The Houdini Escape Tool

I have a relative who is afraid of everything, no matter how remote the odds. She barricades herself in every night thinking that someone might break in her house and hurt her, although the odds are much greater that she will suffer a heart attack and no one will be able to get in to help her. If you're going to be afraid of what might happen, go with the odds. Overall, the most likely disaster you will deal with is a traffic accident. That's why we wear seat belts all the time. If you should have a wreck, that seat belt is the most important thing to have. But it's not the only thing that might come in handy.

Houdini makes escape tools. Not for magicians, but for everyday folks who may someday need to escape from a wrecked or submerged car. The Houdini Emergency Rescue Tool is small enough to hang on a keychain, but has a window breaker, a seatbelt cutter, a safety whistle, and an LED flashlight all in one gadget. It runs on lithium batteries and yes, includes a keychain ring, all for $24.95. The Houdini Pro Emergency Rescue Tool is somewhat larger and geared toward use by police and fire fighters. It lacks a safety whistle, but has heavy-duty versions of the other tools. Available in either yellow or black for $39.95.

These tools could help in quite a few scenarios besides being trapped in a car. You never go wrong by attaching a flashlight to your keys. Yeah, some would say investing in a tool like this would brand you as a paranoid, but it's a small gadget that will give you peace of mind even if you never use it. And it would make a great Christmas gift for Mom, or anyone whose safety you care about.