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.
Guessing A Name in A Sealed Envelope
Another amazing ability that magicians have is seeing through a sealed envelope to reveal what is written inside. Or is it? This trick is really great for parties and will leave your friends scratching their heads in wonder. The way it goes is that the magician of the group takes out a sealed envelope and says that they have a prediction.
They place it next to a hat and ask everyone to shout out names of famous people. The magician then proceeds to write out the suggestions, crumples them up and places them into the hat. A volunteer then picks a name from the hat and reads it aloud. Finally, the envelope is opened and lo and behold it is the exact same name.
How Did They Know?
All you need to get this trick ready is an envelope, notepad, pen, hat and something to put papers in. Before the party even starts you will prepare the prediction in a sealed envelope. Simply write the name of a celebrity everybody is sure to know after the words, “You will choose...” and seal it an envelope. Then every time someone calls out a prediction simply write the name you already put in the envelope and crumple it up into the hat.
Make sure no one can see what you are writing. Stop only after someone has said the name you chose, and you have about ten crumpled paper balls. When the volunteer comes up to pick a name, they will have no choice but to pick the one that matches what is written in the envelope.
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.