08/13/99

Internet Magic

Do you believe in magic? These magic tricks, created by Webmasters and performed over the Internet, are a new breed of magic for a brand new medium. Abracadabra! Enjoy.

Cave of Magic

"Pick a card, any card." Even though Simeon performs only one trick, he does it very well and his Cave is my pick of the day. Everyone I showed it to played the trick several times and walked away still thinking about it. How does the computer know your card? Is it the whisper? Is it the location of your mouse? If you do figure it out, remember: a magician never tells.

Diamond Jim

"YES, Diamond Jim can even perform miracles for you across the Internet. Click a card, any card below, to be amazed!" Diamond Jim presents five tricks: Flag Trick, Card Trick, ESP Trick, Hypno Disk and Date Trick. Hypno Disk is an optical illusion that didn't work for me -- and the Card Trick is performed better at the Cave of Magic (see above), so my favorite is the Date Trick. You'll need a one dollar bill -- better get one now -- you won't want to miss this one!

Hocus Pocus Palace

"Welcome to the Hocus Pocus Palace, residence of The Great Mysto and his Internet Magic Tricks." The Great Mysto performs six mind-reading tricks, all of them variations on "put your finger on any picture." I've seen this trick performed on television, and now it's become quite popular on the Net.

Magic over the Web

"I have a deck of cards in which all the Tens, Jacks, Queens, Kings, and Aces have been removed. The remaining deck was shuffled and I pulled out a card, which you can see face down. I want you to think of one the remaining thirty-one cards." This trick involves some math, so if you make a mistake along the way (as I did the first time through), the ending won't make any sense. I recommend writing down your answers as you go along.

Mulawa Magic

"Mulawa" is an Australian aboriginal word meaning "shadow of trees" and it "is what we call our two [Australian] acres ... it is near tropical Townsville and is an idyllic place to live." The author introduces his eight tricks humbly "It's very difficult to entertain you in cyberspace but ... here goes ..." Two of Mulawa's card tricks (A Little Miracle and Take Five) are completely different from anything I've seen before. Don't miss them.

Please send questions or comments to feldman@surfnetkids.com.