Bend a Spoon

Ever since Israeli illusionist Uri Geller blew Americans’ minds in the 1970’s with his telekinetic spoon bending illusion, people have been wondering how the trick works.[1] The truth is there are lots of different ways to convince people that you are bending a spoon with your mind, although none of them involve real telekinesis.[2] With a little practice, you’ll soon be wowing your friends with your new abilities.

Steps

Using an Unbent, Whole Spoon

  1. Hold the spoon with the bowl downward. Take an ordinary metal spoon and position it vertically, with the bowl at the lower end. Grip the lower half of the spoon with your dominant hand. Use your other hand to cover the top half of the spoon handle completely. It should look like the upper hand is gripping the spoon, but the thumb should not wrap around the handle.
    • The audience must be straight in front of you for this trick.
    • If you like, you can demonstrate the spoon is an ordinary spoon by rapping it against the table, or letting the audience handle it.
  2. Push the spoon against the table while letting it fall backward. Place the tip of the bowl against the table and pretend to push hard. Push the spoon down with your lower hand so the audience can see the effort. Meanwhile, keep your upper hand in the same vertical position, but let the spoon fall backward. Let the spoon handle rest on the ring and little fingers of your lower hand.
  3. Pretend to straighten the spoon. Show the audience your magic ability by "returning" the spoon to its unbent state. This can be as simple as running your hands over the spoon, then lifting it to show the audience. Just make sure the audience does not see the straight spoon while it is still supposed to be bent.

Using a Broken Spoon

  1. Be realistic. This technique can look good on camera, but you won’t fool a live audience, particularly not up close. It could conceivably work live if done at a distance, but as there is no simple way to produce an unbroken spoon, it would be difficult to end well.[3]
  2. Break the spoon. If you have a hacksaw you can use it to cut the bowl of the spoon off the handle. If not, manually bending the spoon back and forth a few times should do the trick just as well. Sand down any sharp edges when you are done.[3]
  3. Hold both parts of the spoon between your pointer finger and thumb. You hand should be positioned almost like you are making the hand signal for “okay,” but with your middle, ring, and little fingers relaxed instead of extended. Grip the two parts of the spoon in such a way that it creates the illusion you are holding a whole spoon.[3]
  4. Loosen your grip gradually. Both sides of the spoon will droop downward, creating the illusion that it is bending. Make sure not to loosen your grip so much that you drop part of the spoon.[3][1]

Using a Broken Spoon and a Bent Spoon

  1. Break the spoon. You can do this manually or with a hacksaw.[4][3] Sand down any sharp edges when you are done.
  2. Bend the other spoon. Hold it with the front of the spoon facing up, and bend the handle down to make a 90-degree angle. With the handle perpendicular to the floor, the bowl of the spoon should face skyward.
  3. Hold the bent spoon behind the bowl with your pointer finger and thumb. If you are right handed, the bowl should point to your right; if you are left handed, it should point to your left. The handle should lie flat against your palm, and be angled so that it is concealed behind your wrist, rather than jutting out visibly under your hand. The rest of your fingers will form a visual shield, blocking the handle of the bent spoon from view. Make sure they are held together, with no cracks showing between them.[3]
  4. Hold the handle of the broken spoon between the same fingers. The idea is to create the illusion that the broken handle is attached to the bowl of the bent spoon. Try to grip it more with the tips of your fingers, so that you will be able to roll back your grip on the broken handle, loosening it while still holding on to the bent spoon firmly.[3]
  5. Loosen your grip on the broken handle gradually. It will droop downward, creating the illusion that it is bending. Make sure not to loosen your grip so much that you drop the broken handle.[3][5]
  6. Palm the broken handle. With a quick flourish, “bend” the broken handle all the way into your palm—making sure the two handles don’t clunk together audibly—and slide the bent spoon up out of your fist with your other hand.
  7. Distract the audience with the bent spoon. Hold it up for them to see, tap it against the table a few times, or invite a member of the audience to examine it. While their attention is on the bent spoon, slip the broken handle into your pocket.



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Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 http://www.openculture.com/2012/11/skeptic_michael_shermer_shows_you_how_to_bend_spoons_with_your_mind.html
  2. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9w7jHYriFo&feature=youtu.be
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RhwlgmLwXo
  4. ↑ http://www.freemagictricks4u.com/spoon-bending.html
  5. ↑ http://www.howtodotricks.com/spoon-bend-twister-illusion.html
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