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I thought it would be fun to list tricks we've seen and either worked out an alternative method, or worked out the actual method pretty much straight away. No exposure, natch, and taking as read that you'd still cough up the green if you went on to perform it in front of anyone other than a video camera.

Fearson's Shirt Happens
Though it's a sundry effect, and is more useful as a reveal by way of a t-shirt design.

Wizard's Spike
I sat down and worked out a comedy routine for this. Now I just need to legitimise £115 to myself...

Off the top of my head:

Various coins into bottles.
Mindbender.

I still bought them though. I mean, I worked them out but I didn't come up with them in the first place, did I?

Goes without saying. Well, it doesn't go without saying, but it ought to.

Tomo wrote:but I didn't come up with them in the first place, did I?

Neither did the guy credited with coming up with Mindbender on Ellusionist.

The most recent effect has to be Bang On, reviewed in this thread. I'm ready to admit that the creator has devised a practical and easy to use wallet, etc. to perform the effect but that doesn't take away the fact that (a) card from wallet is an unoriginal idea and (b) from the audience's pov you could perform the very same effect from wallet(s), envelopes and cards you made at home.

copyright wrote:

Tomo wrote:but I didn't come up with them in the first place, did I?

Neither did the guy credited with coming up with Mindbender on Ellusionist.

Really? That's pretty bad if it's he knew who came up with it originally. Mind you, how many times have people read old books and simply replicated some of the out-of-copyright effects to sell? A new handling is one thing, with proper credit, but simply taking them is somewhat morally redundant.

Fools rush in where angels fear to tread...

Mr_Grue wrote:
Fearson's Shirt Happens
Though it's a sundry effect, and is more useful as a reveal by way of a t-shirt design.

Actually I have funny story that relates to this effect.
The idea for this effect had been floating in my head for several years, but I was sure it's an old method that already had been published in a magic book from the 19th century (and it probably had, same story as Garcia's "Warning"). Any way I got back to the effect when I was in party, I had 2 shirts one on top of the other, and a jacket and someone asked me to do something special, so I prepped in the toilet, and performed, and was really surprised by the results.
So the next day I took an hour in front of a mirror testing it with deferent shirts, and then two days later I watch a Mindfreak episode, and guess what? It's Criss Angel performing the same effect I thought I invented, kinda freaked me out at first..

Really? That's pretty bad if it's he knew who came up with it originally. Mind you, how many times have people read old books and simply replicated some of the out-of-copyright effects to sell? A new handling is one thing, with proper credit, but simply taking them is somewhat morally redundant.

My grandfather used to do this trick when I was kid and consequently I used to do it at school. This was several years ago as you can probably imagine.