by Bart King
There are many other tricks to learn, but space doesn’t allow me to go into them all. Some are exotic and dangerous, like the Machine Gun, the Falling Gymnast, the Mustache Waxer, the Rattlesnake Bite, and others. If you are interested, I suggest you find out about them by reading a book.
Slang News! The word “yo-yo” can mean “a fool.” I always thought that when my dad said to me “You yo-yo,” he was saying that I knew how to use one!
The famous French general and emperor Napoleon liked to play with yo-yos! As a matter of fact, yo-yoing was a favorite of French nobility for a long time. During the French Revolution (1787–1799), many nobles yo-yoed as they were taken to the guillotine to have their heads cut off. Now those were dedicated yo-yoers!
Yo-Yo Criminal! In 1968, a man named Abbie Hoffman was being investigated by a special committee of Congress. (This is very serious business!) Hoffman brought his yo-yo with him to this investigation, and “walked the dog” for them. The committee was not amused, and they found Hoffman in contempt.
I am working on the invention of a “stringless yo-yo.” I’ll let you know when I’m done. And remember, June 6 is National Yo-Yo Day!
Follow-Up Activity
Impress the neighborhood kids by juggling a bowling ball, a running chain saw, and a feather while at the same time doing yo-yo tricks. (This will take a little bit of practice.)
Magic!
Is there really such a thing as magic? Yes. If someone thinks something is magic, then it is magic! For example, pretend that you’d never seen or heard of electricity. One day, a mysterious woman with a cape shows you a dark room. With a swirl of her cape, a magic word—and the unseen flick of a switch—the room lights up!
“How did you do that?” you would ask.
“Magic!” she would reply. And guess what? You would think it was magic.
Doing magic tricks for an audience is a blast; it’s fun to try to fool people! And because there are an unlimited number of magic tricks, it gets you thinking about creative tricks that you can come up with yourself.
One important tool of the magician is misdirection. This is what the magician does to get you to look away while they perform the “trick.” This is why professional magicians wear cloaks, swing their wands around a lot, and have assistants that don’t wear much clothing. It is to distract you!
A good way for you to use misdirection is to always have a live grizzly bear with you when you perform. (I’m just making sure you’re paying attention.) Actually, a real good way to misdirect people is to ask someone a question just as you’re getting ready to do your trick. What the question is doesn’t always matter, just ask it. “What did you have for breakfast today?” “Is your hair naturally that color?” That sort of thing.
Another way to use misdirection is the emphasis you use on certain words. Here is a trick question that works almost every time because of misdirection. You say the following sentence quickly (but clearly) to your audience: “I have 2 normal U.S. coins in my pocket right now. These 2 coins total 55 cents.”
(In your next sentence, you say the word “one” quietly and really emphasize the words in italics): “Please keep in mind that one of these coins is not a nickel! One of these coins is not a nickel! What are the coins?”
People will often be stumped by this question because of your misdirection. Your audience focused on the phrase “not a nickel” and so they can’t figure out how this could be. (The answer to the question is that one of the coins is a 50-cent piece and the other coin is a nickel. See, one of the coins is not a nickel, but one of them is!) That’s misdirection for you.
You don’t need to worry about having a costume or putting on a big show for magic. One of my favorite magicians is David Blaine. He dresses in jeans and a T-shirt and performs tricks for people in the street. He calls this “street magic.” Street magic is magic that doesn’t require an accent, top hats, wizard robes, or even a lot of props.
Here are some tips for your street magic: First of all, don’t tell your audience exactly what you will be doing; let the trick speak for itself. Also, if you do a good trick, don’t do it again right away! It is never as impressive the second time. If your audience requests it, just smile and tell them, “Sorry, I used up all the magic for that one.”
If you like, come up with your own phrase when you do a trick. David Blaine says “Look, look!” a lot. “Abracadabra,” “Presto,” and “Allakazam” have been around for a long time, but there are many other choices. A magician named Ali Bongo liked to say, “Hocus Pocus, Fishbones Chokus.” If you’re using a snake in your trick, try “Abrada-cobra.” (That’s a joke.) Magician Al Flosso said, “Happis Crappis,” which is tough to beat.
Most importantly, don’t tell how you did any magic trick! Remember, the fun part is thinking that it’s magic. Even though people may be curious as to how the trick worked, when they find out, they are almost always disappointed. If someone asks you, “How did you do that?” you should reply, “Can you keep a secret?” After they say, “Yes,” tell them, “So can I.”
For this chapter’s tricks, you don’t need any special supplies or amazing abilities. Anyone can do them! They are arranged from easiest to more challenging. Be sure to practice the tricks in front of a mirror before you try to perform them for an audience, or you may have some disappointed customers.
*A magician from New York named William Robinson thought his act would be more interesting if he pretended he was Chinese. When he performed, he did so under the name Chung Ling Soo. Robinson would even use a translator when he spoke with reporters to make his persona more real.
