TURNED UP GLASSES
EFFECT: The magician places three glasses in a row on the table and
announces that he will turn over two glasses at a time - and in three "moves" he
will have them all facing mouth upward. Without hesitation he proceeds to do just
as he said. At the end of the third move all three glasses are mouth up. This seems easy
enough to accomplish, yet every time the spectators try to duplicate the performer's
actions, something goes wrong. They always finish with the three glasses mouth down! No
matter how often you repeat the effect, the spectators are unable to arrive at the same
result as the magician and are left totally puzzled as to the reason why!
| METHOD: |
| 1. Arrange the three glasses in the position shown here. Cups A
and C are mouth down at both ends of the row, and Cup B is mouth up between them. With the
cups in this position, the stunt is really quite easy to accomplish. What the spectators
do not realize is that when you let them try it, the three glasses are not in this same
starting position, although it seems that they are. |
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2. To perform the feat, turn your hands thumbs
down and grasp the two glasses at your right (B and C) and turn them over as shown. |
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3. The arrangement of the glasses should now
appear as shown in the illustration. This completes move Number One.
|
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4. Again, start thumbs down and grasp the two
glasses at both ends of the row (Cups A and C) and turn them over as well. |
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5. Now the cups should be positioned as shown
here. This completes move Number Two. |
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6. Lastly, grasp the two glasses at the right
(B and C) and turn them over, just as you did in Number One. |
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7. This completes move Number Three. All
three glasses are now mouth upward. You have performed the stunt, as you said you
would, in only three moves. |
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8. Now for the "dirty work." To
position the cups for the spectator to try, simply turn over the center glass
as shown. Remember, when you performed the stunt you started with one up and
two down — AND THAT WILL WORK. But one down and two up WILL NOT!
Therefore, with the cups arranged as shown here, the spectator never will be able to
perform the feat with the same results as you. |
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9. If the spectator follows the series of
moves exactly as you did, he will be left with the three glasses facing bottoms-up
as shown here. |
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10. By turning over the center glass when all
three are in this position, you regain your original position and your moves are
ready-made. |
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11. Then turn down the center glass, leaving
the end ones up. and he is doomed to failure once again. |
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COMMENTS AND SUGGESTIONS:
If you perform the stunt too many times, it is possible
that your spectators will begin to "catch on" to the fact that you are changing
the arrangement of the cups. It is usually best to do it just once; then let others try
and fail. Give another quick demonstration later, but let others worry meantime. So use
discretion in determining how many times to perform it for the same audience. You can vary
your moves. starting with the two at the left instead of the right, if you wish, but speed
is the factor that counts. People are then less likely to note the "difference"
at the start, thanks to your casual turnover of the middle glass.
HAVE FUN WITH IT
!
Reproduced with permission from Mark
Wilson's Complete Course in Magic
Copyright © 1975, 1981, 1988 by Mark Wilson, Mark Wilson Course in Magic
published by Running Press,
Philadelphia and London.
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