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VANISHING PEARL
Published in MUM, March 1999, Vol. 88, No. 10, pp. 39-40 EFFECT
METHOD The pearl sticks to a piece of double-faced tape that is on the back of the thumb just below the thumbnail. NEEDED For this effect, you need very sticky double-faced tape. After experimenting with several kinds, I found that toupee tape, the tape men use to hold their hairpieces in place, works extremely well. You can get this from a barber shop or a beauty salon. You also will need a pearl or other small bead (without holes), available in a fabric or craft store. PREPARATION Cut out a small piece of tape, about a quarter of an inch square, and stick it on the back of your right thumb, just below the thumbnail (if you use toupee tape, peel off the wax backing). With any finger, press down on the tape a few times to give the surface a dull finish. This will enable you to show both sides of your hand before and after the prsentation without worrying about telltale reflections. PRESENTATION Display the pearl between the tips of the right thumb and forefinger (spread your fingers apart as if you're giving the "O.K." sign). Hold the pearl in line with the spectator's eyes, about one-and-a-half feet away. Slowly rotate you right hand so that your palm faces you. As this happens, your fingers come together, concealing the pearl from view. The right thumb bends inward as the tips of the right first and second fingers roll the pearl over the thumbnail and firmly press it onto the tape. The right thumb bends back out a bit as the right first and second fingers move to the front of the thumb, pretending to still hold the pearl there. Gently rub your right thumb and fingertips together. Slowly open your right hand by moving the fingers away from the thumb, spreading them wide apart. During this action, your right thumb hardly moves; you must be very careful with angles here (but don't look as if you're trying to be careful). And, obviously, don't look at the hidden pearl; look at the spectator. To make the pearl reappear, reverse the aforementioned actions, being careful not to flash it before it is produced. As the spectator examines the pearl, casually drop your hand to your side and, with your right first fingernail, rub off the tape from the back of your thumb, secretly dropping it to the floor. Now you're clean. COMMENTS The only drawback to this effect is that the performer must be careful with angles; it should be used for one-on-one performances.
WHITE MAGIC WORDS: Concealing a small object behind your thumb is a very effective hiding place which allows a very clean showing of your hands. But as Tom warns, angles are critical...in fact so severe this may be impractical for most close-up performance situations. However, before you set the idea aside, here are a couple of thoughts... First, if you reverse Tom's instructions, you can use this as an extremely clean way to produce a small object. Here, the audience, not knowing what to expect, will not be studying your hands quite so closely. Second, consider using this as a platform trick for an audience that is a bit further away. This reduces the angles considerably. And, if a pearl is too small for this size audience, just think of a small object they can see. For example, one well-known magician places a live butterfly in an empty medicine capsule and hides it in the manner Tom suggests. After showing his hands empty, he tears a small piece of paper to shreds and restores it as a live butterfly that flies away. And everyone in the audience sees that "small object" for sure! © 1995 Tom Interval 
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A pearl (or other small bead) is shown between the tips of the right thumb and forefinger. With one gentle squeeze, it vanishes; then a moment later, it reappears. This looks like real magic because the handling is so natural and clean; there are no hand-to-hand transfers or suspicious moves.