NINETEENTH-CENTURY
MAGIC SECRETS
REVEALED.
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Disappearing Elephant
The magician boldly announces, "Ladies and gentlemen, I shall now make God's mightiest beast disappear before your very eyes!" An elephant with large tusks is then led onstage by a handler and securely placed in a steel cage. With the audience's view obscured by velvet shrouds, the elephant slips through a trapdoor and is shot in the head with a blunderbuss. The shrouds are lifted, and the audience stares in amazement at the empty container.
The Teleporting Tiger
A fully grown, rare white Bengal tiger is placed in one of two identical glass cases. The magician announces, "Bear witness to the mystic transporting powers of the rare white Bengal tiger." As both cases quickly fill with thick fog, the tiger is removed and starved to death. A second rare white Bengal tiger is placed in the other case. The audience gasps in astonishment as the fog settles. The tiger has teleported!
Top-Hat Rabbit
The magician displays the empty insides of a large top hat. "Please inspect this flat-crowned topper from every conceivable angle," he advises. Holding the hat upside down, the magician uses his free hand to open a secret compartment containing a live rabbit. He punches the rabbit as hard as he can. The magician then pulls the rabbit out of the hat and holds it before flabbergasted onlookers.
The Shrinking Bear
"Behold one of nature's strangest curiosities, the incredible shrinking bear!" exclaims the magician. A growling Kodiak chained to a rolling calliope is pushed onstage. After the magician utters the magic words, the audience is temporarily blinded by phosphorus. Meanwhile, the bear is unchained and coaxed, by a trail of rock candy, backstage, where it is hit on the head with a frying pan. A small cub is then chained to the calliope, just in time for the bleary-eyed audience to witness the bear's incredible transformation.
The Chimp, the Ear Trumpet,
and the Chandelier
An ear trumpet is placed on a table, center stage. A glass chandelier hangs 20 feet above the audience. A crafty chimp enters stage left, snatches the trumpet, and exits stage right, at which point the chimp is thrown in a sack and sent to Philadelphia to test hot-air balloons. A second chimp is lowered onto the chandelier with an identical ear trumpet. The magician enters stage left and says, "For the love of Pete, where's that ear trumpet?" He points to the chandelier. "Rather!" he says. The audience is both astounded and amused.
Whirling Dervish
A whirling dervish is lifted into the air by a trick wire as a box of doves is burned backstage.
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OTHER McSWEENEY'S FEATURES:
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Nineteenth-Century Magic Secrets Revealed By Will Bailey
A Couple of People, a Couple of Problems By Bob Woodiwiss
If You Give the Federal Government $700 Billion By Kari Anne Roy
Your Best Friend in a Romantic Comedy Is Always There for You By Teddy Wayne
Curious Men
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