Magic Trick 41-50

How to Knock a Card Through Table

Trickster Makes It Stick to Back of Hand With Blow That Apparently Sends It Through Solid Wood.

HOW TO KNOCK A CARD THROUGH A TABLE.

Have somebody select a card and place it on top of a pack. Lay the pack on a table, near the edge, and inform your audi­ence that you will knock the selected card through the table. Secretly moisten the back of your hand with saliva, strike the pack a blow, and quickly lower your hand beneath the table, as though to catch the card as it falls. The top card of the pack will stick to the back of your moistened hand, where it is hidden from view, and will be carried below the table as you lower your hand. You then pick it off the floor and bring it back to the table.

How to Get a Loose Cork Out of Bottle Without Touching Either

HOW TO GET A LOOSE CORK OUT OF A BOTTLE WITHOUT TOUCHING THE BOTTLE.

Pour water into a bottle until it is about three-fourths full, and drop a small cork into it. Stand the bottle on a radio cabinet or something higher than a table, so that you can hold your head upright and blow into the bottle. If you blow sharply the cork will pop out. The cork must be small enough to easily slip down the neck of the bottle.

How to Break Pencil With Dollar Bill

By Clever Sleight of Hand He Cracks Wood with Finger, While Appearing to Strike Blow with Paper

BREAKING A PENCIL WITH A DOLLAR BILL.

Have somebody hold an octagonal pencil between both hands, placing each hand near the tips of the pencil, and ex­tend the arms slightly forward. Then fold a dollar bill length­wise, grasp it with one hand near the end, and announce that you will break the pencil with the dollar bill. Raise your arm, holding the bill, and as you swing it downward, extend the middle finger of the hand, so that the finger hits the pencil, breaking it. If this is done quickly, the audience will not see the extended finger, and to avoid suspicion after the pencil is broken, the finger should immediately be brought back to its original position.

Did You Know That a Child Can Step Through a Playing Card?

A CHILD CAN STEP THROUGH A PLAYING CARD.

It is possible for an average-sized child or a small adult to step through a playing card. Get a good quality linen card, mark it like the above drawing, and cut it along the marked lines. You will then be able to spread it apart, and there should be ample room for a child to pass through. As the edges of the card remain intact, it can be said that little Johnny or Mary has actually stepped through the card, much in the manner that animals jump through paper hoops in a circus.

Thread Supporting a Ring Can Be Burned but Still Hold It Suspended

A THREAD SUPPORTING A RING CAN BE BURNED AND STILL SUPPORT THE RING.

A piece of thread must be prepared for this trick in the following manner: A small glass is filled with water, two tea-spoonfuls of salt are added and the water is stirred until the salt has dissolved. The thread is dropped into the water, left to soak for about an hour, and taken out and thoroughly dried. The performer appears before the audience, borrows a ring, and ties one end of the thread to the ring, which is then held suspended in midair, and a match is applied to the thread. Although the thread burns, it will still retain sufficient strength to hold the ring. This is explained by the salt water forming a crystallized surface on the thread, which gives it double strength.

Mysterious No. 3 Almost Always Chosen From List Marked 1,2,3, 4
It May Be That Numbers Are Thought of in Cycles of Three.

THE MYSTERIOUS NUMBER THREE.

On one side of a piece of paper write these numbers, 1— 2—3—4, making each number a little larger than the preced­ing one. On the reverse side write this question: "Why did you select number three?" With the paper prepared in this manner, hand it to some person with the numbered side up, and ask the person to select a number. Almost invariably number three will be selected, and when this happens, turn the paper over, and lo! the selected number has been mys­teriously predicted on the reverse side. Why most people se­lect number three is difficult to explain. It may be that num­bers are thought of in cycles of three, and a person will un­consciously select the third number. If, as in rare instances, number three should not be selected, the tricks falls flat, and will have to be tried on someone else.

How to Fill a Tobacco Can Twice Without Emptying First Contents

TYPE OF CAN TO BE USED

THIS CAN HOLDS ALMOST TWICE AS MUCH WATER AFTER ITS SIDES ARE SPREAD APART AS SUOWN ON THE RIGHT.

HOW TO DO IT

LID REMOVED

AFTER SIDES

ARE PULLED APART.

FILLING A TOBACCO CAN TWICE WITHOUT EMPTY­ING THE FIRST CONTENTS.

A flat, curved tobacco can, like the one in the above draw­ing, must be used for this trick. After the can is filled with water, the performer places the first two fingers of each hand inside the can on both sides, and pulls the sides apart, chang­ing the can from concave into a circular shape. As the can is spread apart, the water inside will be lowered until the can is slightly over half filled. It will then be possible to pour almost as much again into the can without the water over­flowing. Although the square-inch surface of tin in the can does not increase by pulling the sides apart, the space inside will be almost doubled. It would take too much space to ex--plain the reason for this, so the reader will have to figure it out for himself.

Card Can Be Taken From Under Quarter Without Moving the Coin

Balance Articles on Tip of Finger, Lindhorst Explains, Then Hit Paper Vigorously and Presto! There Is 'Two-Bits.'

TAKING A CARD FROM UNDER A QUARTER WITHOUT MOVING THE QUARTER.

Place a quarter in the center of a small card about two inches square and balance the card on the tip of the index finger of your left hand. The quarter, in the center of the card, will then be directly above the finger tip, with the card between it and the finger. The trick is to remove the card without moving the quarter. This is done by striking the card sharply on the edge with the middle finger of the right hand. As the card is hit it will fly out from under the quarter, leav­ing the quarter balanced on the finger tip. It is necessary to strike the card sharply on a straight or horizontal angle.

It's Easy to Make a Dime on Plate Vanish, Then Find It Underneath

Penny Match Box, Quick Hand and—Another Coin!— Completes the Trick

A DIME ON A PLATE DISAPPEARS AND IS FOUND UNDER THE PLATE.

Prepare for this trick in the following manner. Lay a plate on a table, hide a dime under the plate, and place a penny match box turned upside down beside the plate. Then gather your audience around the table, drop a dime on the plate, and announce that you will make the dime disappear. Pick up the dime, and spin it on the plate. While it is spinning, quickly pick up the match box and pounce it down upon the dime. The dime will disappear when you raise the box, having been driven through the thin cover, where it is held as the box is taken away. With the audience wondering where the dime has gone, the performer lifts the plate, and presto! what is believed to be the same dime is found beneath the plate. The reason for turning the match box upside down is that it is easier for the dime to penetrate the top of the box.

How to Place Spoon in a Glass Without Touching Either

Lindhorst Shows Way to Do Trick With Ease and—of Course—There Must Be Another Utensil.

PLACING A SPOON IN A GLASS WITHOUT TOUCHING EITHER.

Stand a medium-sized glass on a table, place a spoon at right angles beside it, so that the tip of the spoon handle touches the glass. Then place another spoon lengthwise to the first, so that the handle tip of the second spoon is beneath the bowl of the first. Press sharply on the tip of the second spoon forcing its handle upward, which will raise the first spoon and cause it to do a back dive into the glass.

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