#20. The Statue Of Liberty Disappears
Did you know that David Copperfield made New York's Statue of Liberty disappear back in 1983? While everyone was left perplexed by his seemingly magical powers, the explanation to the trick is actually quite simple.
The Statue was initially covered by a giant white screen and all of its lights were turned off, except for the spotlights. This whole preparation made it seem as if there was a hollow space behind the screen. Then, when the Statue was unveiled, the audience couldn't see a thing because their sight had been blinded by the spotlights.
#19. Making A Truck Disappear
How could anyone ever make a truck disappear in front of an audience? Well, you'd be surprised to know that it's actually not that hard! For starters, you need to arrange some sort of special construction over the truck, and the rest is easy.
After that, you need to find yourself an audience and have an assistant surreptitiously drive the truck out of the construction. Then, when the drapes are removed, the vehicle will have vanished. Mind you, it's highly unlikely you'll ever pull this trick on a live audience, so that's why we only see it on TV.
#18. Levitating Yogi
Have you ever seen a man dressed as a yogi floating in the middle of the street? This is one of the most common tricks performed in the street, and here's the secret behind it.
You probably noticed that the floating magicians are always wearing some sort of cloak, and they do it for a reason! What they do is place a steel structure under their clothes to make it look as if they were actually flying. Who would've thought it was that simple?
#17. Hand Through Glass
Putting your hand through a glass sounds like an utterly dangerous trick to pull off, but it's actually a piece of cake. All you need are a couple of specially cut screens to manipulate during the performance.
The back screen should comprise two mirror panels. Then, when the performance begins, the real mirror must be moved to the back while the two fake mirror panels are thrust forward. It's needless to say that once this is done, the assistant must thrust the real mirror back to the front again.
#16. Walking On Water
Walking on water definitely sounds like a superpower I would like to have. However, with a little trickery, this is a feat that many experts manage to accomplish.
This trick should always be carried out either in extremely muddy waters or in smaller, man-made structures such as swimming pools. All you need is to drape a transparent plastic platform over the pool. If the platform is clean enough, the audience won't even realize it's there!
#15. The Signed Card Trick
Let's be honest: most of the tricks included in this list are quite hard to pull off unless you're an authentic magic expert. However, the signed card trick is pretty doable for the rest of us mortals. First, you must ask someone from the audience to sign a random card, but what next?
Magicians try to make you believe that they tear down the signed card into pieces, but what they obviously never tell you is that they keep a secret extra card folded inside their sleeves from the start. The secret lies in replacing the signed card with the hidden one as quickly as possible.
#14. Pulling A Rabbit Out Of A Hat
If you can't pull a rabbit out of a hat, can you even call yourself a magician? This is the typical trick that illusionists resort to when performing in front of children, mainly because it's far less creepy than most of the rest. All you need is a large piece of tablecloth, a hat, and a table.
You do need to cut a hole inside the table though, so you better keep your kitchen table out of it. The rabbit is kept wrapped inside the tablecloth and inside the hole, so all that needs to be done is to reach out into the hole, pull the creature out of the bag and quietly place it inside the hat.
#13. Biting A Coin In Half
A coin is literally all you need to pull off this trick. Well, that, and some pretty dexterous sleight of hands, too. Illusionists will ask the audience for a coin and then bite it in half in front of them, but is this even possible?
Just like in the signed card game, the illusionist must switch the coin given by the audience with a fake one that will easily snap in two when bitten. It's advisable to keep prop coins of different colors under your sleeve so that you make sure that you'll have one that matches the one given by the audience.
#12. The Levitating Cup
If you were hoping for a trick that you can try at home without the risk of having your body cut in half, then this is what you're looking for! All you need is a small plastic cup and some hand dexterity.
You've probably seen illusionists hold out a cup and then move their hands away, leaving the cup floating in the air. What they actually do is thrust one of their thumbs through the back so that it holds the cup in its place. Don't try it with a glass cup though, there's no way that'll work.
#11. Smoke From Your Fingers
Producing smoke from your fingertips is actually not that hard, but it is a bit dangerous, so you better keep kids out of it. It's also a neat way of concluding a card trick. Here's what you need to do.
All you need is to dip your fingertips in phosphorous, so that when you rub them together, some smoke will come out. The reason why this is so dangerous is that phosphorous can easily burn your skin, so you better watch out.
