The three greatest tricks in magic.

THE THREE GREATEST TRICKS IN MAGIC
© Steven Paul Carlson 2019

What are the three greatest tricks in magic?

That was the question posted by a magic acquaintance of mine.

It’s an intriguing question, and I will say a tricky one to answer as well 😦 Sorry about the pun! After 50+ years of professional magic experience, my hope here is to submit a response that is both informative and interesting to all readers, not just magicians.

The question was: What are the three greatest tricks in magic? I will, at the same time, take into consideration the three greatest effects in magic.

What is the difference?

In magic, the effect is what the trick is all about. For example, in a trick where a coin disappears from the magician’s hand, the effect is a vanish. A single trick usually has many methods that produce that effect.

Oftentimes, this magical effect appeals to a basic human desire or need. It is this effect on emotions that creates the magical effect’s powerful impact.
Counting down from # 3

3. Producing money from nowhere (The Misers Dream)

In the Miser’s Dream trick, the magician shows his hands empty, and his sleeves are rolled back. He then proceeds to pluck silver dollars out of thin air and drops them into a top hat or a wine bucket. This occurs as many times as the magician wishes. Often, he will walk into the audience and pull coins off people’s clothing. The coins are seen and heard as they drop into the hat or bucket. For a finale, the magician may produce a shower of coins from both hands.

This was a very popular trick in the 19th and early 20th century. Today, the value of a dollar coin has diminished greatly. However, in 1897, when T. Nelson Downs performed his Miser’s Dream on the Vaudeville stage, the purchasing power of a silver dollar was approximately $30. The average workman made $5 to $15 a week. So when the magician plucked a silver dollar out of the air, it was big money! That ability would truly be the dream of any member of the audience!

As a magician, I am often asked, “Can you turn a $1 into a $100?” That is one of those common, silly questions spectators like to ask magicians. The question does, however, reveal something valuable about how the audience’s mind thinks; if you really could do magic, wouldn’t you just magically make money appear?

The Miser’s Dream earns its place in the three greatest magic tricks because it appeals to this basic human dream, the ability to produce money out of nowhere!

3. The Floating Bill is tied for third

In the floating bill trick, paper currency is borrowed from the audience. The magician lays the bill upon his empty hands and gently crumbles it into a ball. The paper ball, lying upon the magician’s open palm, begins to rise up out of his hand. The magician waves his other hand over and under the floating ball to show that nothing is attached to it. The magician now gracefully waves both hands around the ball floating in mid-air. The magician then secures the bill between his fingers, unfolds it, and hands it back to the spectator.

Gravity, without doubt, is the first natural law or force of nature we become aware of… often with painful lessons. As a result, witnessing something float, unaided in space, is truly an impossible phenomenon. Because gravity is one of life’s most powerful realities, a levitation will always be disarming and stunning to behold.

In magic, we of course refer to this effect as a levitation or anti-gravity.

The Floating Bill earns its place in the top magical tricks of all time because it dramatically defies a fundamental force of nature. And it does so with a borrowed object, performed at a close-up range, under any conditions. It is truly impossible.

Additional note: In a list of the three greatest stage magic tricks, the levitation of a person would probably rank number 1 or 2.
2. The Cut & Restored Thread (Gypsy Thread)

In the Gypsy Thread trick, a 3’ length of common sewing thread is cut into 10-12 pieces. The pieces of thread, without ever leaving your sight, are instantly restored to their original, undamaged condition. In magic, the effect is called a restoration.

In life, we are constantly faced with disorder and destruction. Life itself is chaotic. And people, by nature, are compelled to find meaning and to bring order and restoration to this chaotic life.

Quite often, the plot of a magic trick (especially card magic) is creating order and restoration out of chaos.

This is where the Gypsy Thread trick is so powerful. Life all around us is vulnerable and fragile. The Gypsy Thread trick earns its place in the top three magic greats because it visually addresses that deep human desire… the ability to restore something that has been damaged or destroyed; to bring restoration and healing to chaos and destruction.

1. The Cups & Balls

Standing at number one is the ancient classic… The Cups & Balls.

The unique quality of the Cups & Balls trick is that it encompasses many different magical effects: the balls appear, vanish, penetrate, and move mysteriously from cup to cup or from hand to cup. The Cups and Balls grand finale always produces astonishing final productions under the cups, like large balls or fruit and vegetables, objects that barely fit into the cups. I personally produce a cupful of loose pennies.

One famous magician referred to the Cups and Balls as “the groundwork of all legerdemain.”

Throughout ancient history, many societies and cultures have created their own unique versions of the Cup or Bowl-and-Ball effect. India, China, and Japan each created their own versions. First century Romans called the Cups and Balls, “Acetabula et Calculi”, the vinegar cups and the pebbles.

The first written explanation of the Cups and Balls trick appeared in 1584 in a book called “The Discovery of Witchcraft.”

The Cups & Balls is certainly the oldest and most popular effect in the magician’s repertoire. At the same time, it is also the most exposed magic trick. Every beginner magic set comes with the familiar plastic blue, yellow, and red cups and the three little yellow pom-pom balls.

There was even a humorous attempt to “expose” this great classic on national TV using clear plastic cups.

In spite of all this, or maybe because of all this, the Cups & Balls have stood up to the hard test of time and remain a true classic in magic. To this day, the Cups & Balls continues to amaze and mystify audiences. And like the Phoenix, it rises from its ancient ashes to recreate itself for new generations in a world of advancing technology.

The Cups and Balls earns the top spot among the greatest magic tricks of all time because it enables us to experience a true sense of wonder and mystery. A moment when nothing is impossible. We are reminded that we, as human beings, not only want magic in our lives, but we need it. Even if it is only an illusion.

https://www.stevenpaulcarlson.com

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