Magic and Illusions and Sleight of Hand
Black Art
A type of stage magic based on the principle that "bright colors show up on stage, and anything covered in black disappears." [via Deceptology]
Posted By: Alex - Mon Sep 30, 2013 -
Comments (2)
Category: Entertainment, Magic and Illusions and Sleight of Hand
Studiolo from the Ducal Palace in Gubbio
This fool-the-eye room at the Met in NYC looks full of 3-D furnishings, but is really a flat illusion.
More pics at the Met's site.
A 1945 feature from POPULAR SCIENCE.
Posted By: Paul - Wed Aug 14, 2013 -
Comments (3)
Category: Art, Magic and Illusions and Sleight of Hand, 1940s
Ames Room
Any WU-vie building a new home should definitely include such a space.
Wikipedia explanation here.
Posted By: Paul - Sun Jan 27, 2013 -
Comments (1)
Category: Magic and Illusions and Sleight of Hand
Magus Maximus
Magus Maximus from Emanuel Strixner on Vimeo.
Posted By: Paul - Wed Dec 05, 2012 -
Comments (1)
Category: Anthropomorphism, Magic and Illusions and Sleight of Hand, Performance Art, Cartoons
Sweater
Willow - Sweater from Filip Sterckx on Vimeo.
Posted By: Paul - Tue Oct 09, 2012 -
Comments (5)
Category: Magic and Illusions and Sleight of Hand, Movies, Music, Pop Art, Surrealism
Uglified Optical Illusion
This is a strange optical illusion based on focusing on the cross in the middle. The usually "beautiful people" seem to become disfigured.Jason Tangen, Sean Murphy and Matthew Thompson won second prize in the Eighth Annual Best Illusions of the Year contest sponsored by the Vision Sciences Society. This team from the University of Queensland in Australia discovered "the flashed face distortion effect".
The optical illusion , which works on non-celebs' faces, too, was discovered by accident by Jason Tangen, Sean Murphy and Matthew Thompson of the University of Queensland in Australia. Dubbed the "flashed face distortion effect," it won second prize in the eighth annual Best Illusions of the Year contest, held each year at the Vision Sciences Society meeting.
The researchers explain, "By aligning the faces at the eyes and presenting them quickly, it becomes much easier to compare them, so the differences between the faces are more extreme. If someone has a large jaw, [the effect makes it appear] almost ogre-like. If they have an especially large forehead, then it looks particularly bulbous. We're conducting several experiments right now to figure out exactly what's causing this effect."
Apparently, it works with normal faces, but there is no way I'm putting up my mug.
Posted By: gdanea - Thu Sep 13, 2012 -
Comments (7)
Category: Magic and Illusions and Sleight of Hand
Sebastian the Bullet Catcher
Edward Sebastian Adriani, who went by the stage name 'Sebastian,' was a magician who specialized in catching a .22 caliber bullet between his teeth. He even had steel dental plates put on his teeth -- to help him better 'catch' the bullets. Other parts of his act included placing a concrete block on his wife's stomach and pulverizing it with a sledgehammer. Read more about him here.
Posted By: Alex - Wed May 23, 2012 -
Comments (7)
Category: Magic and Illusions and Sleight of Hand, Theater and Stage
Follies of the Mad Men #139
[From Life magazine for October 18 1948.]
Leave it to rich people to shrink down their servants and stuff them like genies into bottles! Note cute name of bartender: "Hugh Bline" = Heublein.
Anyhow, who would want to drink out of a liquor bottle that had a little man in it performing his necessary sanitary functions?
Posted By: Paul - Thu Apr 28, 2011 -
Comments (2)
Category: Business, Advertising, Products, Inebriation and Intoxicants, Magic and Illusions and Sleight of Hand, Body Fluids, 1940s
Floram Marchand
Floram Marchand: The Great Water Spouter
In the summer of 1650, a Frenchman named Floram Marchand was brought
over from Tours to London, who professed to be able to 'turn water into
wine, and at his vomit render not only the tincture, but the strength
and smell of several wines, and several waters.' Here - the trick and
its cause being utterly unknown - he seems for a time to have gulled
and astonished the public to no small extent, and to his great profit.
Before, however, the whole mystery was cleared up by two friends of
Marchand, who had probably not received the share of the profits to
which they thought themselves entitled. Their somewhat circumstantial
account runs as follows.
More in extended >>
Posted By: Paul - Thu Jan 07, 2010 -
Comments (5)
Category: Entertainment, Frauds, Cons and Scams, Magic and Illusions and Sleight of Hand, Body Fluids, Europe, Seventeenth Century, Alcohol
Beach Magic just in time for Christmas
When it's cold outside, what could be better than a day of magic at the beach?Any ideas about how it is done?
Posted By: gdanea - Tue Dec 15, 2009 -
Comments (5)
Category: Magic and Illusions and Sleight of Hand
| Who We Are |
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| Alex Boese Alex is the creator and curator of the Museum of Hoaxes. He's also the author of various weird, non-fiction, science-themed books such as Elephants on Acid and Psychedelic Apes. Paul Di Filippo Paul has been paid to put weird ideas into fictional form for over thirty years, in his career as a noted science fiction writer. He has recently begun blogging on many curious topics with three fellow writers at The Inferior 4+1. Contact Us |