Random Secrets Behind Historic Magic Tricks (12 items)

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  (#10) Pulling A Rabbit Out Of A Hat

  The Trick:

  Pulling something out of an empty hat is one of the oldest tricks in the magician's book of secrets. The modern version, pulling a live rabbit from a top hat, is thought to have originated around 1814 with Louis Comte.

  The most common way the trick is performed involves the magician showing the empty hat to the audience, placing the hat on a table, then pulling a live rabbit out from within the hat.

  How It's Done:

  The rabbit is hidden in a bag behind the table. When the magician shows the audience the empty hat and flips the hat over, through sleight of hand, they insert the bag with the rabbit into the hat. The trick may also be done with a hidden compartment in the hat.
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  (#12) Sawing A Person In Half

  The Trick:

  The first magician to saw a person in half was P.T. Selbit, on January 17, 1921, in London. The trick was tweaked to a more recognizable version with the head and feet sticking out of the box by Horace Goldin later that same year. The trick is credited with starting the modern paradigm of putting a female assistant in danger.

  With a trick that has been in use for over a century, variations abound, but it usually involves a person lying down in a box that is shorter than they are, so their head and feet are visible to the audience. The magician then cuts through the box with a saw, metal sheet, or other object and separates the two halves.

  The halves are then brought back together and the person in the box reemerges safely in one piece.

  How It's Done:

  As numerous versions of this trick exist, there are numerous ways to accomplish the illusion. The most basic way is the person in the box pulls their feet up fully into the half that will be separated.

  The box is usually built to have more room on the inside than appears on the outside, by being wider or deeper than the audience can see. Often the feet sticking out will be mechanical feet that can move slightly. In some versions, another person has their feet sticking out in that half of the box.

  In other versions, the table the box is sitting on is hollow, allowing the person in the box to sink low and avoid danger.
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  (#2) Making The Statue of Liberty Disappear

  The Trick:

  On a live CBS special in 1983, David Copperfield did the impossible and made the Statue of Liberty disappear. The live audience, television crew, and stage are all on a large platform viewing the Statue of Liberty in the distance.

  Also on the platform, framing the statue, are two scaffolds decorated in lights. Copperfield raised a curtain between the scaffolds to hide the statue and gave a short soliloquy on cherishing freedom. Then the curtain dropped, the lights flashed, and the Statue of Liberty was gone.

  How It's Done:

  The platform rotated. The vibrations of its movement were masked by loud music being pumped through speakers while Copperfield spoke over the noise.

  When the curtain dropped, the platform had moved so the statue was blocked from view by one of the scaffolds. Its lights were turned on so bright that no one could see the statue behind them.
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  (#8) Floating Woman Trick

  The Trick: 

  This particular levitation trick was popularized by magician Harry Kellar in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Variations exist, but the gist involves an assistant who lies across a board that is supported by two chairs and covered with a sheet. The assistant is then "mesmerized" and the chairs are removed, but the assistant remains floating. While they float, the magician passes a hoop over them to prove there are no wires.

  How It's Done:

  The board is attached to a metal rod that runs behind the magician. The rod is hidden from the audience's view by the magician's legs and attached to the board in an "S" shape that allows the hoop to pass through and be freed. In some instances of the trick, the rod can be moved up and down by buttons hidden in the platform and operated by the magician's feet.
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  (#9) Cup And Balls

  The Trick: 

  The cups and balls trick has been performed by magicians and conjurers since the days of Ancient Greece.

  The performer tells the audience they have three cups and three small balls. The three cups are set down in a line with three balls visible. One of the balls is put on top of the center cup and the other two cups are nested on top. The three cups are lifted, revealing the ball has "penetrated" the cup.

  Variations of this are repeated, with the ball magically moving among the cups. Sometimes at the end, a ball will turn into a piece of fruit or something larger.

  How It's Done:

  There are four balls. The performer says there are three cups and three balls, but one of the cups already has the fourth ball hidden inside it. That cup is flipped over so when the cups are stacked and the ball is placed on top of the cup, the hidden fourth ball is revealed and appears to have penetrated the cup. Now a new hidden ball is on top to use for the next part of the trick.

  Other variants, especially those with clear cups, rely more heavily on sleight of hand and hiding balls in pockets, sleeves, and hands.
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  (#4) Zig-Zag Box

  The Trick:

  The Zig-Zag illusion was first performed in the mid-1960s by magician Robert Harbin. In the illusion, an assistant steps into an upright cabinet, with their face, hands, and a foot visible through openings in the front. The magician inserts metal blades horizontally in the cabinet's midsection, dividing it into thirds.

  The magician then slides the cabinet's midsection apart from the top and bottom thirds, so it looks as though the assistant's midsection has been pulled away from the rest of them. A small door on the cabinet's midsection can be opened to see the assistant's body inside.

  At the end, the assistant's midsection is slid back into place, the two blades removed, and they step out of the cabinet in one piece.

  How It's Done:

  This is the rare trick where the assistant is responsible for the heavy lifting. 

  The box is larger than it appears because the black strips down the sides make it appear narrow. That black space is actually usable. The assistant still fits in the rearranged box, though it's a very tight fit. The blade is inserted on the right side and looks like it takes up more space than it does, with the handle and protruding box space taking up most of the blade.

  The trick relies on a flexible assistant and items being presented to appear as different sizes than they actually are.

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