BlockBuster (Original) by Terri Rogers

This is the Terri Rogers’ original version of BlockBuster released c. 1988 and marketed by Martin Breese. It was also re-released by Martin Breese again c. 2008.

Effect: Even when you know how it works, Terri Roger’s BLOCKBUSTER is probably going to fool you. You are the performer so just imagine how a spectator is going to react.

The effect is brief and to the point. The magician shows a polished block of wood with a slot cut deeply into it. At right angles to the slot a hole is drilled right through the block. Through a block a ribbon has been threaded and the ends of the ribbon are tied in a knot. The spectator can see that the ribbon passes through the entire block by looking through the slot.

The spectator is handed a small metal ring to examine and is asked to extend his hand palms upward. The magician places the threaded block onto the spectator’s hand. The spectator is asked to push the ring deeply into the slot and the hold the ring firmly and release the block from his hand. He hesitates expecting the block and ribbon to drop to the floor – it doesn’t as he discovers to his amazement that the ring has penetrated the ribbon. Read that again. It is impossible. And remember that the ring and block are totally unfaked. The effect takes place on the spectator’s hand. There are no threads, pins, or magnets. This is the nearest you are going to get to a self-working miracle. The method will intrigue you as much as the effect will astound the spectators.

Includes block, ribbon, ring, and instructional booklet.

Terri Rogers’ Blockbuster ($30) is almost a perfect illusion. A ribbon, which has been tied into a loop, is seen running through a square wooden block. There is a slot cut so the ribbon is visible passing through the center of the block. The spectator is given a thin wire bracelet, which she is instructed to dip it into the slot. This done, the bracelet is pulled upward and found to be threaded onto the ribbon. That’s exactly what it looks like, and it is, indeed, amazing.

However, the only thing which is examinable is the bracelet. The wooden block and the ribbon are off limits. You must also keep your finger over one of the holes through which the ribbon emerges from the block during the first part of the trick. The ad for this effect makes the following statement: “…both the ring and block are totally unfaked!” This is simply not true, since the ribbon is permanently attached to the block. (By saying that, I have not, incidentally, given you any vital information regarding the method.)

The method is truly ingenious, and once set up it is self working. But, it has severe limitations: you must bring out the ribbon already tied through the block and, when the effect is finished, you cannot untie the ribbon and remove the bracelet. You must lift the whole business out of the spectator’s hands and stuff it in your pocket. One of the top close-up magicians in the country, to whom I described the miraculous effect and its limitations, said he would not be able to satisfy a lay audience with this trick under those conditions.

I highly recommend this for fooling those who do not want to examine the goods afterward.

(Richard Kaufman – Genii Magazine, December, 1988)
Text Source: lybrary.com – click for details

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