A child lifts what an adult cannotSourced
Robert-Houdin’s chest changed the apparent contest
Robert-Houdin’s Light and Heavy Chest let a child lift a wooden box before an adult failed to do the same. An electromagnetic mechanism altered the conditions behind the illusion. What looked like a comparison of strength was a staged effect.
The apparent strength test was part of the trick.
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Jean-Eugène Robert-Houdin · Wikimedia contributors
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Reviewed: 2026-10-05