Two local magicians taught Young Post's Junior Reporters how to perform some simple but cool tricks
Junior reporters Henry Lui and Vera Ho try to balance a can, with help from "G".Local magicians will perform amazing tricks and explain how they work every Sunday until April 21, as part of the "Explore the Magic of Science" show at Hong Kong Science Park.
Our junior reporters went to the opening day on March 16 and learned a few tricks of the trade.
Chained up
Who doesn't love magic? Magician "G" (real name Eugene) taught us a few tricks, most notably how to drop a ring and have it looped inside a chain at the end of the fall.
To our dismay, when G revealed the secret, we learned that the "magic" was really a simple law of physics rather than a "supernatural" event. The trick is to bump the ring with your middle finger as it's falling, so it spins in midair, causing it to tangle up with the chain.
G showed us how it was done, but it took us some time before we got the hang of it. It was a bit frustrating at first, but then we realised that magic can be very addictive.
Vera Ho and Henry Lui
The leaning can of Hong Kong
We learned how to "magically" make a soda can stand on its edge. The trick is simple enough - you just have to drink half the soda!
When the can is half-empty, place it on a flat surface and tilt it to a 45-degree angle so that it stands on the groove at the bottom of the can.
If you fail, you need to take a couple more sips. You might have to try it a few times before you can find the right balance.
With enough trial and error, you can have the can standing still even when tilted, like the Leaning Tower of Pisa!
Sticky fingers
Hold a playing card with your thumb on the middle of the card's back and the side of your index finger on the other side. Then press your two fingers together; at this point, you should be able to lift the card up with just your thumb - meaning there's nothing to hold the card on the other side. You can even wave the card around with just your thumb attached to its back. The reason for this is that when you're inserting a force into the card, it creates a momentum which allows the card to defy gravity and stick to your thumb.
Jocelyn Chan and Lyndon Fan
Making a dollar
We took a plastic plate with black and white patterns on each side, and taped a HK$1 to one side. At the beginning of the trick, we showed the audience the side of the plate without the coin. Then we spun the plate in a circular motion at high speed. This causes the black and white pattern to create the illusion of a grey dot to the audience.
Once we stopped spinning the plate, we showed the audience the coin, making them think it had grown out of the grey dot created while the plate was spinning.
Kevin Chiu
For more information about "Explore the Magic of Science" and other Hong Kong Science Park events, click here