If you magnetize a sewing-needle by rubbing it on a fairly strong magnet and float it on the water, it will make an extremely sensitive compa.s.s; and if you place two needles on the water at the same time, you will see them slowly approach each other until they float side by side, that is, if they do not strike together so heavily as to cause them to sink.

THE BRIDGE OF KNIVES

Three knives may be supported by their handles in the following manner: Place three gla.s.ses in a triangle, each side of which must be about the length of one of the knives. The blade of the first knife should rest on the blade of the second, by pa.s.sing over it near to the point where the handle and blade are joined; the blade of the second pa.s.sing in the same manner over the blade of the third, which is to be made to rest on the blade of the first. The handles being then carefully placed upon the gla.s.ses, a bridge is formed strong enough to bear a considerable weight.

TO BALANCE A COFFEE-CUP ON THE POINT OF A KNIFE

The articles necessary for the performance of this trick are very simple, a dinner-fork and an ordinary sized cork being all that are needed. Fix the cork firmly in the handle of the fork, then stick the fork into it so that two p.r.o.ngs shall be on each side of the cup handle, and slope the fork in such a way that its handle will come under the bottom of the cup. The heaviest weight being thus brought underneath, you can hold the cup on the point of a knife, if you very carefully find the exact place on which it will balance.

As the surface of the cup is usually glazed, the hand which holds the knife must not tremble, or the cup will slip off.

You may also obtain the same result by using two knives instead of a fork.

THE OBSTINATE CORK

Take a small cork and ask some one to blow it into a fairly large sized, ordinary bottle that has a neck.

This seems to be quite an easy matter. The one who tries it will probably blow as hard as possible upon the little cork; but, instead of going into the bottle, as expected, it will simply fall down. The harder the puffs or blows, the more obstinate the cork will appear to be; and even if the effect of blowing gently be tried, it will be of no use; the cork will not go into the bottle, much to the amus.e.m.e.nt of those who are watching. The reason why the cork will not go in is this: The bottle being already full of air, when the cork is blown, more air will be forced into the bottle, and consequently the air inside will be greatly compressed and will simply force the cork back.

The following is a simple way of overcoming the difficulty: Instead of trying to force the cork through the compressed air in the bottle, just the contrary should be tried, that is, some of the air should be sucked out of the bottle; this being done, the bottle will become partly emptied, and when the outside air rushes in to fill up the empty s.p.a.ce, it will carry the cork with it to the bottom of the bottle.

SIX AND FIVE MAKE NINE

This is a simple little puzzle. Take eleven strips of cardboard, lay six of them at exactly equal distances on the table, and ask one of the company to add the five other strips and yet only make nine. It is done by placing six of them parallel to each other--the others are used to spell out the word nine.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

THE VANISHING DIME

Stick a small piece of white wax on the nail of the middle finger of your right hand, taking care that no one sees you do it. Then place a dime in the palm of your hand and tell your audience that you can make it vanish at the word of command.

You then close your hand so that the dime sticks to the waxed nail.

Blow on your hand and make magic pa.s.ses, and cry "Dime, begone!" Open your hand so quickly that no one will see the dime stuck to the back of your nail, and show your empty hand. To make the dime reappear, you merely close you hand again and rub the dime into your palm.

TO LIGHT A s...o...b..LL WITH A MATCH

Roll a s...o...b..ll and put it on a plate. While rolling, contrive to slip a piece of camphor into the top of it. The camphor must be about the size and shape of a chestnut, and it must be pushed into the soft snow so as to be invisible--the smaller end uppermost, to which the match should be applied.

THE DANCING PEA

For this trick, take a piece, two or three inches long, of a stem of a clay tobacco pipe, taking care that one end is quite even; with a knife or file, work the hole at the even end larger, so as to form a little cup. Choose the roundest pea you can find, place it in the cup, and blow softly through the other end of the pipe, throwing back your head while you blow, so that you can hold the pipe in an upright position over your mouth.

The pea will rise, fall and dance in its cup, according to the degree of force you use in blowing, but you must take care not to blow too hard, or you may blow it away altogether.

THE BALANCING SPOON

Place a half-opened penknife on the edge of the table and hang a large cooking-spoon by its hook on to the knife, just where the blade and handle join. Place the spoon so that its inner (concave) side is facing the table and, after swinging for a little while, the knife and spoon will keep still in perfect balance. Even if you fill the spoon with sand it will not fall, so long as the heaviest point is under the edge of the table.

The cooking-spoon is hung on to the half-opened penknife where the blade and the handle join, and you can now place the end of the knife-handle on the tip of your finger, on the edge of the table, or on the rim of a gla.s.s which is standing near the edge of the table, and your knife and spoon will balance perfectly, without falling over.

THE FORCE OF A WATER-DROP

Get a match and make a notch in the middle of it, bend it so as to form an acute angle, and place it over the mouth of a bottle.

Now place a dime or other small coin on the match and ask any one to get the coin into the bottle without touching either the bottle or the match.

This is very easy to do. Dip your finger in a gla.s.s of water, hold it over the place where the match is notched, and let one or two drops fall on this point. The force of the water will cause the sides of the angle to move apart, and the opening thus become large enough to let the coin fall into the bottle.

THE SENTINEL EGG

This trick requires care and patience. You must lay a piece of looking-gla.s.s on a perfectly even table; then take a new-laid egg and shake it about for some time until the white is well mixed with the yolk. In this condition it is possible to balance the egg on its end and make it stand upright on the gla.s.s. This trick is more certain to be successful if you are clever enough to flatten the end ever so slightly and evenly, by giving it a gentle and unsuspected tap.

THE COIN TRICK

Take a coin in each hand and stretch out your arms as far apart as you can. Then tell your audience that you will make both coins pa.s.s into one hand without bringing your hands together. This is easily done by placing one coin upon the table and then turning your body round until the hand with the other coin comes to where it lies. You can then easily pick the coin up, and both will be in one hand, while your arms are still widely extended.

THE WONDERFUL PENDULUM

If you fill a winegla.s.s with water and place a thick piece of paper over it so that no air can get in, you will find that you can turn the gla.s.s upside down without spilling a drop of water, because the pressure of the air on the outside will keep the paper from falling off. It is on this principle that the present pendulum is to be made.

Take a piece of cardboard larger than the mouth of the gla.s.s; pa.s.s a cord through a small hole in the center of the card, and fasten it by means of a knot on the under side, then carefully cover the hole with wax, so that no air may get in.

Place your cardboard over the gla.s.s full of water, and by making a loop in the end of the cord you can hang the gla.s.s from a hook in the ceiling without any fear of its falling off. In order to make sure that no air can get into the gla.s.s, it is wise to smear the rim with tallow before laying the cardboard on.