While they were traveling with the circus, they worked long hours. But they also made good friends, including a young couple named the Keatons who did a comedy act with their young son. Houdini gave him the nickname Buster that he used later in his films. Another friend was an elderly japanese acrobat. He taught Harry a skill that he probably used later for his escape acts: how to swallow things, keep in his throat, and then bring them back up to his mouth.