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X–Ray Eyes ★★★
Put the removable top of your magic wand on the table. Turn your back to the
audience and close your eyes. Ask a spectator to put the top of your magic wand
under one of the three half-balls. Turn around toward the audience and immediately
you can point to the half-ball that covers the top. It’s simple: when you turn around
and close your eyes, your eyes get accustomed to the darkness; so you can see,
once you open your eyes, that the ball with the top under it is a bit whiter than the
others. The audience will not notice a difference because they have been looking at
the balls all the time.
The Ghost Wand ★★★
Effect: When the magician says some magic words, the wand will tap itself on
the table!
Performance: You will need an assistant to do this trick. Secure a length of
transparent nylon thread to two candles and place them in the candlestick. Lay the
wand across the thread (figure 1). As soon as you say the magic words, your helper
must pull on the thread; then the wand will move and tap on the table.
The Floating Magic Wand ★★
You’ll need to wear long sleeves and a wristwatch to perform this trick. Before the
show, wedge a small ruler between the wrist of your left hand and the strap of
your wristwatch so that it lies along the inside of your wrist with a small amount of
it on your palm. Make sure the audience never sees the ruler. To perform the trick,
hold the wand in your left hand so that it is between the ruler and your palm (the
back of your hand is facing the audience). Now open your fingers and the wand is
stuck to your hand.
Appearing Pencil ★★
Before performing this trick, secretly put a small pencil inside your magic wand.
Then, take the wand with your right hand and tap with it on your left hand so that
the audience can see your empty left hand. Take the wand in the left hand and let
the pencil slip into the palm of this hand. Show them your empty right hand; the
audience has now seen both of your hands empty. Say some magic words and open
your left hand, producing a pencil.
How to Paralyze a Spectator ★★
Announce that you can place a spectator in such a position that he will be unable
to lift his left foot from the floor. Stand the volunteer against a wall with his right
side and the side of his right foot touching the wall. Now ask the volunteer to lift his
left foot. It’s impossible!
A Five Plays Jokes ★
Give a pencil and paper to a volunteer. Then give the following instructions:
“Write down a number less than 10, double it, and add 10 to the result. Divide
the answer by 2 and subtract the first number.” You know that the answer will
always be five.