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 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.
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 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.
The Explanation Behind the Self-Tying Shoelace Trick
So how did he do it? The shoe was in fact already tied, but the top of the shoe was hidden by the cuff of his pants. The open laces were part of a separate pair of laces that were not tied to the shoe but were actually attached to a string which ran up the magician’s pant leg.
He pulled the string up, probably through a hole in his pocket, causing them to disappear while the tied shoelace appears. Simple, right?