Peter Loughran Week: The Mad Scientist

Look at the promo picture. LOOK AT IT! It says "NEW comedy micro illusion". What a big fucking lie. But maybe I'm too harsh. Everything can be comedy right?

But maybe I should tell you first what this trick is all about.

Two test tubes on a tray. In one you stuff a silk, claim that it will go to the other side. And the rest I better quote directly from the website. It is too glorious not to be quoted:

"The performer places a large playing card in front of both test tubes and explains that the silk will teleport on his queue from one test tube to the other one that is elevated off the tray with a clear view underneath the thin mini stand. The performer makes a magical gesture and says that the silk has indeed teleported and he will prove it by checking the tubes himself. He looks down and says "Yep it has indeed teleported to the other test tube. But the hard part is to make them go back." He makes a magical gesture and this time removes the cards to show that the silk is back in its original place. The audience screams to see it again but this time they want him to remove the card.

The performer does just this, he throws away one of the cards, and places the other one in front of the test tube containing the silk and then says he will make the silk teleport once again. He then picks up the card but also secretly picks up the silk so it is hidden behind the playing card, and places it in front of the other test tube that is resting on the mini stand. He secretly places the silk into this test tube and immediately removes the card. They audience screams that they know how he did it. This time they want to see done with no cover at all.

The performer obliges but tells his audience that they better not blink or they will miss it. He makes a magical gesture and sure enough this time, the silk VISIBLY vanishes from one tube and INSTANTLY re-appears in the other tube which is isolated off the tray on its own stand."

I hope you get the brilliance of this "stock routine" There is nothing new about the structure or the jokes. The only thing new might be the method. But that shouldn't matter to the audience. You cannot hand out or even lift the test tubes. They seem stuck on the suspicious tray. But watch the video. I cannot think of a better way to get you not to buy this.


Now you may wonder what the this micro illusion costs. Well it is "Affordable", that is what the website says. Just 350 dollars. Get rubber string, two pins, a piece of tape,a piece of silk and two tubes. About 2 bucks! And the tubes could be examined. And if you wanna go the sucker route, then you could switch the tubes and even turn around as additional phases.