Kristen Johnson is no "lovely" magician's assistant. She's Lady Houdini, an escape artist who has successfully performed thousands of public feats and has broken Harry Houdini's record for most water escapes ever.
"Kristen Johnson is currently the only female anywhere in the world attempting the water torture cell," says her husband, magician Kevin Ridgeway, to an audience at the Western Idaho State Fair in Boise. "Additionally, she is the first person in history — male or female — to ever attempt this escape in full view."
Johnson calmly walks on stage, slips off her heels and climbs the ladder to the top of a clear cylinder.
The grandstands go quiet as Ridgeway shackles his wife's ankles and wrists. Two heavy metal chains crisscross her torso, locked in place with four padlocks. Lady Houdini puts her feet in the chilly water. She closes her eyes and begins to breathe deeply. And with a final breath, she plunges into the water.
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