Matchbox Penetration

What The Audience Sees:

'This week Jamie said he was going to show us the unbelievably incredible Matchbox Mystery! He took out a matchbox and pushed a match through the top of the box and out the bottom. The match very clearly went through the matchbox. He then said, "Watch, there's nothing in my hands. Let me just double check that there's actually a Mystery in my matchbox. Hmmmm. Yup, there's something strange in there, all right. Please look!" and when he opened the matchbox, there was a SOLID BRASS BLOCK inside! This guy is incredible! Whoooo!'

How It Went:

Great! I've had this for quite some time and have showed some people every now and then, but I was really surprised how well it went over on Friday. I even managed to finally get someone to say 'NFW' which was my goal 2 weeks ago. Now if I can get someone to say, 'Matchbox Penetration' for the Magic Friday in 2 weeks, I'll be impressed.

Best Lines:

'NFW!'
-finally someone said it.

'Nooooooo. No. No.'
-that made me laugh.

'Burn him! Burn Him!'
-these office people can be quite funny.

Angry Bob Rating:

I have a co-worker (Bob) whose uncle was a magician and thereby has a good working knowledge of how magic works. He's pretty grumpy but likes Magic Friday's because he can tell me how he figured out how the effect is done... A high rating means he'll never figure it out.

This is one of the few tricks that I let Angry Bob play with (strangely, he can actually be trusted if he ever discovers the secret to something). It took him a while of careful study to figure it out. He spent a good length of time on the matchbox and the match, before he went to the brass bar. I don't think anyone would ever be able to figure it out, to be honest, unless you let them have it for a while (which would obviously never happen). I let a few people handle the brass bar with no problems whatsoever-they look at it to feel the weight and hand it back. So 4.5/5. That said, I apparently have a good one.

My Rating:

You know, I've come around on this trick,- it really went over well. It's sometimes a bit hard to reset but I can live with that. Maybe an 8.5/10. I like the whole buildup of the MatchBox Mystery! patter. It's almost like a grand illusion to me.

The JDG Tip:

Make sure you point out that there is nothing in your hands. The first few times, I had spectators say, 'How did you slip that in there...' which isn't what you want. Also, make sure that you clean it to keep it all looking the way it should.

Closing Thoughts:

A great day, overall. I really like the quick effects sometimes. A little time, a little patter, a lot of magic. Also, if anyone can tell me who invented this, I would love, and need to, really, credit the inventor.
Have A Great Rest of the Weekend!

Jamie D. Grant
www.whatizit.net

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