Impossible Penetration Trick

Some of the best magic tricks are the ones that cannot be duplicated by the hands of the audience. This is the case with the Impossible Penetration Trick, so read on and uncover the magic!

The Effect
The magician rolls up two notes (£5 or £10 notes will do) into tight cylinders and holds them in the crook of the thumb one to each hand. Grabbing the top and bottom of each note cylinder with the thumb and fingers of the opposite hands, the magician shows how they form a trap of sorts - it is impossible to separate the notes without letting go of one of them - unless you know the secret of the Impossible Penetration. Once more the magician grabs the notes but this time they seem to melt right through one another and the magician shows them still gripped by the fingers, having held tight the whole time.

The Secret
Knowing how to grip the notes in a special move allows the magician the ability to separate them - because they were never truly linked.

Materials
Two notes are all the materials required - although two sheets of paper cut into roughly the size of paper money could be used just as well, or even two pencils cut to size.

Preparation
No advance preparation required.

Performing the Trick

The Impossible Penetration Trick can be as simple or as dramatic as the magician wishes. At its base this trick is a very simple, quick effect that can work wonders as a wager trick - the magician bets he can do this thing and the spectator cannot, as he does not know the secret. With a bit more story and embellishing, the Impossible Penetration Trick can be expanded into a dramatic demonstration of the magician’s powers over science and nature.

1. The magician takes a single note and rolls it into a tight cylinder. He places it in the crook of the thumb of his right hand and then rolls a second note into a tight cylinder, placing into the crook of his left hand.
2. Brining the hands together, the magician grips the ends of the right note with the second finger and thumb of the left hand and the ends of the left note with the same fingers of the right hand. He brings the two notes together to demonstrate how they bump into one another and can’t pass without falling or letting go - and the magician pulls one hand further out, causing that note to fall to the table.
3. Replacing the note, the magician once more grips the note with the fingers, but this time is able to separate the notes as they seem to melt through each other before the eyes of the audience. The secret is in the way he gripped the notes the second time:

4. On the second go the magician turns the left hand completely upside down, so that the tip of the second finger grips the bottom of the right note, instead of the top. In this manner the notes are side by side and not linked.

Magical Tip

The secret motion does not feel natural at first - you will not be able to do this trick smoothly the first time out. Practice turning the hand over and making the grip of the secret move over and over until it feels natural.