The Amazing Sugar Cube

Can you make a pencil mark that has been placed on a cube of sugar pass mysteriously through water and onto the hand?

On any one side of the cube of sugar draw a heart, a number, or a cross with heavy strokes. Pick up the cube and press your thumb firmly against the drawing. The mark will come off the sugar and show on your thumb. (As this is the secret of the trick, do it quickly so it will not be noticed.) Drop cube in glass of water.

Pick up your friend's hand and quickly press your thumb firmly against the palm of his hand as you are drawing his hand toward the glass.

Place his hand over the glass of water and tell him to keep it down firmly. Hit the glass a sharp tap with the pencil, saying, "I am now releasing the vibrations."

Then tell your friend to look at his hand. He will see the mark and will think it came through the water onto his hand!

Materials: Soft lead pencil, cube of sugar, three-quarters of a glass of water.

The Dollar Bill and bottle Trick

Can you remove a dollar bill from under a bottle without touching or upsetting the bottle?

Place the bottle upside down on the bill, either on a table or the bare floor. Roll up the bill carefully, touching only the edges of the bill so that your fingers do not come in contact with the bottle. As you roll the bill, the bottle will be pushed along until it is finally off the bill.

Materials: Dollar bill and pop bottle.

The Magician's Assistant

Can you remove a coin from under a cup without touching the cup?

Place one coin on a table, put the cup over the coin, and tell your friends that you are going to remove the coin without touching the cup.

With the second coin, which you have kept concealed in your hand, tap the table from the underside just under the cup, saying, "Here is that coin."

Naturally, your friend will then pick up the cup to see if the coin has disappeared. Now you quickly pick up the coin that was under the cup and say, "I told you I could pick it up without touching the cup." Your friend has unwittingly been a magician's assistant!

Materials: Two coins and a cup.

The Last Match

In this game, can you figure out how to make sure that your opponent always picks the last match?

Arrange fifteen matches side by side on a table. Tell one of your friends that you can always make him pick up the last match, each of you alternating in picking up one, two or three matches at a time. It doesn't matter who starts.

The secret of this trick is to make certain to leave five matches on the table for your opponent the third time around. Then, no matter how many matches he picks up, he will lose the game. For instance, if he picks up one, you take three, leaving the last one for him. Or if he picks up two, you take two. If he picks up three, you take one. In each case, the last match is left for him.

Following are two of the several combinations you can use to arrive at the point of leaving the five matches for your opponent.

OpponentYou15M

3111

Take 22 Leaving7

115

Or

1212

Take 21 Leaving9

315

Materials: Fifteen matches.

You will amaze and delight your friends with these simple tricks.