|THE DEN
Ever wondered how do magicians do magic? or perhaps illusionists create an illusion and convince you that they just did the magic.
We are going to reveal ten greatest tricks that inevitably have left you pondering: how can one do this?
Dynamo
38-year-old Steven Frayne born in Bradford, West Yorkshire; better known by his stage name Dynamo is a well known British magician. Earlier in 2004 Dynamo moved to London to build his career in magic and created the first ever 'magic mix- tape'. Within a year he posted videos on YouTube then quickly gained a following of fans. Here we have chosen two greatest tricks among many of his mind boggling illusions.
Walking on water across the River Thames
Dynamo apparently took a stroll across the water towards the Houses of Parliament, made it halfway across the stretch of the river Thames before being picked up by a Port of London Authority vessel.
Explanation
Well, this was a well-planned stunt; there was construction under water. Dynamo easily stepped on the construction which possibly was made up of plexiglass similar to Criss Angel's set- up under the pool. Also the gates from which he entered the area were immediately closed by his staff so that nobody could follow him.
Shard Levitation
Dynamo lifted into the air above the Shard, in central London and started levitating. He kept on lifting upwards, higher and higher up into the sky until he reached 1016ft in the air above the tallest building in Europe.
Explanation
According to many this was done by cable support since Dynamo dangled himself between the two upper points of the shard as everybody saw the wires and complained that this illusion had failed but later he clarified that “wires were used just for safety”. So apparently he levitated by using cables with some other rigid sort of support and uses safety as an excuse.
David Copperfield
David Seth Kotkin better known as David Copperfield born in New Jersey, began practicing magic at the age of 10 as “Davino the boy magician”, and became the youngest person ever admitted to the Society of American Magicians. Copperfield is one of the richest magicians on the planet with a net worth of $ 1 billion. He has spent more than four decades performing amazing magic tricks and among his best-known tricks is making the statue of liberty disappear so certainly this trick needs to be added in our top 10 list.
Statue of Liberty disappearance
Copperfield made the Statue of Liberty disappear in front of a live audience in the year of 1983 in New York City. He raised a sheet in front of the statue and when he dropped it, Lady Liberty was gone. Even a helicopter camera crew passes through the space to show that it was truly empty. He then made Lady Liberty reappear.
Explanation
To pull off the trick, Copperfield raised a giant sheet to hide the statue, before lowering it to reveal that it had vanished. In other words she was actually just hidden behind one of the towers that held the sheet up. And if radar or an empty statue of liberty platform makes you wonder then the radar was rigged and the magician set up a separate platform with matching lights to make it seem like the lady liberty was gone.
Criss Angel
Christopher Nicholas Sarantakos born on December 19, 1967 better known as Criss Angel, is an American magician, illusionist and musician. He gained popularity in 2005 when cable channel A&E began airing his television show “Mindfreak.” Out of hundreds of his mindfreak tricks we have picked where Criss walked through a solid glass window without breaking it.
Walk through a solid glass window
Criss performed this trick in his television show Mindfreak where he walked through a solid glass window without breaking it. He had two assistants held up a large piece of paper to cover the area where he will be coming out of. Then suddenly there was a rip made through the large paper and Criss’ hand came sticking out. He goes on until he is out onto the other side. They immediately removed the piece of paper, and the window remained intact.
Explanation
The window has a small opening cut out at the bottom, built to slide up and down. So when Criss moves to the other side of the window, the assistants simply slide the glass up far enough so that the opening is up above the sill. The opening is still covered by the piece of paper on the other side by assistants, so that spectators can't see what's happening behind the paper. Then, the magician cuts a small hole with a sharp tool like pocket knife and rips paper with his hand. Then, the magician continues to put his entire body through it until his whole body comes out. Instantly, the glass is slid back down and the paper is removed to show that the glass remains unbroken.
David Blaine
Brooklyn born David Blaine is an American illusionist, endurance artist, and extreme performer. He has set and broken several world records. The 48-year-old is best known for his risky performances of endurance. His major stunts include locking himself in a fishbowl, trapping himself in a block of ice for two days, David Blaine Flew on Balloons, drowning alive and standing freely atop a thin, tall pillar for 35 hours in New York City.
Above the Below
In 2003 Blain started an endurance stunt which lasted for 44 days, In which he was sealed inside a transparent small Plexiglas box with only water and barely enough space to stand up and lie down. The case was suspended 30 feet (9.1 metres) in the air above the Thames. During this stunt Blaine drank 4.5 litres of water per day and did not eat anything.
Explanation
The only secret behind this trick was that David Blaine really risked his life. He was rushed to the hospital immediately after emerging from the box after losing 25 percent of his body weight during those 44 days.
The Pendragons
The Pendragons were the award-winning husband-and-wife team of American illusionists Charlotte and Jonathan Pendragon. They called their work “Physical grand illusion”. Their shows included a number of illusions with which they became particularly associated, including Interlude, in which a woman crawls through a man's chest, Metamorphosis trick and their own version of a sawing in half trick designed by Jonathan.
