# Tennis balls in a bottle? Deck of cards in a bottle?? How??? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 16, 2004, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennis-balls-in-a-bottle-deck-of-cards-in-a-bottle-how/275151 "2004-11-16T23:52:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2004, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennis-balls-in-a-bottle-deck-of-cards-in-a-bottle-how/275151/21 "2004-11-17T00:41:29Z")
> [@GorillaMan](#): > > Dammit, I was about to post the same link! Still, it doesn’t give us cellophane-wrapped cards - are you sure about those, **Colophonp**? The bottles for sale in the site I posted above (#6) says they are: > [@](#): > > Mr. Sullivan has created these unique ‘impossible’ items each painstakingly by hand. Inside a 200 mL glass bottle is a full, sealed deck of playing cards in it’s box. The glass is not tampered with in any way. However, the deck of cards is still factory sealed AND is inside it’s unbroken cellaphane wrapper! ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2004, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennis-balls-in-a-bottle-deck-of-cards-in-a-bottle-how/275151/22 "2004-11-17T00:46:08Z")
Buy your books and send you to school, and what do you do? It’s easy; You go to the orchard, in the springtime, and find a card (or ball bearing, or tennis ball, or whatever) tree thats just budding. You tie your bottle to the branch with the card bud inside, and you wait. Be sure the bottle is big enough, or this won’t work. Peace, mangeorge ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2004, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennis-balls-in-a-bottle-deck-of-cards-in-a-bottle-how/275151/23 "2004-11-17T00:52:49Z")
2 solutions: The ball in a wood cage (box), the ball might have been placed inside the wood while the wood was still growing (tree). so the tree could grow around it and be carved out later. The tennis balls and jar might have been put in a pressure chamber where the air pressure compressed the ball enough to fall in the bottle. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2004, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennis-balls-in-a-bottle-deck-of-cards-in-a-bottle-how/275151/24 "2004-11-17T01:02:07Z")
> [@kanicbird](#): > > 2 solutions: > > The ball in a wood cage (box), the ball might have been placed inside the wood while the wood was still growing (tree). so the tree could grow around it and be carved out later. > > The tennis balls and jar might have been put in a pressure chamber where the air pressure compressed the ball enough to fall in the bottle. Solution #1 you stole from me. Solution #2 is good, though. I like it. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2004, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennis-balls-in-a-bottle-deck-of-cards-in-a-bottle-how/275151/25 "2004-11-17T01:15:21Z")
> [@kanicbird](#): > > 2 solutions: > > The ball in a wood cage (box), the ball might have been placed inside the wood while the wood was still growing (tree). so the tree could grow around it and be carved out later. This is an overly complex idea. I believe I’ve already given the solution. Wood becomes soft and pliable when you steam it. You can steam the wooden cage, make the wood soft, make the gap wider and push the ball bearing through the cage. Push the cage back into shape. When the wood dries out, it hardens. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2004, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennis-balls-in-a-bottle-deck-of-cards-in-a-bottle-how/275151/26 "2004-11-17T01:26:10Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > The bottles for sale in the site I posted above (#6) says they are: Given their specific choice of a square bottle, I’m suspecting cutting the bottle at the base. It’s too perfect a fit for the ‘squeeze through the neck’ options so far described. And they _don’t_ offer other bottles or anything else, which serves as something of a reg flag. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2004, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennis-balls-in-a-bottle-deck-of-cards-in-a-bottle-how/275151/27 "2004-11-17T01:30:40Z")
> [@Peter Morris](#): > > This is an overly complex idea. I believe I’ve already given the solution. Wood becomes soft and pliable when you steam it. You can steam the wooden cage, make the wood soft, make the gap wider and push the ball bearing through the cage. Push the cage back into shape. When the wood dries out, it hardens. Why am I getting a horrible mental image of a Goatse-themed version of one of these? :eek: Now where’d I put that bottle o’ brain bleach? ---
**Author:** ![MaryEFoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@MaryEFoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaryEFoo)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2004, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennis-balls-in-a-bottle-deck-of-cards-in-a-bottle-how/275151/28 "2004-11-17T01:55:16Z")
Ha, how to put couple of things in bottles (old). Ship in bottle: Construct ship. Hinge masts, fold toward stern. Tie thread to foremast; poke ship in bottle stern first; pull thread and cut. May use melted wax to create sea. Egg in bottle: Hardboil egg. Soak in vinegar to take the calcium out of the shell. Heat bottle. Set now-flexible egg at opening such that there is no air leak. As bottle cools, vacuum ensues and sucks egg into bottle. IIR there is a way to re-harden the eggshell, with a calcium source. ---
