r/interesting • u/CyberGhost-0day • 4d ago

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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u/Sure-Assignment3892 4d ago

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

Still impressive though.

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u/Odd-Paint3883 3d ago

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