wine cork magic

[Guest]

I'm really just a cardman, but lately I've become curious about the possibilities of doing closeup magic with wine corks (living in wine country and being something of wino they tend to be around a lot). I've been playing around with some vanishes, palms, and switches and such. But it strikes me that I don't want to put so much energy into reinventing the wheel. Is there some good material, or at least a few good routines, for closeup effects with wine corks already published?

[Pete Biro]

Fred Kaps' "Floating and Dancing Cork" is one of the great close-up items in the past 100 years. Get it at www.stevensmagic.com

Tell 'em I sent you.

[Bill Duncan]

The Chink-A-Chink routine from Stars Of Magic (done with Sugar Cubes) would work well and the ending (pouring a handful of sugar cubes from your pocket) would probably be funnier with wine corks.

[Curtis Kam]

Mark Jenest's "Jiggernaut" is a great little cup and ball type routine done with a cocktail jigger, and ending with the production of wine corks.

Giovanni published a great routine in Genii using a wine cork. Apparently your shadow pushed the cork around on the table, and other surprises ensued.

Cut a slice off a cork, add four coins and a cylinder, and you can perform one of the classics of coin magic.

You've got the corks. Now all you need to do is borrow two hats, and you can do a "four object two covers" assembly. See Greater Magic, or Bob Read's "Thanks to Pepys"

Next?

[Bill Duncan]

And thematically, John Carney's routine with grapes from [I]The Book Of Secrets[I/] would be a nice change of pace.

[Guest]

Don't forget Robert Houdin's books in them are described the first handlings of cork. Don't forget he lived in a wine country like you.

[Guest]

There's a CMH-type effect with a couple of wine bottle corks.

Easy to do, a bit of a throwaway effect, but baffles the heck out of some people.

Dave

[Matthew Field]

A favorite of mine is "The Twisty Corks" in Walter Gibson's "Professional Magic for Amateurs." Two corks penetrate one another in the hands. Professor Putter reprinted the trick in his Linking Ring Parade some years ago. It's more of a puzzle than a trick, but good at a bar.


This might be what Dave LeFevre is referring to above.

Matt Field

[Guest]

Originally posted by Matthew Field:
This might be what Dave LeFevre is referring to above.

I believe that it is. And I'd always wondered what it was called - thanks.

Dave

[Bill Palmer]

This actually has its origins long before Walter Gibson wrote it up. BTW, the best way to learn it, is to start with the corks in ending position and see if you can put them into the start position.

Then reverse the process.

[Pete Biro]

In all the years of doing that with two corks, I have only had ONE person figure it and do it... Duane "Pancho" Carter, Indy car race driver (retired).

[Guest]

There is a nice corks and single hat routine in Ganson's Art of Close-up Magic. Volume One, I think.

Jon

[Tabman]

Also, Bruce Elliott had a very cool cork levetation in one of his books, but I forget which one. I used to stay set up for it all the time. Some angle problems but Ive seen it stun!!!

-=tabman

[Guest]

Tabby,

I have all 4 of Elliott's books, and the Phoenix 6 volume set, and I cannot recall any cork levitation.

Could you be thinking of the golf ball levitation? It uses one of Laurie Ireland's spongy golf balls, which are now unavailable, but the same kind of spongy golf ball is available as a pet toy in sets of 4 at most pet stores. That levitation is easy, if angly, and could be applied to a winecork fairly easily.

Jon

[Guest]

Originally posted by Bill Palmer:
BTW, the best way to learn it, is to start with the corks in ending position and see if you can put them into the start position.

Then reverse the process.

I've just tried that. Neat idea - thanks.

By the way, I believe that the instructions recommend using thumb and first finger to grab the ends of the corks. I find thumb and second finger easier - less of a twist.

Dave

[Tabman]

Jon, you could be right about the soft golf ball. Maybe I changed it to a large fishing cork someyears ago myself. Is that the one with the needle soldered to the metal tt??? ala zombie?? or thumbie as I liked to call it.

Are you going to Huntsville tonight with the PMZZ gang???

-=tab

[Guest]

Yes, your "thumbie" is what Elliott called "Zombini" in Magic as a Hobby.

Where is the Huntsville meeting tonight? I know that it is at 7:00 p.m. I'll look it up in the Ring Newsletter online if I don't hear from you.

Jon

[Tabman]

Good, glad that my memory isnt as bad as you thought it was!!! :whack: It's a stunning looking way to float a cork. The way I did it was to take a Johnson under thumbnail writer and bust out the pencil lead and insert a sewing needle and crimp it with a wire crimper. No telltale tt. I would ditch the gimmick the same way you'd handle a hook coin.

PMZZ is going to Huntsville mtg tonight. Theres some chatter about it on http://PMZZ.org under the header The Real Workshop.... If you're going down let Ricker know. I can't make it. Ive got a guy coming in from Texas tonight to finish up some work on a cd he's been cutting at the studio. Gotta make hay whilst the moonshines!!!

-=tabman