**Author:** ![moriah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b2d939/32.png) [@moriah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moriah)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2004, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennis-balls-in-a-bottle-deck-of-cards-in-a-bottle-how/275151/29 "2004-11-17T02:21:18Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > The bottles for sale in the site I posted above (#6) says they are: > > > [@](#): > > > > Mr. Sullivan has created these unique ‘impossible’ items each painstakingly by hand. Inside a 200 mL glass bottle is a full, sealed deck of playing cards in it’s box. The glass is not tampered with in any way. However, the deck of cards is still factory sealed AND is inside it’s unbroken cellaphane wrapper! Yeah, that is what we like to call a lie. Cellophane wrappers are, at one or both ends, folder over and glued down. If you open them carefully, they can later be reglued, just like the factory seal. Peace. ---
**Author:** ![shelbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3d9bf3/32.png) [@shelbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shelbo)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2004, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennis-balls-in-a-bottle-deck-of-cards-in-a-bottle-how/275151/30 "2004-11-17T06:33:41Z")
From the OPs site: "Harry invented a special vice that could be disassembled, put into bottles, flatten bent coins, disassembled and removed. Just in case anyone has been wondering how these bottles are made, this little secret should eliminate those crazy ideas like blowing the glass bottle around the stuff or cutting the bottle - which could never be done without leaving obvious signs. Everything goes through the neck and that’s the truth. " Coool. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2004, 8:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennis-balls-in-a-bottle-deck-of-cards-in-a-bottle-how/275151/31 "2004-11-17T08:29:13Z")
The wooden arrow through a hole too small for it is done by steaming the tip, then compressing it in a vice and allowing to cool, making it small enough to pass through the hole. After it is inserted, the arrowhead is soaked in hot water and it swells up to more or less its normal size. ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2004, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennis-balls-in-a-bottle-deck-of-cards-in-a-bottle-how/275151/32 "2004-11-17T14:04:35Z")
I recently had some Massenez Pear In Bottle Eau de Vie. There is a mature ripe pear inside the bottle. They grow the pear in the bottle, hangng the bottle on the tree. [http://www.bevmo.com/productinfo.asp?sku=00000032313&sasrc=HomeNav&N=168+166+40+4294962112+4294962082&area=spirits](http://www.bevmo.com/productinfo.asp?sku=00000032313&sasrc=HomeNav&N=168+166+40+4294962112+4294962082&area=spirits) ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2004, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennis-balls-in-a-bottle-deck-of-cards-in-a-bottle-how/275151/33 "2004-11-17T15:34:54Z")
I remember reading a little how-to-whittle booklet back in the 60’s that had instructions on how to carve items similar to the arrow through the coin and arrow through the apple. The book, which was old even then, also had instructions for carving a wooden chain. The basic techniques were the same for all of those things. You started out with a pretty big blook of wood, carved a way a lot of it, using some pretty fine blades, and then the last step was cutting the little bits of wood still joining the pieces. [Here](http://www.boyslife.org/workshop/chain.pdf) is a link to a pdf file showing how to carve a 3-link chain. It’ll give you an idea how the other things could be done. ---
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2004, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennis-balls-in-a-bottle-deck-of-cards-in-a-bottle-how/275151/34 "2004-11-17T16:31:06Z")
> [@GorillaMan](#): > > Some of them seem fairly straightforward. The ball-in-wooden-cube could easily be a very neat carpentry job reassembling the wood. The Bottle of Knots probably works by soaking the fibres in oil or something to make them squash and slide through, then risning them thoroughly. And I think **Peter Morris** is correct that a Rubik Cube could be reassembled inside the jar. > > It’s the packs of cards I can’t figure out - **jdc** ’s suggestion doesn’t work if they’re a sealed pack. I don’t think that’s true at all. I wouldn’t be surprised at all to discover that was done by completely and carefully unsealing the box, folding the box flat and reassembling it inside the bottle, pasting the bottom flaps and the top seal when you are done. ---
