Make a Fork and Spoon Appear to Defy Gravity

Want to defy the laws of physics--or at least fool others into thinking you did? All you'll need are some common dinner utensils and a little creativity. With these tools, it's easy to make ordinary utensils appear to hover in space on the edge of a glass.

Steps

  1. Get a large drinking glass. It is especially good if the glass has a wide mouth with a tapered bottom.
  2. Fill the glass at least half full of liquid. Remember that the entire weight of the silverware will be supported on one single point on the outside edge of the glass. Keep this in mind and make sure the base of the glass is stable enough to sustain the weight.
  3. Hook the fork and spoon together. Put the two outside tines of the fork over the back of the spoon When they're connected, the utensils should make sort of a boomerang shape.
  4. Get a matchstick or toothpick, and place it between the center prongs of the fork. Ensure that it is still touching the spoon. Leave as much of the matchstick sticking towards the center of the "boomerang" shape as possible.
  5. Position the resulting apparatus. Take the whole kit and (here comes the tricky part) balance the matchstick on the edge of the glass with the two handle ends pointing back towards the glass. Note that the matchstick will be horizontal.
  6. Balance the apparatus. It might take you a moment to figure out where to place the matchstick. Try moving it from side to side, as well as closer to and farther away from the glass, to locate the best spot.
  7. Consider burning the ends of the matchstick off after you have balanced everything (optional). Then sit back and collect your bets. The reason that people believe it is defying gravity is the fact that they believe it is balancing relative to the entire cup, rather than just one edge of it. They are, technically, fooling themselves.

Tips

  • The toughest part of the trick is getting the balancing right. Some forks and spoons won't cooperate, so try it at home with your own silverware or do it at a restaurant you visit often to see if theirs will work as well.
  • A square body matchstick is superior to a round one for this trick, as the round one has a tendency to roll a lot when you're trying to balance the apparatus.
  • An alternative technique is to use two forks and put a quarter (or other medium-sized coin) between the middle slot of the two forks when they are held together and balance this in the same way.
  • Yet another alternative: Create the fork and spoon "boomerang" with one matchstick as before. Stick another matchstick upright in the top of a heavy salt shaker. Balance one matchstick on the point of the other. If you're lucky, the center of gravity will work so as to allow you to balance the point of one matchstick on the point of the other at close to a 90-degree angle. This one takes a bit of experimentation.
  • You can set fire to both ends of the matchstick after you've balanced them and they will burn up right to the point where they're touching the glass and the silverware; this will really drive home the fact that it looks cool just hanging there in mid-air.
  • Make sure that the person is facing the cup from the right, or else they will find out how it works.

Warnings

  • Do not attempt to burn the matchstick over a drink that contains alcohol.
  • If you decide to set fire to the matchstick, be careful to only burn the ends of the matchstick, not the middle part obviously. It helps when burning the matchstick to have a lot of matchstick to burn.

Things You'll Need

  • A spoon
  • A fork
  • A toothpick OR a matchstick (preferably square-bodied)
  • A wide-mouthed glass with water in it

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