brace; and, finally, he was lowered into a glass tank overflowing with water and the restraint is locked to the ceiling of the cell.

• A curtain would then be drawn, and the assistants would look increasingly frantic as the seconds ticked past. Eventually, when all hope seemed lost, a damp Houdini would reappear, free from his bonds. Impressive.
• When Houdini died, his brother was told to burn the custom-made tank used for this trick. But, since family never do what you ask, it ended up being donated to a collector of Houdini artefacts.

9 – Run Over by a Truck,

• To demonstrate the outrageous strength of his core, strongman Tom Owen allowed a truck packed with twenty children inside to sit atop his stomach for several minutes.
• The load weighed an estimated 6,500 pounds and Owen had to go straight to the emergency room after the stunt with several broken ribs and severe internal bleeding. Hardcore.

8 – Niagra Falls Tightrope Walk,

• Nik Wallenda is a Canadian daredevil who, in 2012, famously crossed a tightrope from the United States to Canada.
• The highly dangerous and unprecedented stunt took forty minutes and a shit-tonne of concentration to complete.
• Since crossing the border without a passport has been illegal for 125 years, Wallenda had to undertake a two-year legal battle, which involved both sides of the border, to gain the necessary approval. He crossed Niagara Falls on June 15, 2012 during a live ABC special and, due to a requirement, begrudgingly wore a safety harness for the first time in his life.

7 – GoldenEye Dam Bungee Jump,

• James Bond knows no fear – and neither do his stunt doubles! In the Bond classic GoldenEye, Pierce Brosnan as 007 had to jump from the top of the 220-metre Contra Dam all the way to the bottom. Probably didn’t even spill his martini either.
• This incredible feat was performed by British stuntman Wayne Michaels and set the then-record for the world’s highest bungee jump from a solid structure. Two birds, one stone.
• For any thrill-chasers out there, you can do a spot of James Bond role-playing by jumping from the same dam. That’s right! In Switzerland, risking your life is now a tourist attraction.

6 – The Human Spider,

• Alain Robert, who’s better known by fans and the media as ‘The Human Spider’, really loves climbing.
• He’s a Frenchman who will pretty much climb anything and has no time for safety ropes. The only gear he bothers with are a pair of climbing shoes and a bit of chalk on his hands!
• Throughout Robert’s illustrious career, he has hand-climbed the Paris’s Eiffel Tower, the Sears Tower in Chicago, the Petronas Twin Towers in Malaysia, Taipei 101 in Taiwan and countless other man-made structures. Each year he overcomes new adversities and rises to new heights. Haha … hah … Ughh.
• Since most of his climbs are illegal, Alain has been arrested many times, but that doesn’t discourage him. I mean, it can’t really; put him in jail and he’d probably just climb out.
  

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