Walk Through Paper Trick

Effect: 

This is more of a "dare"/puzzle than it is a magic trick, but it's still fun to do.  The magician asks the audience if anyone thinks he can cut a piece of regular paper with a hole big enough for him to walk through.

Then the magician snips a piece of paper along the lines on the template (he can either use the template or memorize the snips) and walks through the giant hole that's created!

NOTE:  I suggest if the magician memorizes the snips that he or she still have a printed template handy, just in case they forget when they're in front of an audience.



Supplies: 

piece of paper (construction paper works well as it's a bit sturdier) with or without template printed on it (depending on if magician memorizes the snips)
   
scissors

Secret: 

BEFORE THE TRICK:

This trick is more of a puzzle or a dare but it's still fun to show an audience.

Print out the template and practice snipping it, stretching it out and walking through it a few times.

DURING THE TRICK:

Ask the audience if they think you can cut a hole large enough to walk through in a regular piece of paper.

Cut the template out as quickly as possible (you don't have to be perfectly on the lines.  Stretch the paper apart carefully and walk through it.  You can hand the template out to the members of the audience so they can try it out at home!

Sugar Cube Trick

Effect: 

The magician asks for a volunteer from the audience.

The volunteer picks a number between 1 and 10.

The magician writes the number on a sugar cube.

The magician drops the cube into a cup of water and holds the volunteer's hand over the water.

He/she turns the volunteer's hand over and Poof! the number is on the volunteer's hand.

Supplies:

~a pencil (must be a pencil, pen will NOT work)
~a sugar cube (you can have several for effect)
~a glass of water

Secret:

Have the volunteer pick a number.

Write it onto the sugar cube with a pencil (press hard).

Then, hold the cube between your thumb and one finger.

Hold it so the number transfers onto your thumb and say," Now I will put this cube into the cup".

Press the cube as hard as possible so the number is on your thumb.

Put the cube into the water and hold the volunteer's hand above the water, make sure your thumb is in their palm so the number from your finger transfers onto the volunteer's hand.

This is a good trick to show smaller kids because they are less likely to figure out the trick.

Rope Trick

Effect: 

Holding a piece of rope, the magician places the ends of the rope into his hands and closes his fingers around the ends.  The magician shakes the rope slightly, says a magic word, blows on his hands and drops one end of the rope.  Magic!  The end has a knot in it!

Supplies: 

One long piece rope

Secret: 

The rope already has a knot in one end... Tie a knot in one end of the rope.  Hide this end with the knot in your hand and bring the other end of the rope up next to it.  Shake your hand as if you're trying to knot it.  Drop the end with the knot and it looks like you have tied a knot in the rope using one hand.

Mobius Magic

Effect: 

The magician tries to fit a loop of paper around his wrist (or around the magic puppet's neck) but it won't fit.  The magician says, "Hmmm, I'll have to cut this loop bigger".  The magician takes a pair of scissors and cuts the loop in half up the middle.  Instead of two loops, the magician ends up with one larger loop that now fits around his wrist!

(Normally, you would expect a loop cut in half up the middle to turn into two loops, instead of one big loop).

OPTIONAL:  Have an audience member cut a regular loop (one without a twist) in half up the center before you start your trick -- they will get two loops.  Before cutting your loop, you can ask the audience to guess what you will get if you cut the loop in half up the center... as long as you don't have anyone in the audience who knows about Mobius Strips you should get lots of guesses like "you'll end up with two loops".



Supplies: 

Construction paper

Tape

Scissors


Secret: 

Take a long, fairly wide strip of paper.  Twist the paper once and tape it into a loop.

This type of loop is called a "Mobius Strip".


Then lay out the cards again (the exact same way, 3 across & 7 down). 
Snip the loop up the center. 

Don't go too fast (snip, snip, snip) and keep as close to the exact center as you can.

You can babble some "magic words" as you go (Hocus Pocus, Luminous Mobius are the ones I like!)

When you're done cutting, you'll end up with one big loop with a couple of twists in it -- the natural assumption is that you'd end up with two loops.



HOW IT WORKS

A loop with a single twist in it is called a mobius strip.  The "Mobius Strip" is an actual mathematical phenomenon.  You aren't really doing magic, you're doing math!

