talkmagic.co.uk

This is really annoying me. I was reading through a (very much a) tiny child’s magic book the other day and came across a thing with corks. Essentially, it’s a bit like the old matchstick penetration where you have a match held between the index finger and thumb of each hand and you make them pass through one another. Except you’re holding corks, and it’s not quite the same as the move is done during a ‘twisting’ motion (apparently) - the right and left hand rotate in opposite directions as they come apart.

Now I’m reminded of it, I have a vague memory of a drunken uncle performing it on Christmases past. However, the instructions in the book are faulty. All they do is describe what the move looks like to the spec - ‘the corks appear to pass through one another’ - with a vague sort of implication that it’s more optical illusion than sleight. But, they never say, ‘And here you transpose the corks from thumb to thumb’ or, ‘And here you create a gap for the other cork to pass through,’ or anything. It's like saying, ‘Here’s how you perform the trick. You walk towards the high, wide wall, don’t stop, and appear immediately on the other side: to the viewer it looks like you’ve walked through it.’ Fab.

Now, even though ‘have’ the method (which I paid for - ‘101 Cool Magic Tricks’, £1.99, Aldi: take that Ellusionist), and even though it’s an ancient, drunken uncle trick anyway, I wouldn't be so vulgar as to ask that someone who can form meaningful sentences tell me the method. But I’m sure a number of you must know this trick - perhaps it was the first one you ever learnt - and if you’d be good enough to make a quick vid of it then I’d be able to see the general movement the hands are supposed to make and, I flatter myself, could work it out from there - sadly, those Christmases were too long ago for the moving image to be remotely distinct in my head now.

This, as I mentioned, is really annoying me.

****www.google.com****

Searching for 'corks thumbs trick' will do it, 2nd entry will be what you want.

Swest wrote:****www.google.com****

Searching for 'corks thumbs trick' will do it, 2nd entry will be what you want.

.....and if that doesn't work, PM me. I do know what you are talking about, and as a stoke of luck, I was playing around with this last night! It is an old trick, but if performed at the right point of the evening it can look like a miracle.....not much of a trick itself though!

PM me and I will help

Big thanks to you both. I can now stop hyperventilating.

I have done this for ages. You can find a version in Professional Magic for Amateurs by Walter Gibson, Dover Books.

It is really a good stumper for parties, where I assume there ought to be lots or corks!

DrTodd wrote:It is really a good stumper for parties

My motivation for knowing about this was mere irritation - like trying to recall the name of a song that’s going round one’s head. However, I just did it for my eldest son and he laughed with amused puzzlement. This is, in fact, pretty impressive, as my sons are gits. Last night, for example, a friend was round and started to show him a coin balancing thing. Though he's never heard of a PK ring, he said, 'You've got a *** *** your ***,' almost before my poor friend had even begun the effect. And, this morning, he simply walked through the room as I was watching a recording of Freaky and, as he idly glanced at the 'coin visibly pentrating into a Tic-Tac box' trick being performed, mumbled, 'That... [method].'

So, well done those corks.

For anyone passing who has the slightest inclination to see what on earth we’re on about, I’ve stuck up a quick vid on You Tube now
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsXDN3ggr2g
(Note my skilful misdirection technique: having a great big ‘trial software’ message across the screen.) I’d urge passers-by to try this themselves, though. The problem with a vid is its 2D, so there’s no sense of depth - on the video it looks like my hands are touching my body (so I’d be balancing the cork against my chest while I moved my hands around it, or something). In real, 3D life, you’d be able to see that my hands are actually about eight inches away from me. Really, everyone, try it. It’s an unexpectedly deceptive piece of silliness.

http://www.talkmagic.co.uk/ftopic1481.p ... light=cork

This was covered donkey's yonks ago, just shows how non-ageing this type of thing is.