Next the magician will perform a
mind-boggling illusion using these two
boxes. As we can see both boxes look like
small chests, though one is larger than
the other one. Wonder what treasures are
contained within? They're too small to
hold his assistants, so it's a safe bet
there's a different kind of valuable
inside. He opens the smaller box so we
can see that it's completely empty.
Maybe the treasure is in the bigger box?
How about that, a chick! Not exactly the
type of chicks he usually employs but
we'll see where this trick goes. Watch, the
magician places the baby chick into the
smaller box.
Then he shows us that the large box is
empty. No more chicks.
The magician reaches back into the large
box and pulls out another baby chick.
Amazing! He just showed us that the box
was empty. But that's what magicians do!
He carefully places the chick into the
small box to be with the other chick. As
we all know chicks like to hang out
together. He reaches back into the empty
box... and removes another baby chick.
Okay.
And now he goes back for another.
He finds one.
Another chick from an empty box. It's a
treasure chest after all. He places this
one into the small box with the others.
Must be getting crowded in there by now.
The magician goes into the empty box for
yet another. It seems like he could go on
like this all day if we let him. The bird
goes into the small box...
and now for more magic.
He opens the small box and it's empty!
The birds have vanished, incredible!
Let's check the big box.
It's empty too!
The magician can make him come and go at
will.
Just like the big chicks.
So how did the magician create a
seemingly endless stream of baby
chickens and make them all disappear? The
secrets are concealed in the boxes, and
this table. When the trick begins the
magician takes a chick from the big box
and place it into the smaller box. Here
is the first secret. There is a hole in
the bottom of the box and the table
below. But then how did the magician show
us the empty box? Concealed inside is a
false bottom that's hinged to swing up
revealing the hole. This stick mounted
on the table, keeps the false bottom open
allowing the magician to access the
hole. So when he puts the bird into the
box he is really reaching through the hole
and placing it in a receptacle that's
concealed under the table. The big box is
constructed with the same setup. A false
bottom above a hole in the table. When he
appears to pull the second bird from the
big-box, it's really the same baby chick.
But how did it get from beneath one box
to the other?
The secret here is controlled by this
hidden pedal.
Built into the leg of the table is a
line that operates a spring-loaded
mechanism, that's connected to the secret
receptacle.
These backstage angles show how the
magician uses the pedal to maneuver the
receptacle.
Here's how the chicken goes for a ride.
Here we see how the chick is moved from
beneath the small box to the big-box.
This creates the illusion that the
magician is removing many chickens from
the big box.
When he takes what appears to be the
final chick from the big-box, he places
it in the receptacle where it waits to be
removed later. The magician is now free to
show the box empty. And that's how it's
done. You'd have to be a bird brain to be
fooled with this one again