#10. Coin Through A Glass
Here's another harmless trick that you can teach your kids at home. You've probably seen illusionists place a coin right beneath a glass and then tap the coin a few times until the coin somehow passes through the bottom of the glass. How do they do it?
You definitely need some training hand-wise, because all that you have to do is move the coin from the hand underneath the glass to the hand above it, but quickly enough so that that nobody notices.
#9. Spoon-Bending
Here's another innocent trick that you can try at home with your kids without the risk of anyone getting hurt. You don't literally have to bend the spoon with force, but instead create the illusion that the spoon is being bent.
The easiest way is to thrust a piece of silver between your fingers in the exact same place where the spoon's handle would be. This will allow you to manipulate the "handle" into surreal positions.
#8. Turning Water Into Ice
You don't have to be Ice Woman to turn water into ice. The most highly skilled magicians seem are able to defy the rules of physics by pouring water into a coup and magically turning it into ice in a split second. However, there's actually no freezing involved.
All you need is a sponge so that it absorbs all the water you add. Also, at the same time you pour in the water, you must add some ice beneath the sponge. Naturally, the sponge must be the exact same color than the cup so that nobody realizes it's there.
#7. Sword Swallowing
Out of all the tricks on this list, this is definitely the one you should never try at home. People often believe that there's some sort of optical illusion behind sword swallowing, but what they don't know is that swallowing something as long and sharp as a sword is physically possible.
It does take an awful lot of both physical and psychological training, though. The performer must be facing heads up so that his or her stomach and throat make a perfect straight line, thus preventing any injuries. Why don't we leave this one for the pros?
#6. The ZigZag Box
I've bet you've seen this on TV at least once, am I right? First, an assistant will step inside a tall, rectangular box which the illusionist will then break into three separate pieces.
The reason the trick is so cringy is that the assistant's body will appear to be cut in three, its head being disconnected from its feet. A highly skilled contortionist is needed to pull off the trick since it's highly doubtful that anybody from the audience will be able to fit in one of those tiny squared boxes.
#5. Walking Through A Wall
Walking past a wall is everyHarry Potter fan's dream, though it's also one of Copperfield's personal favorites. If performed properly, the illusionist will appear to walk through a wall, but here's the secret they're hiding from us.
A screen actually separates the performer from the audience at all times. Hence, the magician can crawl under a tunnel underneath the wall without anybody noticing.
#4. The Michael Jackson Lean
Let's be honest: from the moment we first saw Michael Jackson's iconic lean in the Smooth Criminal video, we all tried doing it at home. It's equally true that we all ended up smashing our jaws against the floor thinking it was easy.
The secret lies in the shoes. To carry out this feat, Michael had to wear shoes with holes carved into them. These holes are secretly secured to strong nails that are hammered into the ground, thus allowing the person to lean forward as far as they please.
#3. Floating Body
This one is quite similar to the levitating man trick explained in #18, but cooler. When performing this trick, illusionists lay down on a board supported by two chairs, but when the chairs are taken away, the board somehow stays in the air. Next, a hoop is pulled past the person's body to prove that he isn't being propped up by wires.
Next time you see someone pulling this off in the streat, don't forget that the hoop is only a distraction. The whole point of the hoop is to keep the audience from staring at the illusionist's position, since the person is actually lying on a steel beam that holds the translucent board in its place.
#2. Split Man Trick
This is arguably the most popular yet nerve-racking trick in history, so it's about time you found out the truth. Each time someone pulls off this trick, spectators are left at the edge of their seats fearing the worst, but it's really not as dangerous as it sounds.
To begin with, the cut-in-half illusion can only be performed if the audience is watching the show from the front. If you see it from the side, then you'll probably realize that the "body" from the waist down is actually a mannequin. Loose clothes and body posture is all it takes to make people fall for it.
#1. The Buzzsaw
The buzzsaw trick is pretty much like the split man trick, only that it takes things to the next level. If you ask me, this one is way too creepy for children. The reason it's so incredibly dangerous is that actual buzzsaws are used. Yikes!
Two people are needed for this trick to work, one in each box, but the secret lies in the fact that the feet at the end of one of the boxes are fake. It goes without saying that you need the help of two very skilled contortionists if you want the plan to work out. Oh, and they also need to get their legs out of the way if they want to avoid having them chopped off.