Make Someone Feel Like a String Is Being Pulled from Their Hand

This is a classic elementary school trick.[1] If you're adult, it may make you think back to the playground, or maybe your bunk at camp. If you're a kid, you may have seen someone else do it, and want to learn the trick for yourself. It's hard to make work on someone who doesn't believe it will work, but it's a cool feeling if you do pull it off, and it's definitely worth a shot.

Steps

  1. Sell it. Explain to your friend what she is going to feel, without a shadow of a doubt in your voice or demeanor.[2] This is a tactile illusion,[3][4][5] and a lot of it is mental, so you really have to project confidence that it works.
  2. Have your friend clench her/his fist as hard as she can. Really emphasize the importance of squeezing her fist as hard as she/he can. Ask her/him to do it harder a couple times, no matter how hard she/he is already doing it, just to drive the point home.
  3. Give her a hand. Rub your fingers over her fist as though it were covered in something sticky you were trying to peel off. Be gentle but firm. Count to 30 out loud as you do this. It will make the process feel a bit more ritualistic, as well as helping you time it.
  4. Ask her to open her fist very slowly, palm down. It should take at least 15 seconds, but there is really no such thing as “too slow” here. If she moves too quickly, gently remind her to slow down. Tell her the trick will only work if she doesn’t rush it—that way you have an out if she doesn’t feel anything. When her hand is fully open, flip it over so her palm faces up.
  5. Stroke her fingers. Starting at the center of her palm, run your pointer finger softly and slowly up the length of each of her fingers. Stay very solemn and focused as you do this.
  6. Pretend to pull a string out of her hand. Start with your fingers on the outsides of her palm and drag them softly toward the middle in a pinching motion. Slowly lift your fingers into the air above her palm in a pantomime of pulling string.
  7. Watch her reaction. If the trick works she will probably look surprised, gasp, or make some sort of exclamation. If she doesn’t seem to be reacting, you can ask, “Do you feel that?” in an expectant voice. If she doesn’t feel anything, casually explain that it doesn’t always work on everyone, and suggest she may have opened her fist too quickly, or not clenched it tightly enough in the first place.[6]

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Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alubBa1s2G0
  2. ↑ http://www.goodtricks.net/magic-tips-tricks-success.html
  3. ↑ https://www.newscientist.com/round-up/tactile-illusions
  4. ↑ http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080717134609.htm
  5. ↑ http://www.scholarpedia.org/article/Tactile_illusions
  6. ↑ http://www.goodtricks.net/magic-tips-tricks-success.html
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