The Illusion Of The "Cups And Balls"

He was breaking the magician's code! The secret of a thousand years.

He promised to reveal the secret to the illusion of the “Cups And Balls”.

The ancient illusion where small cotton balls seem to magically leap from cup to cup. At the end of the routine large objects like cue balls, potatoes and even birds magically appear under the cups.

The demonstration has bee performed up close and live for centuries.

And now Penn Jelette of “Penn and Teller” swore he was going to reveal the secret!

Penn said: “It’s actually very simple. The magician hides the large objects in his pockets and misdirects the audience. Then he simply puts them under the cups.

Absurd. How could it be that simple?

...

… "But wait; Penn says.

... “that’s NOT the secret.

...

The secret is something far more mystical...

Pnn Jelette went on: “The secret is the secret of all magic. Listen well because it's also the hidden secret of all success in life.”

I leaned in closely to the speaker on my phone as he spoke.

“The secret is based on doing what everyone thinks is impossible. Doing something people find unimaginable.

“Missing the prom and staying in front of the mirror in your room.

“Skipping meals. Staying up all night. Making incredible sacrifices.

“All because you are willing to stand in front of a mirror for 10,000 hours holding a few cups and balls. Moving them around over and over again until your fingers bleed. Looking at every angle, every facial expression, every gesture... again and again and again.”

“When a person is willing to work at inconceivable levels it creates an illusion. It look like magic.

He went on…

“All magic is is the conquest of effort over imagination. When you put out effort beyond what people can imagine people explain away what they see by calling it magic.”

“Now you have the secret of the ancient cups and balls.”

Slack jawed I thought…

… Do all magicians study martial arts?