Light & Heavy Chest...

[mitchell_leary]

This is a pretty cool trick if you can find the right surface, it has to be a smooth polished tile floor or something similar. At the magic shop I sat the box on the glass counter, engaged the gimmick, and then tried to lift it. It damn near dislodged the entire sheet of glass.

And therein lies the secret. The box doesn't have a bottom. Affixed inside the box is one of those suction-cup tools that's used to handle large sheets of glass. When the mechanism is engaged the large powerful suction cup grabs the floor. It's all but impossible to lift.

Below you'll find a link to the trick over at Murphy's. Notice there are no handles on the box. If there were they would be ripped off the box by your spectator assistant.

http://www.murphysmagic.com/Product.aspx?id=49635

I've done a Google search for these glass handler's suction cup tools. The prices are all over the board, the cheapest I found sells for around $15.oo.

Everytime I see one of these tools I think of the comedian John Candy. I forget the name of the movie, but he's got them on both hands and feet and he's clinging to the outside of a sky scraper window. lol

I just saved you $230, now you can spend your hard earned cash on other things like the latest piece of magicrap.



-Leary-

[bill page]

ihad a feeling it was very strong suctioon cup idea mitch by how you described it:) ps i know how hard it is to pull to at my dad marcel page work in restraunts they had same idea for can opener stay on metal tan=ble idea using a handle know to make it soo tight if you dont know about it witch i dint know lol i tried to lift it off the meatal table to no avail and when i sweat on my white t shirt:) my dad give in while craking up laughing said bill look you have to undo the suction by this handle:) then i said ohhhhh:) ps bob scofiled trying to figuer out how a magician he saw prudeced a oven baked bettey crker cake with lit cand on it out of his coat after he put craked eggs extc in his coat pocket he reched in and prodiced a small cake with candle lit saying somthing like happy borthday on it with ocing on the cake he got ideas but i added i bet mitch leary would know:) then bob said yeah mitch would know bill:) but im gussing bill that hes using some kind of plastic bag to put eggs craked in his pocket and allready palem the better croker easy bake oven cake to prude with candle allready lit from a savante then i added hey a topit:) bob said yeah he could of used a topit bill page ps kids in my churchrayan asher and tory asher are asking me how a magician inscho9ol made a real live rabbit vanish in his hands hand held up at all times ps i said to raynasher as i pretened to hook a film projector plugto his head:)and look streight a head and say wow thats coool i think i know how he did it:) then i added but they done make things like this it would be cool if they did though that way i can see watch your thinking of on this illusion thats still in your mind video memory:)

[Al]

Even better, I was once shown a (sort of) impromptu version. The magician holds a book places a coffee cup on top, covers with a silk. One spectator can easily lift the covered up coffee cup while the other spectator who immediately tries cannot.

The MO is a hole on the side bottom of the cup the magician can easily slip his thumb in and out of to perform the effect.

I tell the robert houdan story of the light/heavy chest at rotary/kwianas meetings, but instead of the chest, I do a tear/no tear newspaper.

-A

[mitchell_leary]

F^^^ing brilliant Al! Thanks for sharing it.

I invented my own version that I think I published here years ago. Can be performed on any surface. It was just a four inch piece of steel that pivoted out of the bottom of the box as you lay it on the ground in front of you. You place your foot down on the gimmick thus pinning the box to the floor.

In my opinion the ultimate version would be a electromagnet engaging a fixed magnet inside the box. I think I read this in a old book explaining sideshow secrets.

-Leary-

[bill page]

> cool ai and mitch leary cool you guys are cool bill nye the science guy a team migiver like bob scofield
> -A