I think it was on the History Channel, the other day, that I happened to catch the last half of a segment about the old Indian rope trick. Apparently, the trick is no longer done because the secret has been lost. If you're not familiar with the Indian rope trick, the magician takes a coil of rope and throws it 20 feet up into the air, at which point it instantly becomes as rigid as a pole. A young boy then shimmies up the rope, about half way, then back down. Once the boy is back down, the rope collapses and falls back to the ground, limp as a rope. This is done outdoors in front of a crowd of spectators.
If I understand correctly, the show (I forget its name) offered a reward, in India, for anybody who could successfully demonstrate the trick. One guy performed the trick, but not as impressively as the original. Instead of throwing the rope up in the air, it slowly ascended, then became rigid. The show's host, a magician, tried to get the secret from the Indian magician but failed.
I'm not a magician but I do love to watch magic shows. And I was skeptical that this rope trick was really all that difficult. The diameter of the rope, which must have been 4 inches, immediately suggested to me that the rope could actually be hollow -- a hemp cladding enclosing a 20-foot long tubular bladder that, under high pressure, could be made to instantly go taut and erect. With good timing, the performer could toss the rope up in the air while, simultaneously, his assistant -- hidden underground -- pops the valve on the air tank (fitted to the bottom end of the rope bladder).
But it seems unlikely that this would be sufficient enough to allow the boy to climb up the rope. To permit that, I think the hollow rope would need a rod inserted into it without losing air pressure in the bladder. This presents a problem because of the 20-foot length of the rope. Wouldn't they need a 20-foot hole to hide in?
Not if the rod was sectional. I envision four 5-foot sections of rod with matching "male" and "female" ends that could be inserted up the inflated rope before the boy attempts to climb it.
What do you think? Is this scheme doable? Feasible? How could the rod be inserted without losing air pressure? Is there a better way to do the Indian rope trick?
P.S.
The air bladder would only be needed for the ORIGINAL version of the rope trick. The version of the trick demonstrated on TV could have been done with just metal rod sections.
If I understand correctly, the show (I forget its name) offered a reward, in India, for anybody who could successfully demonstrate the trick. One guy performed the trick, but not as impressively as the original. Instead of throwing the rope up in the air, it slowly ascended, then became rigid. The show's host, a magician, tried to get the secret from the Indian magician but failed.
I'm not a magician but I do love to watch magic shows. And I was skeptical that this rope trick was really all that difficult. The diameter of the rope, which must have been 4 inches, immediately suggested to me that the rope could actually be hollow -- a hemp cladding enclosing a 20-foot long tubular bladder that, under high pressure, could be made to instantly go taut and erect. With good timing, the performer could toss the rope up in the air while, simultaneously, his assistant -- hidden underground -- pops the valve on the air tank (fitted to the bottom end of the rope bladder).
But it seems unlikely that this would be sufficient enough to allow the boy to climb up the rope. To permit that, I think the hollow rope would need a rod inserted into it without losing air pressure in the bladder. This presents a problem because of the 20-foot length of the rope. Wouldn't they need a 20-foot hole to hide in?
Not if the rod was sectional. I envision four 5-foot sections of rod with matching "male" and "female" ends that could be inserted up the inflated rope before the boy attempts to climb it.
What do you think? Is this scheme doable? Feasible? How could the rod be inserted without losing air pressure? Is there a better way to do the Indian rope trick?
P.S.
The air bladder would only be needed for the ORIGINAL version of the rope trick. The version of the trick demonstrated on TV could have been done with just metal rod sections.
via JREF Forum http://forums.randi.org/showthread.php?t=264621&goto=newpost
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