A Short History Of Magic Tricks

By James Anthony

Mastering magic tricks is a performing art. This form of art is designed to entertain people and create the illusion of what cant be possible happening in front of your eyes. The masters who create these illusions are called magicians.

Magic comes from the Latin word Magi. The Magi was a man who had the ability to predict the future by reading the stars. Possibly the best and most famous illusionists and was harry Houdini. He was an amazing magician and his magic tricks still amaze people today. He was also the greatest escapologists ever to live.

Magic tricks are created using slight of hand, mirrors, misdirection or some other form of trickery. The magician is trying to create a sense of unbelief in performing a trick that seems to be impossible right in front of the audiences eyes.

But these magic tricks couldn't happen without a willing audience. Audience members going into a show know they are going to be deceived. They willingly agree to be entertained by an act that they know is mere trickery. But this act of magic tricks never ceases to amaze even the toughest of skeptics.

Houdini's main reason for success was because he earned the trust of his fans. He spent time debunking charlatans who claimed they had magical powers by showing how they performed their tricks but while also performing tricks of his own. Following suit today are magicians like Penn and Teller who perform the same stunts of magic and debunking.

During the twentieth century in the U. S., magic tricks were mostly thought of as a children's form of entertainment. This began to change however with the revival of Doug Henning. He began to bring back the old practices of magic tricks and began to amaze adult audiences once again on television and on stage.

After this, many magicians began to come out of the woodwork that are more than amazing. Performers such as David Blaine began performing Houdini type magic tricks. He became a master at escapes and endurance displays, always amazing his audiences. These magicians we watch on television typically perform in front of a live audience to earn the trust of their audience on television.

Most of the magic tricks today are based on old principals. The term it's all done with smoke and mirrors referred to magic tricks. But most today don't use mirrors because of the difficulty in transporting them and setting them up.

There are many types of magic tricks that can be done. Production tricks are where a magician produces something from nothing. Vanishing tricks are the opposite, where the magician makes something disappear. Transformation tricks are when the magician turns one object into another in front of your eyes. Restoration is where the magician first destroys an object then makes it whole again.

Tricks of teleportation happen when the illusionist moves an object, making it appear somewhere else. Escapology is the ability to be put into a dangerous situation in restraints and be able to escape unharmed. Levitation is where the illusionist appears to make something, or someone, float in mid-air. And Penetration tricks are when the performer is able to make one item pass successfully through another, leaving the main object undamaged. - 30320

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