From the disappearance of the Statue of Liberty to drowning in chains: 10 revelations of iconic tricks
'15.10.2021'
Source: Life hacker
Learn how to make the Statue of Liberty or a train disappear, cut an assistant in half, or just walk on water, suggests Life hacker.
1. The disappearance of the Statue of Liberty
Thanks to this focus in 1983, David Copperfield became famous throughout America. In front of the public, he made no less the main American symbol - the Statue of Liberty - disappear. The magician raised the curtain, closing the monument, made passes with his palms, sat down, pressed his finger to his head - and when, with a wave of his hand, the curtain was removed, the Statue of Liberty was not in place.
The solution: What Copperfield showed was not magic, but simply optical illusion. The platform on which the supports with lighting and curtain were installed can rotate, but it does so slowly and imperceptibly. When the curtain was removed, one of the pillars hid the Statue of Liberty from the audience. In addition, the illumination on the monument was turned off to make it even more invisible.
2. Abduction of the Orient Express
Another Copperfield trick - this guy's name has long become a household name, he loves to make things disappear. With this trick, he made an entire carriage covered with cloth disappear. And although a group of spectators surrounded him in order to exclude the possibility of deception, the car still disappeared as soon as the canvas was lifted.
The solution: In fact, the fabric lay on an inconspicuous structure from above, and the car was simply quickly towed to a free section of track. It was impossible to notice this for two reasons. Firstly, it was dark where the carriage was stopped. And secondly, the bright lamp blinded and interfered with his outlines. The support, on which the fabric was thrown, was painted black and lifted on cables, so it was also invisible in the dark.
One question remains: how did the audience not notice the rumble when the heavy car was towed? Perhaps they were distracted by loud music and thought that the tremor was conceived by the magician. Or maybe they were in cahoots with a magician, because the trick was primarily designed for viewers.
3. Walking on water
The masked man carefully crosses the pool on foot, literally walking on the water. At the same time, he moves slowly and carefully, as if the process requires the exertion of all his magical powers. In addition, during the trick, one woman swims directly under the wizard.
The solution: It's so simple that there is nothing to explain. The illusionist got the ability to walk on water thanks to a transparent plexiglass bridge, which his assistants installed in the pool in advance. And bathing people are in cahoots with the illusionist and diligently do not notice the crossing, which otherwise would inevitably be groped by their hands.
4. Passing through the mirror
The magician shows the audience a huge mirror in a massive frame. Then he closes the middle of it with a black screen and simply crawls through the glass without ceasing to flirt with the assistant.
The solution: Tricks with passing through with an ordinary mirror cannot be repeated. It is special there: the glass in it can be divided into two halves. And when the trick is performed, the assistants imperceptibly change parts of it into one solid mirror so that the audience does not notice the deception.
5. Capturing a bullet with your teeth
This is one of the oldest tricks in the world, described in Jean Chassanion's The Theater of God's Judgment from 1586. In this trick, the illusionist is shot from a pistol, and in order to convince everyone of the reality of what is happening, a bullet breaks the glass between the magician and the shooter. Then the magician spits it out on a plate and shows it to the audience.
The solution: There are several variations of this trick. The most common is shooting with a wax bullet. It is enough to break through the glass, but it remains on the fragments and cannot harm the magician. And he spits out a pre-prepared bullet.
Sometimes weapons are offered to be loaded at a randomly selected person to increase the realism of the focus. In this case, he is given a real bullet, not a wax one. On the instructions of the magician, the viewer draws something on it - for example, a smiley or a heart. The wizard's assistants spy on the symbol and repeat it on the fake bullet before discreetly slipping it into the performer's mouth. And the charge signed by the viewer is replaced with a wax dummy.
In addition, in the past, when the rifles were loaded with ramrods, magicians used magnetic bullets. They stuck to the ramrod, they were quietly taken out and taken in the teeth, and the shot was fired only with gunpowder. His energy was also enough to break the glass.
And finally, in some cases, the magician's assistant fired a real cartridge, simply aiming past the illusionist. But such a risky trick would sometimes kill magicians if their comrade was a bad shooter. Or he was angry with the boss.
6. Drowning in shackles
This trick is also called the "China Water Torture Chamber". The magician or his assistant is shackled and thrown into a reservoir of water, from which the victim must somehow get out. The trick was popularized by the famous Harry Houdini in 1912, but may have been invented even earlier.
The solution: In theory, it's simple. The locks in such chambers are real, but the rods on which they are attached are fake, and they can be easily pulled out. Nevertheless, the trick is still very dangerous and requires good physical preparation. After all, the victim is forced to hang upside down for several minutes, and even under water, and from this one can easily lose consciousness.
7. Walking with amputated legs
Unsuspecting spectators enter the elevator, and there they are trapped by a man who divided his body in half and utters frightening screams. People shy away, grab their children in their arms and scatter. Such is the prank trick.
The solution: A magician doing this must have a fair amount of flexibility, a sense of balance, and be able to walk in a squat. The lower half of the supposedly severed body, dressed in pants, is a mannequin, but the dodger has his own legs, just bent. A specially tailored outfit, which is also several sizes larger, hides the pose of a magician. Naturally, if the viewer enters from behind, he will immediately notice the deception, so at first the pranker sits in the corner.
8. Swallowing a sword
One of the most ancient circus arts is swallowing swords, swords, spears and other types of edged weapons. It is believed that the trick appeared in Ancient India, and it is mentioned by the ancient author Apuleius in the novel "Metamorphoses". The wizard or fakir takes the sword, lifts his head and places the blade in his mouth, and then swallows it all the way to the guard.
The solution: The most amazing and scary thing about this trick is that there is no deception in it. The magician, having suppressed the swallowing reflex, really swallows the sword. Sometimes, before focusing, the magician places a special tube into the esophagus to guide the blade and reduce the risk of injury. But even with such precautions, this is an extremely dangerous number.
9. Levitation
This is also a fairly common trick and has been performed by many illusionists. The magician takes and flies into the air without wings, balloons like a Pennywise or Carlson's propeller. Simple but spectacular.
The solution: You don't have to be the whistle-blower Val Valentino (by the way, he was the one who performed in the trick "Walking on Water" in a black mask) to understand that magicians are lifted with the help of invisible cables. But if you try to tie yourself around the waist with a rope or two, you will look unnatural. Therefore, magicians use entire bundles of thin cables attached to the belt to distribute the load and create a real illusion of soaring.
10. Splitting into parts
Finally, we will expose perhaps the most popular trick in the world. The first mention of it dates back to 1809, but it may be that it was invented already in Ancient Egypt. An assistant or a person from the audience is placed in a magic box so that only the head and legs are visible. The box is then sawed in half and shown to the audience that the victim, which was walked on with the saw, is alive.
The solution: Wizards have two ways to saw an assistant. In the first case, the lower part of the box is provided with the legs of a mannequin, and in the upper half, the person simply squeezes them. It doesn't look very natural because the limbs don't move. Option two: under the box there is a hidden room, where there is another mage's assistant in the same shoes as the one being sawn. The victim draws his legs, and the magician cuts at a predetermined place. If you need to do this with a person from the audience, then use a decoy duck.
Sometimes they can also stick a couple of swords into a spectator or an assistant. This is done in specially designated places so that the blades pass by the bent victim.
