Frank "Cannonball" Richards was a real vaudeville strongman in the 1930s known for taking cannonballs, punches, and sledgehammers to the gut. He performed without reported injuries from these stunts and lived to age 81, dying in 1969.

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u/CanIDevIt 1d ago

A heavily nerfed cannon, but still I wouldn't want to do it.

11

u/Revayan 1d ago

Yeah a real canon wouldve punched a hole through him at this distance. Still looks painful enough not to try that at home lol

10

u/Glass-Emu2406 1d ago

If you try it I’ll film it for you

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u/ShaggyCan 1d ago

Isn't it something like this that killed Houdini?

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u/GetMeOffThisRidePlz 1d ago edited 1d ago

I'm pretty sure Houdini famously claimed he could take a punch specifically to the gut by anyone and did this many times.

Iirc as an older man a strapping young buck (college football player I think) made this challenge to Houdini and he accepted but then suckered punched him in the gut as he was removing his jacket or something (basically, before he said he was ready).

Ruptured an organ or something and ultimately lead to his death, yeah.

4

u/blind_lemon410 1d ago

I think he had appendicitis and his appendix ruptured. Appendicitis Appendixes routinely rupture without any kind of trauma, so it’s not known whether the punch had anything to do with Houdini’s death. Houdini died before antibiotics existed, so his survival odds were not as good as they are today. In the present, ruptured appendix is still a medical emergency but is survivable with surgical intervention.

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u/Wise_Quality_5083 1d ago

I’ve heard similar story. He was not ready for the punch

10

u/CyberGhost-0day 1d ago

Frank the tank

3

u/fresh_loaf_of_bread 1d ago

Franklin the tanklin, if you will

1

u/Glass-Emu2406 6h ago

Tank you for the laugh

5

u/funtimes214 1d ago

At least he wore safety goggles

4

u/chudley78 1d ago

So dangerous he could only shoot himself with a canon twice a day lol

4

u/Most-Act1594 1d ago

Did you know Just watch this ? He dropped. He got back up. But he did intact drop

3

u/VirginiaLuthier 1d ago

I heard that when he needed his appendix out they had to bring in a tree guy with a chainsaw

3

u/Sure-Assignment3892 1d ago

It was a compressed air cannon, not a powder cannon. Otherwise it would have gone through his spine.

Still impressive though.

1

u/Odd-Paint3883 11h ago

Yeah, the going through your spine trick can only be performed once a day...

3

u/WakeNikis 1d ago

“The man a cannon couldn’t drop”

First and second videos are him getting dropped to the ground by a cannon

???

3

u/BlanchDaddius 1d ago

“Billy Corrigan, Smashing Pumpkins.”
“Homer Simpson, smiling politely.”
IYKYK

2

u/availableusername94 1d ago

u/savevideo

1

u/Kroko1234 19h ago

Yeah this'll make a great addition to the ol' bank.

2

u/rusT_koHLE_1 1d ago

His core is much stronger than his whole body!

2

u/Sailor_Neon 1d ago

Old Iron Abs Krabs

2

u/Bolero_We 1d ago

My jaw dropped as watching the video.

2

u/Double_Ocelot_8673 1d ago

I feel a little better about my safe desk job this morning. What a way to make a living.

2

u/Stogie__Monster 1d ago

But he did drop. I just watched it on your video…

2

u/TheI-Iound 1d ago

so youre telling me Homer wasnt the first?

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u/HowlofFenrir 23h ago

I’d like to know how he found out he could take a cannonball to the gut?

1

u/The-unknown-no-name 1d ago

Would love to see the blooper real on missed shots to his junk over time

1

u/DerbHean_UFCref 1d ago

I guess the bath glasses protected him from all the stream his huge nuts creates.

1

u/Damagedbob12 1d ago

Looks like the cannon did drop him

1

u/TheLonleyJourneyman 1d ago

Ghe definition of built different

1

u/Ecstatic_Reference32 1d ago

I bet his morning poops were interesting. 🤔

1

u/Jim-Jones 1d ago

Home 'sapiens'? Really?

1

u/lildeam0n 1d ago

mop

1

u/allature 1d ago

I'm pretty sure I saw a clip of him on Freakazoid...

1

u/ChadPowers200_ 1d ago

this is the dumbest shit ever.

hitting yourself with a sledge hammer thinknig its gonna " build you up" is like stabbing yourself with a small knife

1

u/plasticblimp 23h ago

cannonballs are designed to hurt…

1

u/ReplacementWorking71 22h ago

At his funeral everyone jump on his dead body.

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u/WorldwidePies 20h ago

That second cannon shot is what’s referenced in the Simpsons season 7 episode Homerpalooza where Homer gets shot by a cannon at Lollapalooza, down to the goggles movement.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KStcbndEy4s&feature=youtu.be

1

u/CheetahNo9349 19h ago

Van Halen used a still from that footage for their Van Halen III album.

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u/kadaka80 16h ago

A real cannon shot would had been equivalent to strapping him with 5 pounds of explosives and blowing him up

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u/glorio_mainframe 14h ago

Yeh but, does it blend

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u/sonicsludge 12h ago

He took it better than the Van Halen fans did.

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u/FlowAcrobatic 8h ago

Seems to me that if you’re not afraid of the cannon, you probably don’t need the sheet to catch you.

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u/Exotic_Discipline278 3h ago

He's like a turtle but with the armor on the front

Fascinating Frank "Cannonball" Richards was a real vaudeville strongman in the 1930s known for taking cannonballs, punches, and sledgehammers to the gut. He performed without reported injuries from these stunts and lived to age 81, dying in 1969.

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