Houdini Rubber Band
Escape
A miniature escape that demonstrates how solid can pass through solid!
REQUIREMENTS: One medium sized rubber band
This is sometimes also called the Hopping Rubber Band. You loop
a rubber band over your first two fingers, and then it inexplicably jumps to the
second two fingers.
Begin by placing a rubber band over your forefinger and
middle finger as shown in Figure 1.
Bring the rubber band all the way down to the base of the fingers. Hold your hand so its back is facing the audience. Pull the rubber band with your other hand to show that it is solid, and then at a point when the rubber band is still pulled a little bit out towards you, curl your fingers down as in Figure 2.
From your audience's view, it looks like the rubber band is
still around only two of your fingers. Pause for just an instant, and then
straighten your fingers out. The band will instantly jump over to your ring
finger and pinky (Figure 3)!
To make the rubber band jump back to your first two
fingers, follow the same moves again. If you twist a second rubber band
over the fingers above the first band, as in Figure 4, so that the fingers
appear tied together, and then follow the same moves for the trick as above, the
first rubber band will still be able to jump, seeming to penetrate right through
the second band!