Straight Jacket Escape
Escaping from a straight jacket that is fastened at the back is a classic magic trick. The audience sees the magician putting on the jacket and watch it being strapped on tight but in a few short minutes the performer is free, and the audience is cheering.
If magicians want to take the straight jacket trick up a notch, they can perform it underwater or even underwater in a locked box, like Harry Houdini.
Putting A Ripped Card Back Together
This trick is a lot of fun and can be seen on stage, on the street or even in a bar. A magician picks a random audience member and asks them to sign a playing card. He then takes the card folds it into four pieces and rips it along the fold lines in front of them.
Soon after, he amazes the audience by having the card magically reappear unharmed. Leaving us to wonder if he can repair the hole in our favorite shirt that we’ve been hanging onto since high school.
The secret to Putting A Ripped Card Back Together
Unfortunately, a good tailor is a better bet for that shirt, because the card was never really ripped in the first place.
The magician actually has two cards in his hands when he is folding the signed card. He rips the backup card while leaving the signed card intact. He uses his fingers to hide the folded intact card and pulls it out unharmed at the end of the trick.
Secret Behind the Straight Jacket Escape
The secret to this trick is preparation and of course practice. When the straight jacket is being fastened, the magician must tense their muscles and also hold a deep breath. This makes the body bigger and once released gives them more slack inside the straight jacket to work with.
This may not always be enough, Harry Houdini famously had to dislocate his shoulder one time in order to be able to finish the trick.
Fish in A Bottle Trick
In this trick a closed water bottle is shown to the audience. It can be examined and shaken in order to assure them that there is nothing but water inside.
Then the magician takes a cloth (or a hand towel if you’re trying this at home), says the magic words, and a goldfish appears swimming happily inside the bottle. The cool thing about this trick is that you can do it right in front of your audience for the full wow effect.