The Piddingtons

[Bikewer]

I see there was a previous thread on the Piddingtons:

http://www.internationalskeptics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=238793&highlight=Piddingtons

Thought I'd add this as it was entertaining..... I've been listening to the NPR-produced "Radiolab" show which is occasionally rather uneven but usually fun.
Last night I listened to this week's episode titled The Black Box:

http://www.radiolab.org

Which covered both the development of anesthetic, and the Piddington's act. They had on the grandson of these folks, and he related a history of the couple, some recorded clips of their act, and how popular they were.
They went into some detail about all the "theories" that were floated about how they were accomplishing the thing....In one stunt they even put Mrs. Piddington in an airplane so she couldn't possibly be getting any information from her people. (this was in the 40s...)

The grandson had been unable to get grandma to reveal the secret, she indicating it was more fun if it remained a mystery. She's now suffering from dementia, and likely couldn't tell it if she wanted to.

So.... They called Penn Gillette. Penn said, "sure, I know how they did it.... We do a version in our act."
But he warned....."All magic secrets are ugly. When you hear how it was done, it's gonna ruin your day. Do you really want to know?"
Well, they did, of course, but for the listeners who want to get past the mystery, you have to jump through hoops.
They give a URL in the segment, and if you go to it you can click on the Black Box and also the skull & crossbones and listen to the rest of the interview with Gillette.....

A fun interview. And it's ugly.

 

[Gord_in_Toronto]

Thank you kind sir!

That certainly brought back some memories.

I'm just listening to the podcast right now.

I haven't got to the "reveal" yet.

 

[Gord_in_Toronto]

Now I've made it to the reveal!

I'm not disappointed, upset or otherwise discombobulated by the explanation.

Because . . . the answer is what I anticipated.

My lack of fine motor skills prevents me from trying even the simplest magic but unscrambling the magic of magic tricks is something that appeals to my skeptic side (an provides the answer to so much psychic trickery) so I saw where the distraction lies.

How else could the Piddingtons have done it?

Thanks again Bikewer.

 

[Garrette]

Is this perhaps not available in the U.S? When I click on any of the direct links at Radiolab and then press Listen or Play it loads unendingly without ever playing.

The comments section said there was a broken link and posted what it said was the correct one, but one I put that in Google Chrome the site loads incessantly.

Or perhaps the universe simply hates me?

 

[Bob Klase]

Seems to be working for me so it is available in the US.

 

[Garrette]

Seems to be working for me so it is available in the US.

So you're saying the universe hates me.

I knew it.

 

[Bob Klase]

Not the whole universe. Just the internet probably.

 

[Garrette]

Not the whole universe. Just the internet probably.

I've know that for ages. The upside is that I'm fairly certain the internet is just a fad. Sort of like talkies.

 

[Azrael 5]

Is this perhaps not available in the U.S? When I click on any of the direct links at Radiolab and then press Listen or Play it loads unendingly without ever playing.

The comments section said there was a broken link and posted what it said was the correct one, but one I put that in Google Chrome the site loads incessantly.

Or perhaps the universe simply hates me?

Try this http://www.radiolab.org/theuglytruthyouwerewarned/

 

[Garrette]

Try this http://www.radiolab.org/theuglytruthyouwerewarned/

Thanks. Already got it. It was my firewall.