Magic & Parlor Tricks News « Magic & Parlor Tricks

News: Ouka's Hypnotic Performance with Optical Illusion Rings Is Mesmerizing

Heads up: the following videos and GIFs will definitely cause you to zone out and lose focus on whatever it is you're doing.

News: 10 Incredible Optical Illusions

Here are 10 incredible optical illusions that will blow your mind! Which optical illusion do you think is the coolest?

News: 5 Vintage Magic Tricks from the 1964-65 New York World's Fair

Happy weekend! Time to relax and waste time. If you're a child at heart, or you've got a couple young ones hanging around, treat them to these old-school magic tricks, courtesy of Flickr user Jordan Smith. Smith generously scanned and uploaded a selection of cards from a postcard set published by the General Cigar "Hall of Magic" for the 1964-65 New York World's Fair.

News: Make a Spoon Disappear

If you're willing to shell out for a mind-blowing party trick, here's another great one to add to your repertoire. Unfortunately this isn't a dirt cheap junk drawer DIY—you'll need a $40-$60 gallium kit (which doesn't include the spoon mold). What is gallium, you may ask? An amazing, man-made metal which melts at the low temperature of 86 degrees Fahrenheit. Plunk your trick spoon into a cup of hot water, and amaze. According to the Department of Energy, it's safe to handle as long as you don...

News: My God, It's Pure, Unadulterated Magic! Suspending Water Without the Cup

Wow, I'm excited. This one left me giddy. Fill a glass with water, give it a whirl, and voilà... let the debate begin. CGI or physics? Comment below.

News: Make Liquid Smoke In a Glass (Best Bar Trick EVER)

As filthy as this looks, I can't help but be utterly awed and amazed. Pull this bar trick at the club and you'll at least woo the Jersey Shore set.

News: Meticulously Crafted Tron Optical Illusion

You don't have to go the boring route with Christmas lights this year. Try hacking them, or better yet see if you can replicate this Tron-themed optical illusion made by WonderHowTo favorite Brusspup. Good luck... looks like it took some serious time and patience to get it right. More from Brusspup:

News: Learn 10 Awesome Science Tricks in 4 Minutes

There's something charming about Professor Wiseman's speedy and concise delivery of 10 different magic/science party tricks, delivered in just over 4 minutes. A little something to entertain the family with this holiday season. Enjoy. (P.S. If you missed last year's, here's another 10 from the Professor -this time in 3:22):

News: The Magically Shrinking Chair

A worthy addition to the world of outstanding chairs, this magical chair doesn't shrink in the morphing sense, but it does shrink to incredible compactness. Makes for a great magic trick prop, or a must-have for your next tailgate party. Previously, Self Healing Chair Picks Itself Up Off the Floor... Literally.

News: Does This Trick Really Work?

WonderHowTo favorite brusspup demonstrates an amazingly simple coin trick with a plastic hanger and a quarter. In fact, it seems almost too simple to be real.

News: 1798 Beers + 1 Car + 2 Steady (Sober?) Hands = World's Most Impossible Drinking Bet

Hands down, the ULTIMATE bar trick. This dude has some seriously steady hands. It's gotta be all in the steering... right?

Get Mind-Screwed: The Grand Illusion of the Year

The Illusion Contest of the Year recently announced their top ten finalists, and the overwhelming crowd and jury favorite is Impossible Motion: Magnet-like Slopes by Koukichi Sugihara of the Meiji Institute for Advanced Study of Mathematical Sciences in Japan.

News: Truly Impressive Fire Box Optical Illusion

Wow. Really fantastic fire illusion by WonderHowTo favorite, BrussPup. Hang in there, the magic starts to happen at 0:34. Previously, Jerry Andrus and His Impossible Box.

News: The Secret Behind David Blaine's 17 Minutes Without Air

American magician and master of endurance David Blaine delivers a TED talk on the challenge of holding one's breath for as long as humanly possible. Blaine currently holds the Guinness World Record for longest breath held, at 17 minutes. His journey to achieve this feat (described below) is quite interesting, don't miss it.

News: GUUULP! That's 1,2,3...18 Swords! Guinness World Record Round Up

Boston.com's The Big Picture posts 2009's most amazing Guinness World Record holders. My favorite fanatics below.

News: The Great Cardini's Elegant Sleight of Hand

Richard Valentine Pitchford, widely known as the great Cardini, was a legendary magician and former president of the Magician's Guild.

News: Hong Kong Kids Kick Ass At Pen Spinning

A bunch of super cute Hong Kong kids totally kick ass, as they compete in the Pen Spinning World Tournament. Congrats to winning champion, 14-year-old Eugene, who says he practices every day for 4-5 hours.

News: Jerry Andrus and His Impossible Box

Below is a great video that shows a classic illusion designed and built by Jerry Andrus. Jerry is a backyard magician and illusionist who created his own kind of special magic tricks for his entire life, up until his death in 2007.

News: Stunningly Slooooowwww Card Flourishes

Dimitri Arleri delivers a set of jaw-dropping card flourishes, performed at a slow pace to "an unidentified piece of ambient opera." Magicians, get ready to be inspired.

News: Ultra Slo-Mo Fire Breathing

Napalm Dragon has an incredible video of super slo-mo fire breathing. "There is no super imposing. This is 'as is' (Low Res) footage captured at 1,000 fps and 2,000 fps

News: The Amazing Art of Pen Spinning

Pen Spinning lives in a similar world of the unassuming arts of Cup Stacking and Dice Stacking. All three performing arts truly require a great deal of practice and skill.

News: Skewer your tongue

Here Brian Brushwood deconstructs the 'Skewer through the Tongue' trick. Magic or not...we're still totally grossed out.

News: Tongue clap

Tongue what? There's tongue kiss, tongue tied, tongue twisters, but tongue clapping? What? Meet Sam Taylor. He and the great minds at VideoJug give us the 411 on the new way to impress the ladies.

News: Suck an egg into a glass bottle

Magic? Camera tricks? Did someone build an egg inside the bottle with tweezers as if it were a ship? Nope.

News: Make magic jumping beans

We were dumbfounded at first, too. But this jumping bean is momentum based, not larva powered. The erratic movement of these DIY foil toys is actually simple physics. Hint: there is a marble inside the aluminum foil. When the marble rolls internally to the foil's end, the foil-bean flips with the momentum. All this commotion mixed with some well coached hands makes for a magic jumping effect.

News: Impress a girl - light her cigarette with your hand

Wait...with only your hand? It's simple. Take a normal Bic-style lighter. Hold down the button to release butane gas into your cupped hand. Then light it.

News: Slice a bottle in half ... with string

Really? A string? In half? Yes. This is not a hoax. Just old fashioned science.

News: Mark the deck & win every game!

Poker, Blackjack, Old Maid... take your pick. A marked deck will make you an ace at 'em all. For this cheat you need a Bicycle deck, a box cutter, keen eyesight and an excellent memory of the code. Essentially, you're carving a miniscule symbol for every card's value onto its back.