Trick Brain

Silk in Balloon

2010-01-29T10:45:00.000-05:00

The theory behind the silk in balloon effect, is in two parts. Usually it is an effective vanish where you show the silk at the fingertips. Then, using known methods, you vanish the silk handkerchief.
There has been a clear balloon resting on a cup-like pedestal and the magician picks it up and it is held between two hands.
The magician then shakes the balloon and the vanished silk re-appears.

My contention is that the silk should be vanished at the same time the silk in the balloon appears. More-so, the vanish should appear as though the silk visibly penetrated the balloon.

Poor Man's Amputation by Magic Ian

2010-01-03T13:53:00.001-05:00

Effect: a man is seen to place his arm in a mitre board as a magician places a cloth in front of his arm. The man then shows a miter saw and places it in the miter board slot and saws. The blade is seen to go to its lowest slot.
The magician then walks away from the man whose arm seems to be missing, yet his fingertips are seen still at the end of the cloth.
The magician then moves the cloth back the blade is removed, and the cloth is drawn back to reveal the mans arm is back.
Needed: one miter board set with blade and a seance cloth with gimmick.
Modification needed. The back of one half of the miter board is cut away.

Blocking and movement: as the magician covers the forearm of the man, the man bends his elbow and aligns his arm with his other one, his fingers are in his armpit. The magician holding the seance cloth has the feke at the top left of the bar, his arm crosses his body and extends to the right of the cloth exposing his fingers as if they are the mans fingers.

The miter blade is placed in the slot. The magician then moves to the right of the man.

The entire process is reversed, and after the blade is removed, the man extends his arm in the track once again. The magician pulls his hand behind the cloth timed to the revelation of the real forearm.

One handed cane production method

2009-11-03T22:24:00.001-05:00

This had been in my lecture since the 80's. I use a cotter pin on a safety pin.
This is a picture from my instructions when I sell my "flagtastick" effect.

It holds the cane under a jacket, in a box or anywhere you want until the cane is needed. the picture shows it holding a cane open with three silks attached to the end hole.
It is a cotter pin costs about .15 in a ny hardware store.
It has been used by everyone who has my effects including Jeff McBride.
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If you mount this on a table, I drill a hole in the table, and stick either the cotter pin or a 12 penny common nail thru the hole. Then I place the cane on the nail using the slide bar hole (not the silk attachment hole).
Again, I first did this in the late 70's. Some Argentinian dealers have since mentioned this method in the past few years (probably caught my lecture in Miami).

The cool thing is when you pick it up, and slide the cane off the rod, your fingers are all that hold the can from opening.
You immediately get to that position without fumbling to open the furrile.
Note: the photos are from the printed instructions included in my "flagtastick" effect. I also have a video that shows this as well.
This method has been part of the general lecture I do which includes canes and candles. Candle to silk to cane, cane in the air production, I also refer to it as a grenade cane production, when I attach a line to the cotter pin, I pull the line from a distance, and the cane appears remotely.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9mQjn4Qu04

There are two holes in the ferrule (actually three).
The obvious one is the end hole where the silk goes.
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The next hole is the slide hole. That is where you straighten the ferrule out, stick the cotter pin, bobby pin or rod into it and then allow it (the cotter pin) to hold the cane from opening.
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When production of the cane is required, you grasp as few as two fingers where the silks and hole is (upper hole). Slide the cane off the cotter pin, and now the cane is prevented from opening by your fingers. The transfer of pressure goes from the cotter pin to your fingers.
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It is elegant, as your palm is seen empty, the silks hang as if you are holding a silk or silks (it will not look any different if you did not have a cane.).
There is no movement as normally needed to release the ferrule.
Also, if you have the set-up mounted in the jacket, and you reach for the silks, it looks as though you merely took silks from your jacket as they hang so naturally.
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Oh.. the third hole which can also be used, is the rivet hole.

Phillips file Home-made Himber

2009-11-02T11:58:00.006-05:00

The Philips File

I discovered this little file at a flea market, it fits the applications of the Himber style wallet and a switch pad. Very simple yet baffling methodology.

Effect one: A card is selected and folded, then placed into a wallet.
The magician writes a prediction on a pad. The wallet is opened and the card is read.
The prediction matches.

Effect two: The magicians asks a spectator to write a four digit number and write it on the page in the file booklet. This is repeated two more times and the file book is then closed.

The booklet is then opened and handed o a fourth spectator and they are asked to add the numbers. The final answer is called out. The magician turns over a blackboard with chalk on it and the added number matches.

The wallet can open from either end, but if you open it while the writing facing right. You will notice the book has the writing on the left.

You can make your own by getting some of those refrigerator magnets, those thin magnetic squares that hold ads on them. Just sandwich two together. Glue some accordian pleated paper to the insides of the sandwich, and you have the gimmick.

Notice the writing is facing the left in the picture. The booklet should be opened from right to left as before, but since the booklet has secretly been turned, the writing inside will have the index on the right and text heading at the right side. You are also actually seeing the
other side of the pages.

If I lift the booklet covers, you can see the fan-fold of the pages.

During the trick, no one spectator will see the same side. Three spectators write on one page, when you take the booklet back, the last spectator will actually add your pre-written numbers.

Notice the indexes have switched sides.
Note: You can write directly on the pages, but I suggest sticking post-its on the page, so you can use the switch device indefinitely.
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To Restate: You take the booklet out and open it to a page that has the post it note. You hold the booklet as you have the spectator write in the book. You then move to the next spectator and they write a four digit number, and the the last. You close the booklet briefly.
You then turn to a person behind that group, or someone at the other end of the room.
You re-open the booklet (from the other end), showing the new spectator the group of three numbers. You call out the numbers and have someone looking at the prediction on a chalkboard or in an envelope on the stage. The prediction matches the total.