The Most Dangerous Trick in the World! No, it’s not pulling a bloodthirsty rabbit out of a hat. It is the trick called the “bullet catch.” The idea is that someone fires a gun at the magician and then he catches the bullet in his teeth. To date, over a dozen magicians have lost their lives either doing the trick or from complications after the trick has been performed.
Fake Magic
Let’s start with some tricks that are incredibly easy. These are all fun because you will pretend that you are going to do a magic trick, and then show your audience just a trick. What a treat!
X-Ray Vision
Tell your audience, “I can see through walls.” If anyone disagrees, try to make a friendly bet. After you have accomplished this, walk to a window and look out. Ta-dah!
The Boomeranging Pencil
Pick up a pencil (or any object you can throw). Tell your audience, “I can make this object fly through the air, come to a stop, and then reverse its course back to my hand!” Your audience will be suspicious, trying to figure this one out, so add, “I will not bounce it off anything or spin it in any way.”
Let them murmur and be amazed; when you are ready, take the pencil, toss it straight up in the air, and then catch it on the way down. Magic! (Actually, gravity!)
You Aren’t Psychic, You’re Psycho
Tell your audience, “I can predict the score of any soccer game before it starts with 100 percent accuracy.” Let that sink in for a moment, then challenge them. “How do I do it?” Typically, your audience will have a few guesses, and then you can start giving hints.
Tell them, “I can also predict the score of any hockey game before it begins with 100 percent accuracy.” String them along for a while, adding different sports to the question. Don’t let it go too far or someone will figure it out: The answer is that the score of any game before it starts is zero to zero!
The “No-Magic” Magic Tricks
1. This is a card trick in which you never touch the cards at all. Just get out a deck of cards and have your volunteer shuffle it a few times. (More than a few times if it’s a new deck.) When he’s done he should set the deck face down on the table.
Ask the volunteer to think of 2 different cards, like a Jack and a Seven. (The suit of the card doesn’t matter.) Once he gives you his two cards (let’s say a Jack and a Seven), you are ready. Wave your hand over the deck, act like
a spazz, and say a magic word if you have one.
Say, “I think the magic is done. Please check through the deck and look for the Jack right next to the Seven.”
Your volunteer now goes through the deck, and the Jack IS by the Seven! He is amazed! What he didn’t know is that the odds of two values in the deck being next to each other are better than 60 percent! If it didn’t work, just say, “I thought that might happen,” and try again. (For some reason, this almost always works the first time. If it does, don’t push your luck by going for twice in a row!)
2. (You have to be able to shuffle a deck of cards well for this one!) Set up a card deck so that the cards go RED, then BLACK, then RED, etc. Put them back into their container, and later pull them out. Tell your audience that you will shuffle the cards, but you will be able to throw them out in RED and BLACK pairs when you are done!
Shuffle the cards once, being careful not to let big clumps of one side fall in before the alternating pile is worked in. If you can, check the last two cards at the bottom. If they are a red and black pair you’re ready. (If they’re not, try to keep talking and secretly fix the problem!) Begin throwing cards face-up two at a time onto the table. Put down one pair and then, next to it, put the next pair. It should work!
Slow Down the Beat
In this trick, you will convince your audience that you have the ability to slow your heart rate down. All you need is a rubber ball. A tennis ball works well, but so does a rolled-up sock. Before the trick, put the ball a little low in your armpit. Now you’re ready!
Have a volunteer take your pulse on the arm holding the ball. Make sure that he can feel your pulse beat before you start “slowing your heart down.”
Once the volunteer can feel your pulse, start slowly squeezing the ball with your arm. Squeeze slowly and gradually. Your volunteer shouldn’t notice you doing it, and you don’t want to change your pulse rate too fast. You see, as you push the ball against your arm, the ball pushes on the big artery that sends blood down to your wrist. This will slow your pulse down!
Once the volunteer freaks out, stop squeezing the ball and pull back your hand. Don’t do this trick more for more than 20 seconds of time or more than once in a day! (Don’t worry, it’s not dangerous.)
The Egg Gymnast
Everyone knows that you can’t balance an egg on its end. That darned oval shape causes them to roll every time. Or does it? Christopher Columbus supposedly used this trick once. Here’s the simplest way to do it.
To prepare for this trick, get some raw eggs. Take a couple of the eggs in each hand and shake them energetically for 4 minutes or so. (If you have a helper to assist with shaking them, that’s good.) Replace them in the carton, remembering which end of the carton they are in. (You may want to practice the steps below beforehand, so you know it works.)
When you’re ready for the trick, pull the egg carton out. Invite your audience to try to balance the eggs with your non-shaken ones. Then take a shaken egg and VERY carefully set it on its end. Hold it still with your hand for a few moments. It will stand still if you shook it long enough! (It’s because you scrambled the yolk while shaking it!)
Coin Magic
Tricks with coins are good because you just might make a little money!