The Möbius strip has several curious properties.  A line drawn starting from the seam down the middle will meet back at the seam but at the "other side".  If continued the line will meet the starting point and will be double the length of the original strip.  This single continuous curve demonstrates that the Möbius strip has only one boundary.   The example they always give in university is that if an ant walks along the edge of the strip, he'll travel twice as long as the loop before he gets back to his starting point.

Cutting a Möbius strip along the center line yields one long strip with two full twists in it, rather than two separate strips. This happens because the original strip only has one edge which is twice as long as the original strip.

When you do the trick, you have to be careful to cut as close to the center as you can, because there's a second magical mathematical ability the Mobius Strip has.  If the strip is cut about a third of the way in from the edge, it creates two strips: One is a thinner Möbius strip, the other is a longer but thin strip with two full twists in it.   So keep your cut close to the center so you don't accidentally end up with this.

Grandma asked me... yes, but now how do we explain this all to a five year old!?  The answer is, you don't have to... you can just tell them it's magic!

As with all tricks, it's best if you practice this a few times before you do it for an audience!

Magic Toothpick Trick

Effect: 

The magician shows a pan full of water with five toothpicks in the shape of a pentagon.

The magician takes his magic toothpick and dips it in the center of the pentagon.  The five toothpicks fly apart, breaking the pentagon!

Someone from the audience says... oh, that's just what happens when you do that, it's not magic.  The magician arranges the five toothpicks back into a pentagon and hands the person in the audience the magic toothpick.  The person dips it in the center.  Nothing happens.  It really was magic!

Supplies: 

a tinfoil pan (a pie plate or leftover Chinese food plate work well)
water
6 flat wooden toothpicks
the magic ingredient:  liquid dishwashing soap 
Before the Audience - Preparation:  

Dip one of your toothpicks in liquid dishwashing soap.  Set it aside for now.

Make sure your pan is clean.  Rinse it well with water.  Fill it quite full of water (but not so full that you're going to spill it).

In Front of the Audience - Preparation:  

Arrange the five SOAPLESS toothpicks in the shape of a pentagon.      Make sure the tips of the toothpicks overlap so your pentagon stays together.  This can be a bit of a challenge the first time you do it, so practice arranging the toothpicks at home a few times first and consider arranging them while the audience is seating itself.

Now, when the audience is settled, let them look at the pentagon.  They may have to stand to do this or you may want to do the trick on the floor with the audience around you in a U-shape.

Tell the audience that you've arranged the toothpicks into a special five sided shape called a pentagon and that you're going to cast a spell on the sixth toothpick to imbue it with some of your magical force so it will be able to break apart the pentagon.  (big words always impress an audience *grin*)

Take out the sixth toothpick (the one that was dipped in dish soap) and wave your hand over it while chanting some magical words.  Close your eyes and frown a bit so it looks like you're working on putting your magic into the toothpick.

Words you could chant:   Alaka penta Abraka magic

Now, dip the magical toothpick into the center of the pentagon (Make sure you dip the soapy end in the water and try to get it as close to the center of the shape as possible -- the soap shouldn't be visible anymore).  The five toothpicks will fly apart.

If you have a non-believer in the audience, offer to let them try the trick.  Arrange the pentagon in the water again and hand them the magic toothpick.  Let them dip it in the center.  It won't work!

If the audience asks you to do the trick a second time, just tell them that it takes awhile to recharge your magical force.  You have to rest before you can put more of it into a toothpick, otherwise you could lose your magic forever!

Secret: 

Throughout history, a lot of 'magic' has really been science disguised with a few silly words.  This is one of those tricks.

All things (including water) is made up of tiny things called molecules).  Water molecules like each other and stick together (that's why when a bit of water falls on a table or window, it blobs together in a little droplet).

The surface of the water has a layer of clingy molecules on it -- this layer is called the water's surface tension.  The toothpicks were nice and flat so they were floating on this layer.


Remember that we dipped the sixth toothpick in dish soap?  That's the real trick to this trick.  The soap molecules break the surface tension of the water.  This effect spreads out in an ever widening ring (like ripples in the water when you throw a rock in a lake).  The molecules originally holding the toothpicks break apart.  The molecules farther away from where you dipped the toothpick still have their surface tension (for a little longer) so they pull the toothpick toward them.  Of course, eventually the "ripples" of soap hit those molecules too.


