SAN NARCISO, Calif. -- Thursday marked the 137th birthday of legendary magician and escape artist Harry Houdini. To commemorate the one of the world’s most influential illusionists, Google released a special doodle on its homepage, reminiscent of the posters Houdini had used to promote his act during the early 20th century. Google has made headlines for its recent doodles, including an interactive undersea-themed graphic honoring author Jules Verne, 17 holiday-themed doodles that progressed through two days in December, and a playable Pac-Man doodle that celebrated the anniversary of the video game’s creation. It came as some surprise, then, that the Houdini doodle was little more than a static image. But a gaming expert in San Narciso County says that everyone in the United States missed the joke -- that a clever attempt to reveal the secret of the poster, essentially allowing “Houdini to escape,” would have caused the image to animate.