Magic Trick 51-60

Foretelling the Ending Numbers in a Domino Game Is Simple Trick

But Take One Out Secretly Before Play Starts and Make Sure It Doesn't Bear Identical Numbers.

NUMBERS ON DOMINO WHICH PERFORMER SECRETLY REMOVES APPEAR ON END DOMINOS WHEN GAME IS FINISHED....

FORETELLING THE ENDING NUMBERS IN A DOMINO GAME.

Suggest that two persons play a game of dominos, and inform them that you will predict the ending numbers of the game. Mix up the dominos, and secretly take one out—any but one with identical numbers will do. The game is played in the regular manner, each domino is matched until none are left, and the numbers appearing at either end will be the same as those appearing on the domino which you have removed. In the above drawing, a five and three has been taken out, and you will notice that these numbers appear on either end in the row that has been matched.

How to Perform Trick of the Mesmerized Ring

Man's Hand Causes It to Move One Way, While That of Woman Has Different Effect.

THE MESMERIZED RING.

Borrow a gold ring from some person in your audience, tie one end of a piece of string to the ring, make a loop in the other end, slip the loop over your finger, and extend your hand, holding it perfectly rigid, so that the ring will hang motionless in midair. Ask some girl to place the palm of her hand under the ring, and as the hand is held there, the ring will begin to swing forward and backward like a pendulum. Tell the girl to withdraw her hand, and ask a man to hold his in the same position. The ring will stop almost abruptly as the man's hand is placed beneath it, and will begin to swing in a circular motion. Although the performer holds his hand and arm as rigidly as possible, the ring will almost invariably swing to and fro when held over a woman's hand, and in a circular motion over the hand of a man. It is believed that a magnetic nerve force, different in a man and a woman, ac­counts for the strange movements of the ring.

How to Hold Lighted Candle Under Water

Place It on Large Cork, Cover with Container and Then Submerge —Oxygen Keeps Out Fluid

HOLDING LIGHTED CANDLE UNDER WATER.

Place a small candle on a large cork, light the candle and float the cork in a pail of water. Then turn a large glass up­side down, place it over the candle and down upon the cork. With your hand on the glass, shove it down into the water until it is completely submerged. The air inside the glass will prevent the water from entering and the candle will stay lit until the oxygen inside the glass is exhausted. If you cannot find a large cork, the base of which must be larger than the glass, anything else light enough to float will do. It would be interesting to make a wager with your friends as to how long the candle will burn under water. A large glass will hold more oxygen and enable the candle to burn longer.

How a Magic Pencil Mark Stops Flames Consuming Sheet of Paper

HOW TO PREVENT FIRE FROM CROSSING A PENCIL LINE ON PAPER.

A sheet of paper must be prepared for this trick in this manner: Pour some washing soda in a pan of water and boil until the soda has dissolved. Draw a pencil line across the center of a sheet of paper, dip the paper into the soda solution up to the line, and after the paper has soaked, remove and thoroughly dry it. Then erase the pencil line, leaving just a faint trace, so that you will be able to see it later. When the opportunity comes to perform the trick, announce to your audience that you will mark the paper, set fire to it, and the flames will not spread beyond your magic mark. Draw a line across the paper, directly over the line you have erased, and ask somebody to apply a match to the paper, being sure that the match is applied to the side that has not been soaked in the solution. The flames will spread, burning one side of the paper, and stop abruptly at the pencil line.

Mysterious Number 1089

You Can Puzzle Your Friends by Following This Formula, and Adding a Little Hocus Pocus of Your Own

THE UNCANNY NUMBER 1089.

Here is a simple yet very mystifying trick in arithmetic. Any number of three figures, excepting one with three equal digits, will, by subtracting and adding in the following manner, always give an answer of 1,089. For instance, take the number 684. Write it down, reverse it, making it 486, and subtract this from the original. The answer will be 198. Reverse this, making it 891, and add it to the 198. The final answer will be 1,089. A number of three equal digits could not be subtracted from itself, and therefore would be prohibited in the trick. Two rules must be watched. Where the subtraction leaves only two figures, such as 69, always add a zero in front, making it 069. And when the third figure of a number is larger than the first, subtract the smaller number from the larger. For instance, 129 reversed would be 921. You subtract 129 from 921.

