Bamboozlers
Diamond Jim TylEr
EGGSHELL WALTZING
STUNT: Place part of an eggshell on a plate and watch
it dance around the outer rim.
This clever stunt was shown to me while I was in Cork,
Ireland by the comedian-magician-author John Lenahan. John, like me, is a big kid, and his enthusiasm for
entertaining is contagious. Apparently this stunt dates
back to Victorian times. You’ll need a ceramic dinner
plate, some water and an eggshell.
The eggshell can be from an uncooked egg or a hardboiled one. You’ll need to use the rounded bottom part
of the eggshell rather than the pointed end. Break off
the top part of the shell so that you are left with the
bottommost part of the shell. The piece you’ll be left
with should be about the size of a silver dollar or halfdollar coin depending on the egg.
so your audience can witness the eggshell as it magically clings to the plate and begins to spin (Fig. 1). The
moisture helps the eggshell cling to the dish.
The shell should spin in a fast clockwise direction as
gravity forces it to move down the outer rim of the
plate. Keep rotating the plate to keep the shell between the ten and six o’clock position. The shell will
spin faster and faster as it moves down the plate. Simply tilt the plate back and forth so that as the eggshell
spins, it makes a complete revolution around the plate.
For the best visibility it’s wise to use a non-white dinner
plate. You’ll have a lot of fun practicing and performing
this one!
I’ll tell my audience, “Without me, this trick would just
be aweso.”
Moisten the surface of a large ceramic plate, especially
the outer circumference of the dish. Place the prepared
eggshell onto the outer rim of the plate. Hold the plate
in your right hand and try to keep the shell in the nine
or ten o’clock position. Tilt the plate towards the floor
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