Friday, March 28, 2008

A Phantom Message

Effect: Someone's name mysteriously appears written on your arm.

Secret: Secretly find out someone's name and write it on the back of your forearm with a piece of soft soap before you perform this effect. This will be invisible to our audience until your rub some cigarette ash or soot over it. At the appropriate moment during your performance, you can dramatically reveal this name!


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THE WILDER MIRACLE

EFFECT: A card is selected, autographed, and shuffled back in the deck, which in turn is replaced in the case; before that an ordinary envelope is given for examination, is also initialed, sealed and stood on one end at the end of the bar, facing the audience. The card case is encircled with a heavy rubber band and placed far away from the envelope. A clap of the hand and the selected card finds its way into the envelope.

THE HOW
: Any envelope, anybody’s deck of cards, anywhere, anytime, you are ready to perform this trick; if you carry a little dab of wax attached to one of the buttons on your coat or vest.


FIRST - Have a card reversed in the bottom of the deck. Offer the deck for a free selection. Have him or her notice the card. Have the deck cut in two halves and ask that the card be replaced on the top of either half.


SECOND - Cut the cards again and invariably you will cut at the reversed card bringing this to the bottom, the top card is the selected one. Before the card is replaced on the deck ask them to initial it on the face for further identification.

THIRD - During all the process of the trick you have ample time to secure the bit of wax with one of your fingernails.

FOURTH - Insert the deck back in the case and when you replace the flap of the case, insert its edge right under the top card, the selected one. Stick the bit of wax to the top edge of the card, place the envelope on top of the case momentarily pressing on it so the selected card will stick to the envelope. While holding deck and envelope ask your subject to sign the envelope. The last move is to carefully pull the envelope sideways which will carry the card with it on its back. The envelope is stood somewhere on the shelves of the bar with the card stuck behind it.

FIFTH - Now you propose to transport the card from the deck to the envelope without touching either one. Hand your assistant a rubber band and ask him to encircle the deck. A clap of the hands and picking the envelope and the card at the same time with your right hand you proceed to tear one end of the envelope with the left, blow into it, stick the fingers of your left hand into the envelope while the thumb secures the card from behind and raise slowly. To all appearances the card is coming out of the initialed envelope.


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Wednesday, March 05, 2008

Gravity Outdone

This stunt belongs to the series of spectacular tricks, and although looks like it is difficult to do, one trial will convince you that it is easy. Have a piece of heavy card-board 12" x 12" or a flat bar tray.

Four heavy tumblers, or four highball glasses two-thirds full of water.
Four playing cards rolled into tubes, about one inch in diameter, held together with small rubber bands.
Four fresh eggs, and one egg shell (blown out).

Place the tumblers in four corners of an imaginary square about 9 inches from each other, then the tray or cardboard on the top, so that each tumbler will be at equal distance. Two inches from the corners of the cardboard. Place the little cylinders made out of the playing cards on the top of the tray, standing, so they will be about the center of each tumbler. Place a fresh egg, one at a time, standing at its wider point, on top of each cylinder.
As you pick the eggs from paper bag or a plate, you give it a little shake, close to your ears, as if trying to listen to the inside of the egg, nodding in approval that the egg is fresh. After shaking the third egg a little bit (the blown out egg this time) toss it over the heads of the audience, then pick the third egg, shake and make believe you will toss it too, hesitate, shake again, then crack it, look at the audience again and act surprised. Take another egg, the last real egg, and place it on the last tube. The rest of the routine to all appearances is the most difficult. It consists in giving a short sharp blow, with the heel of your hand at point “B” on the edge of the tray, toward the audience. The tray will land on the floor a few feet away from your table, the tubes will all fly around, but thefour eggs will all drop directly into the tumblers, unharmed. I advise you to rehearse this with wooden eggs or hard boiled eggs, until you find out how hard you have to hit the tray.


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Saturday, March 01, 2008

BITE THE GLASS

This funny stunt always brought amazement and laughs to the spectator. The bartender is often invited to a drink. To oblige the customer he fixes himself a short highball, upon lifting the glass to his lips to take the drink the glass snaps as if broken and from the mouth of the bartender a shower of shattered glass pours out. He remarks, “Pardon me, but I almost swallowed that.”

THE HOW: To perform this surprising effect bartender attends to two preparations while he pretends to fix his drink. First, he fills his glass with small pieces of ice so he can chew on them, and give the impression, when he spits it out, that they are small pieces of glass, and Second, he secures a half a dollar coin and clips it by its edge between the first and second fingers of the hand holding the glass. The fingers of the hand with the coin presses against the outside of the glass, all fingers kept together, to hide the coin. If your first finger and second, separate a little, the coin will snap against the outside of the glass making a cracking noise. The next move after you have taken two pieces of ice in your mouth, will be to bring your left hand to your lips, giving the impression you are hurt. The climax of the stunt comes when you spit out the pieces of ice; most people believe that they are pieces of glass coming out of your mouth.


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CRAZY FIN

EFFECT: A five dollar bill is borrowed from one of one of the customers. You have a one dollar bill in your hands. Select one of the people in the bar to assist you in the trick, then re-quest the loan of a five dollar bill. Place the five, folded in the right hand and the one dollar bill in the left hand of your assistant; clap your hands and PRESTO! The bills have changed places.

THE HOW: This is a professional trick and should be studied carefully. People will talk about it for days after. The operations involved are very simple and anybody can do it. First, you need the corner of a five dollar bill; you may secure this at a coin collector’s, dealer, or at the bank where you do business with. The dollar bill you use for the trick should be fairly new. (If a new bill is folded and held in your hands for a few seconds, it will unfold itself upon opening your hand.) Trim the ovalcontaining the number five on the bill’s corner so it will match the oval in the one dollar bill; treat both, the five dollar corner and the oval in the one dollar bill with rubber cement and glue the five piece upon the ONE corner. Clean the edges of the superimposed corner neatly and you are ready to start the trick. You have now, a ONE dollar bill with a number one on three corners and a number FIVE in one of the corners. Once you know the working of this trick it will be very easy to perform, at any time. Fold the faked bill lengthwise first, then in half, then in quarters; having of course, the corner with the faked five upper-most. To all appearances, as you place it on the man’s palm it looks like a FIVE dollar bill.

The mechanics of the trick are simplicity itself.
1 - At the beginning of the trick, when you ask for the five dollar bill, you are holding your bill with your thumb or the rip of one of your fingers on the top of the faked number FIVE. People will swear you are holding a ONE dollar bill at your finger tips. If you study the illustration you will notice that the index finger of the right hand is covering the faked number.
2 - When you fold the bill, lengthwise; you do it toward you, bringing the faked corner behind the bill.
3 - Next, you fold the bill once more, making quarters. Faked FIVE still behind.
4 - Folding the bill in eighth. Still faked FIVE behind the bill.

The real five dollar bill goes through the same operations. Both folded bills are placed in the right hand, at finger tips. The faked bill should be under your thumb, the real FIVE dollar bill right under it. The faked FIVE corner should be uppermost. All you have to do to perform the trick is: reach with your left hand and take the faked bill and place it on the assistants hand with the faked FIVE up and ask him to close his hand in a fist while you cover the number on the real bill with the fingers of your left hand,depositing it on his other hand. When he opens his hand again, take the faked bill quickly, covering the corner where the FIVE is and show the rest of the bill. To everyone you are holding a ONE dollar bill in your hands. Let the assistant unfold the real FIVE. The trick is done.


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