In the late 1990s, I began to conceive the idea of doing an escape act, as part of a performance at Burning Man. Unlike traditional escape artists and magicians, who extricate themselves from containers by means of speed, flexibility, stealth, guile, and trickery, (qualities in which I was lacking) I would simply break my way out of the container using brute strength. Push, punch, kick, whatever was necessary. It would be a stunt rather than a trick, with no subterfuge whatsoever. As far as it went, it was real. But since my supply of brute strength was not exceptional either, I was restricted to breaking out of a wooden crate made from 1-inch cedar fence boards, with the top nailed down (not screwed down as I'd originally envisaged). Getting out was hard enough. If I'd used two-by-fours, I'd still be in it.