Metamorphosis
In this illusion, Jonathan Pendragon is locked inside a trunk, often after being restrained with handcuffs, ropes, bags, etc. then Charlotte Pendragon stands on the trunk and holds a curtain up to momentarily conceal her entire body. When the curtain is lowered, it is now revealed to be Jonathan standing atop the box i.e, Jonathan and Charlotte Pendragon having changed places instantaneously. When the box is opened, it is shown to contain Charlotte now. This illusion even won them a place in the 50th edition of The Guinness Book of Records, under the heading of the "Fastest Transformation Illusion".
Explanation
The Metamorphosis trick uses a device known as the substitution trunk, which has a secret panel that allows its occupant to sneak out. Having extricated himself from the sack in which he was tied since the sack is another prop it has chain so by simply unzipping the sack, Jonathan would climb out of the hidden door and crouch behind a curtain lifted by Charlotte. The Pendragons would then change places, Jonathan appearing behind the curtain as Charlotte disappeared into the box.
Dorothy Dietrich
The only woman to have performed the bullet catch, Dorothy Dietrich is a famous American stage magician and escapologist. She is also the first woman to perform a straitjacket escape while suspended hundreds of feet in the air from a burning rope. She broke the glass ceiling for women in the field of escape and magic by gaining prominence as an escape artist since the days of Houdini.
The Bullet Catch
In the Bullet Catch illusion Dorothy catches a bullet with her teeth fired directly at her. Sounds simple but it is the most dangerous and daring illusions a magician can attempt, claiming that more than twelve magicians have been killed while performing it.
Explanation
There are multiple ways of doing bullet catch, most common is to use an entirely real and lethal gun and bullet, and simply have the shooter intentionally miss the magician, who has previously collected the bullet to 'catch', as before in mouth. However, there is no such evidence that Dorothy would have performed a bullet catch this way.
Franz Harary
Franz Harary born on July 18, 1962 is an American magician and inventor; who is best known for designing and performing illusions of his own creation worldwide. He has appeared on television shows such as the first episode of NBC's The World's Greatest Magic, on which Harary made the Space Shuttle appear to vanish and in 1998 he made the Taj Mahal disappear for over a minute.
London Tower Bridge Vanish
In 2004 Franz Harary made London’s Tower Bridge vanish in front of live spectators and then released the video. Supposedly, Franz snaps his fingers and subsequently pigeons start fluttering after then suddenly Tower bridge disappears.
Explanation
There is no such explanation revealed behind this trick. Although some say that there was the paid audience who saw nothing but acted surprised and later in the video they vanished Tower Bridge simply by editing. Nevertheless Franz Harary said that he created the illusion by using mirrors and refraction. But that is also quite unbelievable since he used nothing like a curtain or something which would have given him time to create that illusion.
Harry Houdini
Erik Weisz better known as Harry Houdini was a Hungarian- American escape artist, illusionist, stunt performer and mysteriarch, noted for his sensational escape acts. He was keen to uphold professional standards and expose fraudulent artists. He died in 1926 due to peritonitis that stemmed from a stomach injury.
Walking through a Brick Wall
Harry Houdini first walked Through a Brick Wall on July 13, 1914 at the Hammerstein's in New York.The wall was built on a large carpet that prevented the use of a trapdoor, Houdini would position himself on one side of the wall and screens would be wheeled in. Almost straight away they would be wheeled back to reveal Houdini on the other side of the wall.
Explanation
That large carpet indeed prevented the use of a trap door, however actually hid a long trench in the stage, ultimately the trap door. Once the trap door was opened, Houdini could pass under the wall via the sagging carpet and to the other side.
P.C. Sorcar Jr.
Second son of Indian magician P. C. Sorcar, Prodip Chandra Sorcar known as P. C. Sorcar Jr.; born on July 31, 1946 is an Indian magician based in Kolkata, West Bengal. Some of his best tricks include making monuments,like the Taj Mahal and Victoria Memorial, disappear and his 'X-ray Eyes' trick – where he can see things while blindfolded, to name a few. One of his more dangerous tricks is the one where he saws himself into two halves with help from his wife Jayashree.
Taj Mahal Disappearance
On November 8, 2000, Sorcar "vanished" the Taj Mahal for two minutes in Kachhpura in Agra. Sorcar attempted this illusion about 400 meters away from the Taj Mahal at the bank of the Yamuna where he managed to vanish Mughal architectural marvel in front of a live audience. Apparently he was assisted by his daughter magician Maneka who made it reappear.
Explanation
This was the magic of advanced science where Sorcar used lots of laser beams, heat, sound and other ways of bending light. In other words it was done through optical illusion through which he stopped the light rays from reaching the audiences’ eyes. In fact in an interview he admitted that there was nothing supernatural but it was all science.