I remember many years ago, Ian told me a story of something that happened to him multiple times and I laughed a little when the same thing happened to me this weekend.

After one of my gigs on Saturday, one of the parents from the party I performed for approached me and asked where he could get a trick piece of rope like I use in my show (as he gave me a wink). I said, "I don't have any trick rope." He said, "sure you do! The one you kept cutting and it turned back into one piece...where could I get a rope like that?"

I continued to tell him it wasn't a trick rope and even handed him the line of rope I used in my C&R Routine in my show. He looked at it for a moment giving it a few tugs and then said, "yeah, this isn't the same rope...where's the one you used in your show!"

I said, "these are one in the same. What you're holding is the very rope I use in my show."

I then took the rope back and (breaking a rule), did my routine again for him and gave him the rope when I was done for him to take with him.

He said, "somewhere you switched the real rope for the fake rope and I never saw it."

Ahhhh....good times! Knowing this happened to Ian several times, I feel as if I'm in good company.

R.I.P my friend...you are missed!

Christopher

Funny story, but also interesting
I've just read Darwin Ortiz' WONDERFUL book "designing miracles", where he discuss the importance of eliminating suspicion before it forms. The idea is that if a spectator thinks he knows how a trick is done, it is just as bad as if he really does.

If you want the "How the h*** is that possible"-reaction, you want to design your routine in such a way that the audience have to eliminate all the explanations he can think of, before concluding with "that's impossibe".

I don't know if that is necesseary in your case, with your rope routine, but it is interesting to discuss. So how can we avoid a spectator thinking a rope is switched? I do not have any answer, but just as a first attempt I was thinking of my own routine. It is a three phased cut and restored routine. And I think it might be possible to do the routine while a spectator is holding one of the ends during all three phases. That will solve the problem, and at the same time it can make an interesting applaouse que. Where the spectator and magician is stretching the restored rope between them three times, thus giving the spectator some of the applause.

Just a thought...

AT a Tannen Jubilee (long time ago)... I did the Conway version of PN and threw the rope out into the audience. Immediately after the show, two very knowledgeable magicians came back to the dressing room and asked, "How did you switch the rope at the end so you could toss it into the audience?" I told them I did not switch the rope. I just figured the guy that caught it would see the gimmick, BUT IT FOOLED THE OTHER 1,299 people in the audience. Which it did!

Christopher and Pete, good stories. Thanks!

Bob

Sweeeet!

I've had people convinced I've switched the ropes for Professor's Nightmare. A colleague told me he knew I must have switched the ropes. I assured him he didn't and reminded him that the ropes never left his sight.

He agreed, but then said if I was able to get a lime and a lemon under a cup without him noticing, switching the ropes in plain sight must be a piece of cake!

So Edgar, sometimes people will always come up with bizarre solutions!