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33
The Enchanted Necklace ★★
Effect: Take a beaded necklace, hold it above a glass (or cup), cut the thread, and
let the beads fall into the glass. You wave your magic wand over the glass, lift the
necklace...and the audience will see that the beads are strung again!
Performance: Take some beads and two pieces of thread (we’ll call them thread A
and thread B). Attach thread A to the first bead, string it through all the beads and
then attach the other end to the last bead. Thread B should be strung through all the
beads and the ends then knotted together (like an ordinary necklace). When you do
the trick, cut thread B and put it in the glass as well. Remove the beads (try to grab
the first and last beads with your hand when you do so) and the audience will see
that the necklace is restrung.
32
Karate with a Dollar Bill ★★★
You would never think that the edge of a folded dollar bill would snap a pencil in
two, would you? That is exactly what happens. Begin by obtaining a dollar bill and
a full-sized new pencil. Fold the bill in half, lengthwise and again so that you have
a folded dollar bill about one inch wide. Have someone firmly grasp the pencil at
each end. Now bring the dollar bill down in a brisk chopping movement onto the
pencil. To everyone’s surprise, the dollar passes completely through the pencil,
breaking it in two. The real secret is to put out your forefinger at the precise moment
when the money touches the pencil. It is your finger that actually breaks it. If you
do it in one brisk downward sweep, it won’t hurt a bit. Remember that the pencil
must be held in a firm grip and only held at the extreme ends.
How Old Are You? ★★
Ask a spectator to think of the numbers of her birth month (January 1, February 2,
etc.). Then she must multiply these numbers by 2 and add 5 to the result. The result
is multiplied by 50 and the spectator must add her age to the result. She should now
tell you the result. Subtract 250 from it. The number you obtain consists of three or
four figures: the last two will give you the age of the spectator and the first or the two
first will be her birth month. Example: age 23 years, born in May (5). 5 x 2 = 10 + 5
= 15 x 50 = 750 + 23 = 773. 773 - 250 = 523. 23 = age; 5 = birth month.
The Magic Envelopes ★★
Effect: Get five envelopes. In four of them put a fake dollar bill and in the fifth put a
real dollar bill. Having done this, ask a member of the audience to shuffle the
envelopes. Then take the envelopes back and spell out, letter by letter, the word
HOCUS POCUS; as you pronounce each letter, move one envelope from the top to
the bottom. Give the last envelope (the “S” of HOCUS) to a member of the audience.
The same procedure is repeated, but this time with the word POCUS and the last
envelope is given to another spectator. Repeat until four spectators each have an
envelope and you have one as well. It will be found that when the envelopes are
opened, you are the one who has the envelope with the real dollar bill in it.
Secret: When you put the real dollar bill in the envelope, you also put a grain of
rice in it. After a spectator has shuffled the envelopes, take them back and feel
which one has the grain of rice in it. Quickly place the envelope with the grain of
rice second from the top. After performing the trick, you will observe that the
envelope with the real dollar bill remains with you.