Harry Houdini (1874-1926) was a famous illusionist, magician and "escape artist". He was famous for his ability to release himself from any restraint. Some believed this was due to his being double-jointed, though the vast majority of his exceptional abilities were likely provided by a both large selection of carefully-hidden lockpicks and extensive physical training.
Captain Jonathan Archer described Houdini's ability to T'Pol when two of them were captured and bound together by Coridan dissidents in 2152. T'Pol stated Houdini's unique ability seemed "unlikely". (ENT: "Shadows of P'Jem")
Commander Trip Tucker compared Hoshi Sato to Houdini in 2154 after Sato was able to free herself from a locked decon chamber. (ENT: "Observer Effect")
During the Dominion War, Starfleet personnel assigned to AR-558 called the subspace mines the Dominion used against them "houdinis", due to their ability to appear and disappear. (DS9: "The Siege of AR-558")