I was doing bedside magic and a thought occured to me. A small boy who was a patient at a children's hospital said, "I'm a magician too!" He was so excited.

"Are you REALLY? Then you know that the magician's FIRST rule is to never tell how a trick is done, right?"

"Oh yes."

"Well then, would you like to test your magic and see how strong it is?"

He looked at me skeptically but I just smiled and tried to be as encouraging as I could.

=IF YOU DON'T KNOW CRAZY MAN'S HANDCUFFS THEN THIS MIGHT NOT MAKES SENSE TO YOU

I told the boy to hold his fingers in the way that the magician does with the first rubber band. I carefully put the band on his finger and thumb and told him to keep it tight, don't let it slip off. Then I linked my rubber band behind that one and pulled it taut enough that it was obviously linked. At the same time I did 'the setup.'

"See, they're linked together, can your momma and daddy see that?" He nodded at me. It seemed the boy wasn't even breathing he was concentrating so hard.

"Now son, gently pull your rubber band back. Don't let go, just pull it back and stretch out the bands."

He did and when it got just a little tight (he was a very sick boy and I didn't know how strong he was) I did the move and one band melted through the other.

He gasped and turned to his parents, face shining.

"SEE? I TOLD you I'm a magician!" he said to them.

He got a moment of joy and I got a new handling for a very old trick.

Cool

I just love moments like that! There is nothing more personally satisfying than giving a sick child the power to amaze, when they are faced with the powerless circumstances of fighting an illness in hospital. My hat is off to you sir, you gave him the magical moment he will never forget!

That is a GREAT story! You certainly earned your "gold star" for the day.

Mark.

Beautiful moment - thanks for sharing it.

Wow! He was really amazed!

That magical moment for the kid is priceless.

Thanks Rik,

Wonderful story. I've never thought of letting the spectator hold one rubber band. What a great way to let a child "perform the magic."

Dave

That is a great addition.

I sometimes will give a spectator two bands and have him do as I do...of course mine separate and his stay linked. People always ask to see it again. I bet that if doing it a second time together wouldn't reveal the secret but would double the delight of the spectator.

Has anyone else tried Rik's collaborative version yet?

-Dan

I have performed this effect with spectators in two ways. Every so often I'll use an approach that I think I got from Ammar's book where I reach around from behind the spectator so that they get the "backstage" view. I have also tried having the spectator hold one of the bands, but I haven't done what really make's Rik's handling special. That is to say, I haven't "given the magic" to the spectator. Rather I used it as sort of a "challenge" version to increase the apparent impossibility of the effect. Rik's version is more to my liking.

Best Wishes,
The Wiz

I think what you do for those children Rik is really touching.
Great way to make the spectator into the magician!

You da man, Rik!

I like everything about that story except the name "Crazy" man's handcuffs.

I work in psychiatric hospitals (20 + years) and the C word is not nice.

I know you think I'm just being picky but not really. I know you DIDN'T call the kid that. But sometimes, more than the tricks, our actions play a big part in what we do. I also know you ARE a very decent human being with a BIG heart. And for that I say God bless you!

In this PC world we live in today that word is very taboo.

When I was performing in a half-way house (for adults) I said a line "I've been doing this trick all over the world and it drives people crazy trying to figure it out."

I got a letter from the agency saying the facilitator was offended that I used that word! Go figure?!

I no longer use the C word anymore than I take the lords name in vain.


This opinion was sent with love and tenderness.

Carry on...sorry to be a downer.

:cheers:

I never did like the title either....so I would start off asking kids are they still teaching you in science in physicis class that one solid cannot penetrate another solid...then I laugh...I tell them yeah, they used to try to teach that to me but then I showed them this little experiemnt with 2 rubber bands.
Murphys magic supplies has bags of different colored bands that are perfect as give aways or office Max I think # 19 I buy by the hundreds but they don't have any coloring. I prefer the matched colored ones, red, blue, yellow...
This trick is always in my wallet 2-3 sets..
Bill

Your story is really cute ! You will go to heaven.

But could you describe the position a bit more ?
I have been doing this in other peoples hands for a while. However I had some problems in the beginning with moving spectators. Their elastic were slipping away from their fingers as I pulled. I solved it by making them hold the elastic with two hands. It works well but is way less elegant.

By the way, if you want to sound savant when you talk about their physics classes, tell them you are going to break the Pauli principle, as, to have a solid melt threw a solid, they must be at the same place at the same time at one point.

cheers

Hey guys, I didn't use the name of the trick when performing it. I just told him that it was a test of magic skill. Really, I don't mind the name of the trick. There's no need to use it.

If you saw me perform you'd think every trick is names, "Hey wait, you gotta see this." or "You like that? Oh geez, check this out."

Made me think - what IS it that I say to start? So I paid attention and today I walked up to a guy and said, "When's the last time you've seen a half dollar?... When's the last time you've seen one do THIS?"

I never thought of doing it this way, thanks for the alternate handling. I usually perform the full routine that Michael Ammar does, with the bill traveling down the rubber bands for the finally. It's on one of his classic renditions DVDs. I will be adding this into the routine somewhere, thanks again!

I'm sorry I missed this question. The child held it like I do, between thumb and fore finger. Both were pointing up to the ceiling like the letter U. Then I linked my band behind that and kept my hand slightly below his so the band wouldn't come off.

Another way for the spec to hold the bands, from Link!, is have him point each forefinger at you, and then curl the fingers in, forming a hook shape. You can then put the band over the "hook", and since his fingers are pointed back at himself, the band can't slip off when you pull your band away from him.

I LIKE that!

You may want to get Link! (that's where the idea came from) It has a lot of good ideas and methods. In particular, it shows how to do a linking befor the unlinking (thus, you don't need to do the initial set up, you just push your band through the specs). Another effect in Link! that I want to work on is how to link a rubber band to a ring, or another rubber band (this is not CMH, but two ungimmic bands are linked - you hold one band, and the other is seen dangling off of it, and then unlinked in full view.