Magician's help needed.

[Garrette]

John, I want you to set up a trick we're going to pass off as a miracle. It doesn't have to look particularly convincing or even as good as a cheap, store-bought magic trick. (By the way, you can get 'em for $10 to $100).

Any conditions or restrictions?

No, no. Just bear in mind that ease-of-use and reliability matter. Do it any way you like, though. Any way at all. By the way, did I mention you can get the means to do this for $10 to $100 at nearly any magic shop?

Yeah, I caught that. I think I'll set up an elaborate magnetic levitation thing. It will be hard to set up, especially since you want to levitate bread, and there's a probability of the thing falling off, and it might run you some bucks...

Ummm... Okay. If that's how you want to go. As an aside, I found some reading material you might find interesting. It's a stack of magic shop catalogs. Several of them show levitating tricks for anywhere from $10 to $100.

Cool. I'll look at them later. On further reflection, though, I'm thinking magnets might not get the effect we want. How do you feel about an elaborate "air-cushion" effect?

Whatever. We're filming in an hour.

 

[Bob Klase]

Garrette's right. Like most magic tricks, the proposed explanations by people who don't know are much more entertaining than the actual method (and often more entertaining than the trick itself). The actual methods are much simpler than anything proposed.

Just by watching that video it's impossible to say exactly how it's done. A full, unedited, video might show enough to know- but would at least show enough to narrow down the possibilities. Giving several possible methods would be exposing them for no reason. But I'd bet my next house payment that the method could be found in a magic shop or one of several books. And would cost less than $1 (not counting the cost of buying the book/secret).

 

[Brown]

If?

Yes, if.

It might not be a cheap trick at all. It might be a comparatively expensive trick.

 

[Garrette]

Yes, if.

It might not be a cheap trick at all. It might be a comparatively expensive trick.

Ah.

They need to fire their consulting magician, if that's the case.

 

[Garrette]

But I'd bet my next house payment that the method could be found in a magic shop or one of several books. And would cost less than $1 (not counting the cost of buying the book/secret).

Alida. I once met a girl named Alida.

 

[Bob Klase]

Alida. I once met a girl named Alida.

Alida was my first thought immediately after reading the first few posts. But after watching the video I don't think so.

 

[Garrette]

Alida was my first thought immediately after reading the first few posts. But after watching the video I don't think so.

As levitations are not my forte, I'll defer. But I will also eat an Alida if it turns out to be magnets or air cushions.

 

[mollyblack]

That was the most boring "miracle" I've ever seen. I mean, seriously, I read the thread first and then watched the video and it's not even a GOOD one.

Give me a good Virgin Mary crying blood statue any day of the week over that lame video. Unless I missed something, it wobbled for a few moments and that was it.

And what's an Alida? Now I'm off to find out...