...hmmmm...thinkin' like a magician who spends more time rationalizing what audiences think rather than actually performing for them.

Everything has a price LOL). No, I'm not parting with it.

Good for you...I do the vanishing ketchup bottle at EVERY performance...has anyone ever called me on the fact that it is now possible to find Heinz ketchup bottles which come in plastic containers so therefore my ketchup bottle comes across as outdated and difficult to relate to...nope. Do people react with astonishment when I crumple up the paper bag with the ketchup bottle in it...yep...every time!!!

If I can find a buyer for $500 I will sell the one I have in a heartbeat.

Nothing ever vanishes for good on Ebay
http://www.ebay.com/itm/RARE-Nielsen-Van......94257365

Magicgettogether,

I can't really tell if it's a fluted bottle or not! It appears not to be.

I expected to get some flak from my comments on glass versus plastic, but I agree with Jamy Ian Swiss that we ought to aim our magic at the most intelligent members of the audience, And it's always worth asking ourselves about the psychological underpinnings of any illusion. Al Baker is right that we ought not run when nobody is chasing us, but that not ought be an excuse for settling for typical, polite reactions to typical tricks. I think the bottle vanish is predicated on the assumption audience members make that glass can't be crumpled in a bag. If you doubt that, try crumpling an obviously plastic item in a bag and see what reaction you get. So it stands to reason that as ketchup bottles become more commonly plastic, the trick will lose effectiveness with more and more audience members.
That's not to say the trick wont fool some, or even most, but I think it is on the way out.
The beer bottle, on the other hand is still strong because people naturally assume they are glass. I've even worked out a presentation for kids using the beer bottle, which I will PM to anyone interested. No doubt there are skilled performers who can wow an audience with the ketchup trick, but it never hurts to think deeply about why magic works and all the evidence suggests it works because of the assumptions an audience member brings to the table. So if you use the ketchup bottle, more power to you, but if it were me, Id be thinking of ways to prove it is glass and add other layers to improve the mystery.

marc

While the "glass" may be part of the conviction level, a "full" bottle is part of the deception. Try crushing an actual full plastic ketchup bottle and see how collapsible it is. Granted an empty bottle will collapse (with the tell-tale "crush" sound), but a full bottle will not (without making a big mess)...

Agreed. So how do you increase conviction that it is full?

Marc

I'm surprised someone hasn't made a vanishing bottle that combines the milk pitcher idea and the passe passe bottles gimmick that allows you to pour some fluid out. Ketchup wouldn't work as well as the whole point of ketchup is that is flows slowly (unless it is old and runny - "anticipation... is making you wait")...

You still have a compression issue with the trapped air (unless you create a bottle wherein the fluid chamber is vacuum sealed)...

My goodness, a ketchup bottle is see thru glass, visually the audience can see the "contents", Note: Ketchup is red color, glass is clear. Affirmation of this trick involves the sight sense as well!

No if you really need to prove what you are holding is real, just buy the blotter. Thus you can remove the lid and pour out Ketchup. Yes, it works, buy one and convenience yourself.

Then vanish with your favorite method.

Someone has! Maybe not using the same methods you mention, but it's the same idea, conceptually. Check out the Vanishing Coke Bottle. They make full or empty versions that work like any other vanishing bottle, but they also make a 1/2-full version, which has an upper-part that can be filled with real Cola, so you can pour out (what appears to be) half the bottle, then vanish within a paper bag, as usual. And if you start your routine w/ an examinable *real* bottle, then do a switch just before you open it, pour some out, and subsequently vanish it, the factor of impossibility increases drastically!

The only real downside is that it isn't a *perfect* match to my locally-sold bottles (the gimmick is slightly smaller, with a similar-but-not-exactly-the-same shape), and it has a South American Spanish label... but it's certainly close enough for a stage show, and you could always replace the label.

Cheers!

As I stated previously, I have the original fluted Heinz Ketchup bottle and original static cling vinyl labels. Thinking about parting with them.

I was very lucky to buy a new Heinz Vanishing Ketchup Bottle. Yes the Original Neilson.
I was worried that since you could buy plastic ketchup bottles at the store, it may not be effective anymore.
However, I was surprised at the strong reaction I got.
It does not look like the same plastic bottles at the grocery store.
Mine has more shine to it and It looks more like glass. I think that helps a bit.
So when I crush it, they were very surprised!! I would not sell mine for $1000.00.
I have also come up with different ways to present it other than just putting it in a bag and crushing it.
It is a lot of fun to do and for the right audience with the right presentation, it still plays well. Cheers!