Here is how to turn this into magic. Secretly open a telephone directory to page 89, copy the name appearing on the tenth line in column one on a piece of paper, and enclose the paper in a sealed envelope. Then appear before your audience and ask any person to call a number of three figures. Take the number, work it out in the above manner and your answer will be 1,089. Tell the person to turn to page 89, in the telephone directory, and note the name on the tenth line in column one. The 89 and 10 are parts of the answer. Then in­struct the person to tear open the envelope, and the name will be found enclosed.

Trick for Dining Room Magicians

While Not Making Food Disappear You Can Amuse Friends With Mystery of the Clinging Knife.

THE CLINGING KNIFE.

Here is a good trick to perform at the dining table. It is necessary beforehand to cover your fingers with an adhesive substance such as gum arabic, rubber cement or lead plaster. At the table you pick up a knife, rub it briskly on the palm of your hand as though to magnetize it, and turning your hand thumb upward, press the knife against your fingers, where it will stick. In explanation, you can jokingly say that by rub­bing the knife on your palm you have caused the magnetism from your body to enter the knife, thereby making it possible for the knife to cling to your fingers.

Magician Tells How to Make One Match Pass Through Another

Clever Sleight-of-Hand Keeps Audience From Seeing Tiny Gap Through Which Stick Moves.

AS MATCHES ARE BROUGUT TOGETHER, ONE IS RAISED FROM THUMB-MAKING GAP TUROUGH WHICH OTHER MATCH PASSES

PASSING ONE MATCH THROUGH ANOTHER.

Hold two matches, one in each hand, with the head be­tween the index and middle finger, and the tail pressed against the thumb. Bring the matches together, crosswise to each other, and as you do so, release the thumb of one hand, mak­ing a tiny gap through which the other match passes. With a little practice, this can be done quickly, and it looks to the bystander as though one match actually passes through the other. The large or phosphorous type of match should be used.

How to Make a Peg Jump From One Hole to Another in a Pencil

Lindhorst Explains It Doesn't Really Move at All, But You Can Make Spectators Think So.

MOLES

INDENTATION

MAKING A PEG JUMP FROM ONE HOLE TO ANOTHER IN A PENCIL.

The secret of this trick lies in the way the holes are placed in the pencil. Two holes are drilled through the pencil, and two deep indentations resembling holes are made, one on each side, making what appears to be three holes in the pencil. Each of the indentations is placed at opposite ends of the two holes, as shown in the above drawing. Make a small peg, place it in hole number two, twist the pencil so the other side comes on top, and the peg will have jumped to hole number one. The same can be done with holes number two and three. The illusion is more effective if the pencil is twisted quickly.

Magician Uses Soda Bottle and Dime to Produce Mystic Trick By Squeezing Bottle With Hands Coin on Top Is Moved.

BY SQUEEZING A SODA BOTTLE A DIME WILL MOVE ON TOP OF THE BOTTLE.

Pour a little water into a small soda bottle, and place a dime on top of the bottle. With your hand on the dime, tip the bottle so that the water inside will form a bubble under the dime. Then grasp the bottle with both hands, holding it firmly, and the dime on top will begin to move. In covering the bottle with the hands, heat is produced inside, and this mixing with the water forms a combustion. In seeking an outlet, this combustion causes the dime to move on top of the bottle, much in the manner that steam inside a kettle will cause the lid to rattle.

How to Make Coin Disappear in Handkerchief

Trick Is Dane So Dime Slides to Point Where It Can Be Hidden Under Thumb.

MAKING A COIN DISAPPEAR IN A HANDKERCHIEF.

Spread a handkerchief on a table, and place a dime in its center. Fold the handkerchief in the manner shown above, noting the corners marked ABCD. Fold A over to D, then fold B over to C, and roll the handkerchief so that just two corners show. Grasp a corner in each hand, suddenly pull the handkerchief taut, and as you do so, tilt the handkerchief slightly, so that the dime will slide down to one hand, where it is held under the thumb. Then open the handkerchief, and the dime will have disappeared. Pick it up at the corners again, twirl it a few times, and let the dime slide back. Then tie the handkerchief into a knot, throw it on the table, and ask someone to open it. The dime will be found where it was originally placed.

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