Mini Milk Pitcher

2009-10-20T11:32:00.000-04:00

In the 70's, the vaccuum or double-walled insulated mugs were just starting to be produced. I had been going to trade show, and bought some insulated mugs. I noticed the similarity to the construction between that and the milk pitchers that were on the market. The current magic milk pitchers had a liner inside that was removeable for cleaning, but they were also problematic, as they sometimes cracked or some were glued in place and made cleaning difficult.
The insulated cups could be modifed very easily to make excellant milk pitchers. You merely drilled a few holes in the plastic, and the milk pitcher application could be applied.
Drill one hole at the top of the cup or pitcher, as an air release valve. Then, onthe other end of the inside of the mouth of the glass or pitcher, drill several holes in a cluster on the inside of the pitcher. This allows the liquid to fill.
To set it up, submerge the cup in a sinlk full or a conatiner full of the liquid you wish to vanish. Preferable, is the fake milk called oom, or "oil of milk" (water based machine oil). You can use real milk, or a dark liquid.
The object is to fill the inside liner of the glass and then empty the main container out. So the glass is in essence empty, but the liner of the insulated mug is full of liquid.
As you pour or tilt the glass, the liquid will come out from the liner and enter the main body of the glass or cup. The level of the liner will deplete and soon equal the contents of the glass.
When you right the cup, it should look as if 2/3 of the glass has vanished. If you held a rolled up newspaper in front of that glass as you poured, the illusion will be that the liquid has been poured into the news.
Place the cup aside, and then unroll the news as if the liquid has vanished from the paper.
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Several dealers have made these milk pitchers and sold them, but you can find these in most dollar shops in many sizes and they look so "ungimmicked" and natural, they are actually a better device than the commercial ones.

Miniature Money Production

2009-10-20T11:16:00.001-04:00

Creamers at a restaurant made a great impromtu magic item. Some of the fast ideas were Chink-a-Chink, Matrix, and cups and balls in miniature. For a while I sought to have a special clear cover made so I could make a miniature rice bowls effect. I soon found that there were just too many varieties of creamers to make a standard gimmick.
A creamer opening (in some places) has a circumference that is equal to a quarter. You can also place pennies dimes and nickels into the empty creamer. Cap it off with the quarter wedged into the creamer mouth.
Get the second creamer, and visibly pour salt into it. Over pour so that the salt it in a sligt mound. Then take your finger and level the salt level with the mouth of the creamer. Turn the coin loaded creamer (careful not to expose the coin load) upside down over the salt filled creamer and turn it over three times. When you lift the creamer, the salt will be resting on top of your coin load and it will look like the salt load has doubled.
Level it again, and cover the creamer with the empty side. Turn it over again, only once. As you lift the cointainer, squeez it a bit so that the quarter will dislodge and the coin load will fall onto the empty container. You have made a mini rice bowls with a coin load finale.

Juicy Coin trick

2009-10-20T10:57:00.000-04:00

I have glued a thimble on the back of a half dollar. Then, placing that on my middle finger, and moving the finger back and forth while your hand is turned palm down, gives the illusion that he coin is floating forard and back, when looked at through the hole created when you form a circle with your thumb and forefinger. Open your thumb and forefinger, like an "ok" sign, and you now have the setting for a coin production.
So, with hand palm down, and and okay sign towards your audience, take you middle finger with the glued coin on the thimble so that the edge of the coin is against the palm, with the coin face towards the inside of the OK configuration.
Open the OK, and push the middle finger forward, and as you you do so, open the okay sign and grasp the edge of the coin as it seems to float from the palm to your fingers.
Display the coin for a second and then pretend to toss it in your other hand. As you toss, retract the coin back to the obsured position against your palm.
The toss should be quick, the appearance of the coin can be a slow float from palm to fingertip.
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Instead of a thimble, you can find the perfect gimmick on the mouth of a Tropicana or Minute maid, juice carton. The plastic seal tab is a seal with a ring attached so you can open the fresh container. That seal is the perfect gimmick. The flat part of the tab is where you can glue the coin, the ring is the perfect finger clip, so stick your finger in the plastic ring and do the same move as described above.

Impromptu Rice Bowls

2009-10-20T10:39:00.001-04:00

Anything can be magical. Spoons, forks, napkins. I just finished a Del Monte fruit cup and went to empty the sugared syrup from the container. I turned it over to pour it out and the juice stayed in the cup. I had only peeled back the seal less than halfway and ate the fruit with a spoon. The seal, was fairly thick and rolled right back onto the lip of the container. Like the science experiment with a cup and a piece of paper, the liquid suction kept the syrup from coming out, to spite the weight of the liquid, the air above it formed the suction to keep it suspended and not push the plastic cover open.
Note: if you peel the lid back more than half-way, the seal will not work as well.

I immediately saw the mini rice bowls: You would have two identical containers and take some rice and pour it in one container, then level the rice contents. Turn the second bowl (with secret water load) upside down over the first bowl. Turn it over three times so that the water load is on the bottom with the clear lid on it. When you lift the bowl, the rice has appeared to double in contents, whereas in reality, the one bowls contents are not on the lid of the water load cover.

You level it again. Turn it over three time, this time when you lift the cover, you secretly pull off the water cover. Now, you have a water production where there was previously a rice load.
Note: you may trim the seal so that it matches the cup outline, or get a slight distance between you and the spectator.