Amazing Irv’s handbook of everyday magic : tricks to confuse, amuse, and entertain in every situation

181 Pages·2002·16.01 MB·English

by  Furman

Copyright © 2002 by Quirk Productions, Inc.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from
the publisher.
Library of Congress Control Number: 2001094932
eBook ISBN: 978-1-59474914-8
Trade Paperback ISBN: 978-1-931686-01-3
Trade Paperback designed by Frances J. Soo Ping Chow
Illustrations by Lo Cole Quirk Books
215 Church Street
Philadelphia, PA 19106
www.quirkbooks.com
v3.1
Contents
Cover
Copyright
Title Page
Introduction
Chapter 1: Magic Begins at Home
How to Be a Crayon Psychic
How to Perform Paperback Magic
How to Make Dishwashing Magic
How to Make a Ball Dance
How to Conduct Candy Teleportation
How to Vanish a CD
How to Make Time Stand Still
How to Make Canned Spinach Surprise
How to Magnetize Your Hand
How to Turn Two Pieces of Dental Floss into One
How to Perform Tele(vision) Kinesis
How to Make Yourself Levitate
How to Magically Mend a Clothesline
Chapter 2: Magic Goes to Work
How to Make Rubber Bands Jump
How to Make Your Pocket Tape Recorder Predict the Future
How to Win Friends and Influence People
How to Get Someone to Believe Money Really Does Grow on Trees
How to Make Paper Clips Link Themselves
How to Make a Banana Appear Out of Thin Air—and Make It Split
How to Spend Your Quarterly Earnings
How to Snake-Charm a Pencil
How to Create a Potato Chip Surprise
How to Make a Calculator Predict the Future
How to Perform Telepathy with the Company Directory
How to Make Time Fly
How to Make Jelly Bean Magic with a Breath Mints Box
Chapter 3: Magic on the Go
How to Magically Feed a Parking Meter
How to Bend a Spoon with Your Psychokinetic Powers
How to Magically Force a Bottle Cap Through a Bottle
How to Entertain a Group of Angry Commuters with a Newspaper
How to Catch a Ghost in an Airsickness Bag
How to Use House Keys to Predict the Future
How to Be a Cellular Psychic
How to Read Someone’s Mind
How to Make Magic with a Paper Cup
How to Make an Elephant Appear on a Moving Train
Chapter 4: Magic on the Town
How to Use Coffee Shop X-Ray Vision
How to Make a Saltshaker Glow Like a Light Saber
How to Make Magic with Your Sugar
How to Make a Coin Pass Through an Ashtray
How to Restore a Torn Drinking Straw Wrapper
How to Make a Shot Glass Disappear
How to Make Ouija Board Magic with a Drinking Straw
How to Play the Matchbox Shell Game
How to Organize Your Cash with Magic
How to Make a Saltshaker Vaporize
How to Stick a Knife Through a Five-Dollar Bill Without Making a
Hole
How to Read Your Date’s Mind
How to Use Your X-Ray Vision on a Paper Cup
Appendix A: Magic on the Web
Appendix B: Magical One-Liners
Conversion Chart
About the Author

As every true magician
knows, a master conjurer can
make magic happen anytime, anyplace—once he or she has
mastered the essentials. Amazing Irv’s Handbook of Everyday Magic
is the perfect place to begin to learn the basic techniques and
principles that apply magic to the situations of daily life, at home, at
work, and every place in between. With just a few mundane, everyday
objects at hand, you’ll be amazing your coworkers, friends, family,
and fellow commuters in no time flat.
The Basics
This book will not teach you how to cure the terminally ill or to retire
at age 30. But it will let you in on all sorts of small-scale tricks of
magic that are often very easy to achieve—once you know how.
Seemingly random acts of magic require at least some measure
of the three basic components of every trick: preparation, secrecy,
and misdirection. These elements are guided by the Five Golden
Rules of Magic: Rule #1. Explore Alternatives Rule #2. Make
Preparations Rule #3. Practice Rule #4. Practice Rule #5. Practice
Everyday Magic
If you’ve ever wished you could make yourself levitate, if you’ve ever
wondered, “What’s he/she really thinking?” or if you’ve ever just really
wanted to be the life of the party or to entertain your seat companion on an
airplane, this is the essential handbook you’ve been looking for. The
chapters that follow will guide you to all the best deceptions and sleights-of-
hand that can be accomplished with little preparation and minimal props.
“Magic Begins at Home” highlights tricks you can master with basic
household items such as laundry line, ordinary dental floss, and a television
remote. “Magic Goes to Work” features tricks based on simple office
supplies, including pencils, paper clips, rubber bands, and the company
directory. “Magic on the Go” transforms airsickness bags, newspapers, and
cell phones into magic props for planes, trains, and automobiles. “Magic on
the Town” teaches you tricks for restaurants, bars, and street corners using
such unassuming items as napkins, matchboxes, sugar packets, and money.
Magic is where you make it. All you need is the will to make it
happen … along with some inspiration, improvisation, and a few good paper
clips!
Note: In the following pages, the “What You’ll Need” sections list the objects
necessary for doing the tricks, but if you don’t have those exact items on
hand, try some magical improvisation! (For example, try using different
denomination coins or bills—or even different currency entirely—for those
tricks that require money.)