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2004, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennis-balls-in-a-bottle-deck-of-cards-in-a-bottle-how/275151/35 "2004-11-17T16:44:36Z")
> [@Enright3](#): > > I don’t think that’s true at all. I wouldn’t be surprised at all to discover that was done by completely and carefully unsealing the box, folding the box flat and reassembling it inside the bottle, pasting the bottom flaps and the top seal when you are done. Wow, that’ll teach me to reply without reading the entire thread! That’s why I work in the Department of Redundancy Department. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2004, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennis-balls-in-a-bottle-deck-of-cards-in-a-bottle-how/275151/36 "2004-11-17T16:47:11Z")
> [@](#): > > I remember reading a little how-to-whittle booklet back in the 60’s that had instructions on how to carve items similar to the arrow through the coin and arrow through the apple. The book, which was old even then, also had instructions for carving a wooden chain. The basic techniques were the same for all of those things. You started out with a pretty big blook of wood, carved a way a lot of it, using some pretty fine blades, and then the last step was cutting the little bits of wood still joining the pieces. Here is a link to a pdf file showing how to carve a 3-link chain. It’ll give you an idea how the other things could be done. Can you also whittle a glass bottle? The steaming method had to have been used for at least some of the objects, and even the ones which are all wood appear to be two different kinds of wood. They are much more extreme than the ones I’ve seen; my guess is that the arrows are all balsa (which I suspect would be much more compressible than pine). ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2004, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennis-balls-in-a-bottle-deck-of-cards-in-a-bottle-how/275151/37 "2004-11-17T17:07:10Z")
The original site I linked to speculates that the arrow through the coin was done by threading the young branch through the hole in the coin and letting it grow. I have a few Spanish coins with holes in the middle (25 pesetas, I think they are) so maybe I’ll give it a try. I need to find a fairly fast growing plant, though. The bramble canes in my garden would be ideal as they seem to be able to grow about one foot per week. If cut and left to dry I reckon they could be carved… ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2004, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennis-balls-in-a-bottle-deck-of-cards-in-a-bottle-how/275151/38 "2004-11-17T17:34:13Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Can you also whittle a glass bottle? The steaming method had to have been used for at least some of the objects, and even the ones which are all wood appear to be two different kinds of wood. They are much more extreme than the ones I’ve seen; my guess is that the arrows are all balsa (which I suspect would be much more compressible than pine). Did you actually read my post? I stated specifically objects of which type I had read carving instructions. None of them involved bottles. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Scrappy\_Hero\_Pup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ea5d25/32.png) [@Happy\_Scrappy\_Hero\_Pup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Scrappy_Hero_Pup)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2004, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennis-balls-in-a-bottle-deck-of-cards-in-a-bottle-how/275151/39 "2004-11-17T19:18:48Z")
> [@kanicbird](#): > > The ball in a wood cage (box), the ball might have been placed inside the wood while the wood was still growing (tree). so the tree could grow around it and be carved out later. > [@Peter Morris](#): > > This is an overly complex idea. I believe I’ve already given the solution. Wood becomes soft and pliable when you steam it. You can steam the wooden cage, make the wood soft, make the gap wider and push the ball bearing through the cage. Push the cage back into shape. When the wood dries out, it hardens. Pete, does the ball make a “whoosh” sound as it’s fed through the cage? ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2004, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennis-balls-in-a-bottle-deck-of-cards-in-a-bottle-how/275151/40 "2004-11-18T00:20:33Z")
> [@vetbridge](#): > > I recently had some Massenez Pear In Bottle Eau de Vie. There is a mature ripe pear inside the bottle. They grow the pear in the bottle, hangng the bottle on the tree. > > [http://www.bevmo.com/productinfo.asp?sku=00000032313&sasrc=HomeNav&N=168+166+40+4294962112+4294962082&area=spirits](http://www.bevmo.com/productinfo.asp?sku=00000032313&sasrc=HomeNav&N=168+166+40+4294962112+4294962082&area=spirits) See post #22. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennis-balls-in-a-bottle-deck-of-cards-in-a-bottle-how/275151.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennis-balls-in-a-bottle-deck-of-cards-in-a-bottle-how/275151.md?page=3)