The Nickel Somersault
You need 2 quarters and a nickel for this trick. Here’s what you do. Put the nickel between the quarters. (It’s a coin sandwich!) Hold this sandwich with your thumb and finger and hold your palm about ten inches below it.
Now let go of only the bottom quarter. The quarter and nickel will fall. However, even though the nickel was on TOP of the quarter when you let go, it will end up UNDER it. Try it!
Making Money
For this trick, you will need a handful of coins and a hardcover dictionary. You decide what kind of coin you will use and how many of them will be included. (In this example, there will be 8 dimes.)
Before getting your volunteer, you need to secretly slip 3 of the dimes into the spine of the dictionary. The coins will go into the hole in the binding created when the book is opened.
Now you are ready. Have your volunteer look up a word in the dictionary. “Earnings,” “money,” and “profit” are all good words to turn to. Pick one of these words and tell your volunteer that if they think about money hard enough, they can make more of it!
Then have the volunteer place the coins in the dictionary’s page crease on the page you’ve turned to. Now it’s time for the magic! Close the dictionary, wave your hands, say a magic word, and be dramatic. Then with great intensity, quickly open the dictionary to the page the coins were on and tilt the dictionary up to pour the coins out into the volunteer’s hands.
He might be surprised to find that he has made a profit!
Dirty Copper
This is the world’s easiest disappearing coin trick. To do it, you need a glass jar with a lid and a penny. That’s it!
Fill the jar with water and screw on its lid. You’re all set to go. Show the penny to your audience so that they know it’s real. Then set the penny on the table and, using a little drama, put the jar right over it so that the glass bottom covers the coin. Happis crappis! The penny is gone! (Actually, it’s still there, but its image is reflecting off of the inside of the jar so you can’t see it.)
If you want to be fancy, cover the jar with a cloth napkin as you do the trick to build suspense. After you show the “disappeared” penny, cover it again with the napkin for more magic before removing the jar.
Heads Up
This is a trick where you will magically know for certain if someone has a coin that is heads or tails. For this trick, you need at least 5 coins. (It doesn’t matter what kind of coins you use.)
First, set the coins on a table. Count how many of the coins have their heads up. Remember that number!
Turn your back to the table. Have the volunteer turn over at least 1 coin (but not all of them) and to say “Artichoke” as he turns over each coin. Every time that you hear “Artichoke,” add one more to your number.
Now, have him cover one of the coins with his hand. You will be guessing whether that coin is “heads” or “tails.”
Turn back around and look at the table. If the number you have in your head is an even number, count how many coins on the table are “heads up.” If there is an even number on the table heads up, the coin under your volunteer’s hand is a “tails.” But if there is an odd number of heads on the table, his coin is a “heads.”
If the number you are left with is an odd number, when you count the “heads up” coins and there’s an odd number of them, his coin is “tails up.” And, of course, if there is an even amount of “heads up” coins, his coin will be “heads up.”
Card Magic
Card tricks are good to know because the supplies are so easy: one deck of cards! For these tricks, don’t let your audience touch the cards or look at them in any way except the way you want them to. Be polite, but firm. Tell the audience you will kill them if they disobey, but say it nicely.
It’s All Four You
This is the easiest trick of all time! Like many card tricks, in this one a volunteer takes a card from the deck and you magically figure out what the card is.
Before doing the trick, take one of the “Four” cards (like the Four of Diamonds), and place it fourth up from the bottom of the deck. Flip it over, so that it faces the other direction from the rest of the cards.
Now you’re ready. Have a volunteer select a card anywhere from the pack. (Hold the pack in your hand, so that it is unlikely that they will see the turned Four of Diamonds at the bottom.) He should look at it and then put the card on the top of the deck. Now cut the deck. Their card is now somewhere in the center of the deck, but your trick is now set up.
Say your magic word, wave your arms, or be dramatic. Now, hand the deck of cards to your volunteer and have them go through the deck until they see a card that is turned around. They’ll come to the Four of Diamonds and say, “
That’s not my card!”
Act surprised! Then pretend that you remember how the trick went. “Oh yeah, try counting off four more cards from there.” They will, and there is their card!
Rounding Off
Okay, here’s another way to find a card that uses an easy strategy. First, you need to know the difference between the “round” cards and the other cards in the deck. The “round” cards are the ones that have a rounded number or letter at the top: 2, 6, 8, 9, 10, and Queen. (Depending on your deck, the “3” may also be a round card.) The “non-round” cards are 4, 5, 7, Jack, King, and Ace.
Separate the “round” cards from the others in your deck and you will have 2 roughly equal piles. You can shuffle these 2 separate piles if you want. Then place one pile on top of the other carefully, offsetting the top pile slightly so that you know the difference between the piles.
Now you’re ready for your audience. You need 2 volunteers. Hand each of them “half” of the deck and step away from them. They can shuffle their piles if they want. You want each of them to pick a card from their pile and hand it to the other person. That person will then “bury” the card in their pile. They can still shuffle their pile if they want.