Once the soap is in the water, the surface tension won't come back.  That's why the audience member couldn't recreate the trick.  It will only work once and then you have to clean everything up and use new toothpicks to do the trick a second time.  That's also why you have to be careful that your pan is well rinsed before you do the trick.

Magic Envelope Trick

Effect: 

The magician asks for a volunteer to write down four numbers on a piece of paper.

The magician asks the volunteer to TOTAL up the numbers.

The magician opens a sealed envelope and it has the same number as the TOTAL!

(or have the magic puppet pull out an envelope and hand it to the magician.  Have the puppet "whisper" to the magician to open up the envelope.)

Supplies:

~piece of paper
~a pen
~an envelope

Secret:

Before the show, write down a four figure number that is 2 times the current year's date.  For example, in the year 2000, the number would = 4000.  In the year 2001, the number would = 4002

Seal the paper in the envelope.

At the show, ask a helper to write down the year he was born.

Ask him to write down the year of an important event in his life (for example, the year he started school or the year he lost his first tooth)

Ask him to write down his age 
(How many years old will you be at the end of the current year?)

Ask him to write down the number of years that have passed since the important event
(What anniversary will you celebrate in the current year?)

(these numbers HAVE to be right *grin*... if it's been 4 years since the event and he writes down 3, the trick won't work)

The years have to be whole numbers (he can't say he's 6 and a half years old...it has to be 7.)

Have the assistant TOTAL the 4 numbers.

Open the envelope.  The TOTAL will be the same as the number you already wrote down!

Coin Trick

Effect: 

The magician shows a glass, upside down, and a coin on a sheet of colored paper.

He puts a handkerchief over the glass and moves it over.

He pulls the handkerchief off and Abracadabra! the coin has disappeared.


Supplies: 

A sheet of construction paper (1), a clear glass, a handkerchief and a coin.


Preparation:  

Trace the glass onto the sheet of paper and cut the circle out.  Then tape it to the glass so when you put it onto a piece of paper the same color it blends in.


Secret: 

When you do the above put the glass onto a piece of paper and just basically move the paper covered glass over the coin while the whole thing is under the handkerchief so the glass covers the coin.  Pull off the handkerchief.  The coin will have "disappeared.

Magic Bottle Trick

Effect: 

The magician asks for a volunteer from the audience who looks inside a bottle to make sure it's a normal, empty container.

The volunteer returns the bottle and then examines a magic wand to ensure it is normal.

The magician drops the wand into the bottle (noting how easily it falls in).

He/she turns bottle over and lets go of the wand.

The wand magically remains suspended in the bottle.

Supplies:

~a magic wand (could use a pencil instead) that is taller than the bottle (when you drop the wand into the bottle, part of it should still be sticking up through the opening.
~a bottle that has an opening large enough to fit the wand in (but not too big).  The bottle cannot be see-through 
~an eraser

If you don't have a bottle that is dark, you can put some dark paint inside the bottle and shake it around so the inside is painted.

Cut a piece off the eraser, just large enough to wedge the wand into the opening of the bottle.  The eraser is what makes the trick work!

Secret:

Pass the bottle to the volunteer and ask them to make sure its empty.

Take back the bottle and give your friend the wand.  Meanwhile, slip the piece of eraser into the bottle without anyone seeing (you can have it in your pocket until this point).   You'll need to practice this a few times.

Take the wand back and drop it into the bottle.

Pick up the wand and bottle and turn them VERY SLOWLY upside down (mumble all sorts of enchantments while you're doing this).  Pull on the wand slightly when the bottle is turning over so the piece of eraser gets wedged into the opening (you'll need to practice this a few times too).

Let go of the wand... PRESTO!  It doesn't fall out.

Slowly turn upright again.  Let go of everything and PRESTO the wand remains suspended in the bottle (it doesn't fall back down).

To remove the wand, push it slightly to release the rubber and then take it out.

Pepper Trick

Effect: 

Magician has cup with pepper and water.
Volunteer puts fingers in water trying to separate the pepper
This will not work
Magician puts fingers in water and the water separates.

Supplies:

Water
Soap
Pepper
Cup
(make sure there is a sink nearby so volunteer can wash hand)

Secret: 

Put water in a cup then regular pepper.
Before show, rub soap on your fingers (this will separate the pepper)