Indian Rope Trick
This trick is so old, we have only seen it performed in movies, but the illusion is so fascinating we still must know how it was done. A rope which is curled up in a basket starts levitating towards the sky in a vertical line.
A small boy climbs up the rope and then down again and then gravity reasserts itself and the rope falls back to the ground. There are also versions in which the boy disappears and then may or may not reappear, but since there is a lot of myth regarding this particular trick, we’ll stick to the version we can explain.
The Sands of the Nile Trick
This trick was all the rage in the 1970s. The magician has a big bowl of water on the stage and slowly pours in different brightly colored types of sand. First, he does red and then blue and so on and goes on to mix everything up in the bowl. He then proceeds to reverse the process.
First, he takes out the blue sand and it is not only separate from the other colors but also completely dry. He then proceeds to do the same with all the other colors until all that is left is a clean bowl of water. The audience applauds and scratches their heads to figure out what just happened.
The Sands of the Nile Trick – Explanation
Although the audience may suspect differently, the water in the bowl is just regular water, it is the sand that is special.
It has been treated with a hydrophobic compound such as Scotchgard which makes it water repellent and also causes it to clump, which is why the colors don’t mix. This magic trick is actually a really cool science experiment.
The Secret Behind the Indian Rope Trick
This trick requires quite a bit of preparation in order to succeed but is then actually quite simple to perform. The basket is placed above a hidden chamber in which another helper is waiting. When the trick begins, they use a metal pole which they insert into the hollow rope to cause it to go up.
A nimble boy can fairly easily climb a straight piece of metal. After the boy climbs down, the pole is pulled back down and the rope collapses.
The Self-Tying Shoelace Trick
Magician David Blaine made this cute trick famous by walking up to a group of kids and asking if they want to see a magic trick.
When one of the kids mentions that Blaine’s shoe is untied, he simply shakes his foot and the open laces are replaced with a perfectly tied shoe. Magicians don’t even have to tie their own shoes anymore, talk about unfair.