# What would I search on to find how this magic trick is done? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 24, 2005, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-i-search-on-to-find-how-this-magic-trick-is-done/337047 "2005-12-24T03:46:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![aaelghat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c5a1d2/32.png) [@aaelghat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aaelghat)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2005, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-i-search-on-to-find-how-this-magic-trick-is-done/337047/1 "2005-12-24T03:46:44Z")
I recently read this [snopes article](http://www.snopes.com/photos/people/window.asp), which had a video of a man who appeared to go through a glass window without breaking it. I’ve read enough “How is this trick done” threads to know that they evoke some passion among people in GQ. However, I am genuinely curious to know, and taking a cue from the bottom of the article, I’m hoping that someone can provide some helpful search tips (or maybe even a link) that can shed some light on how the trick is done. Thanks in advance. ---
**Author:** ![spingears](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@spingears](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spingears)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2005, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-i-search-on-to-find-how-this-magic-trick-is-done/337047/2 "2005-12-24T04:04:56Z")
> [@aaelghat](#): > > I recently read this [snopes article](http://www.snopes.com/photos/people/window.asp), which had a video of a man who appeared to go through a glass window without breaking it. I’ve read enough “How is this trick done” threads to know that they evoke some passion among people in GQ. However, I am genuinely curious to know, and taking a cue from the bottom of the article, I’m hoping that someone can provide some helpful search tips (or maybe even a link) that can shed some light on how the trick is done. Thanks in advance. Ask a 'Magician" and he won’t tell. Ask anyone else and you may never know for sure. Learn to become a Magician and you can do it yourself! ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2005, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-i-search-on-to-find-how-this-magic-trick-is-done/337047/3 "2005-12-24T04:17:45Z")
[Here](http://forum.ogrish.com/showthread.php?p=1679535) is an explanation. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2005, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-i-search-on-to-find-how-this-magic-trick-is-done/337047/4 "2005-12-24T04:47:43Z")
And [here’s](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=335208) the previous thread about this trick. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2005, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-i-search-on-to-find-how-this-magic-trick-is-done/337047/5 "2005-12-24T05:28:07Z")
> [@spingears](#): > > Ask a 'Magician" and he won’t tell. Unless it’s Penn and Teller or somebody like them. They spend most of their acts telling people how they do tricks. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2005, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-i-search-on-to-find-how-this-magic-trick-is-done/337047/6 "2005-12-24T05:46:12Z")
> [@aaelghat](#): > > I’ve read enough “How is this trick done” threads to know that they evoke some passion among people in GQ. From what I’ve seen, that “passion” only comes into play when someone who claims to be a magician enters the thread for the sole purpose of announcing his refusal to explain it. Anyway, a good rule of thumb is that all magic tricks rely on fairly simple misdirection and mundane (though occasionally cleverly elaborate) props. If there’s ever any actual physical danger to the performer, it’s because he screwed up his preparations. Penn & Teller did an unexplained (and painfully long drawn-out) trick on one of their specials; making a submarine disappear despite being surrounded by a bunch of camera-wielding scuba divers. I figure it was another variant on the basic “shifting perspective” bit; the large prop (sub, or elephant, or in the case of a David Copperfield special, the Statue of Liberty) never moves at all, but the witnesses do, during moments the focus is off them. In this particular trick, the submarine was surrounded by a curtain of air bubbles (from air hoses run along the shallow seabed for this purpose) which faded revealing… no sub! I figure the scuba divers (which P&T made a point of saying were tourists from all over the world and thus could not be in on the trick) simply moved to another air curtain a hundred yards from the sub. The main advantage to this is that with their mouthpieces in, the audience wasn’t subjected to a lot of amateur acting: “Oh… my… god… wherediditgo?”; “I can-not be-lieve it!”; “Wow! That is like, so, like, amazing!” Can I _prove_ this was done? Of course not. I’m just applying Occam’s Razor and coming up with what I feel is a pretty good guess. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2005, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-i-search-on-to-find-how-this-magic-trick-is-done/337047/7 "2005-12-24T05:58:26Z")
[The penetration frame](http://www.fljerry.com/flj0025.html) is a magic classic and has been around forever. If you’d like to understand the basic concept, buy this and start there. ---
**Author:** ![wolf\_meister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf_meister/32/15202_2.png) [@wolf\_meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_meister)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2005, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-i-search-on-to-find-how-this-magic-trick-is-done/337047/8 "2005-12-24T06:02:09Z")
Whenever you see a trick like that you should ask yourself questions. (I did read the explanation of how the trick was done. It seemed plausible to me). However, even before I went to that “explanation” thread, I kept asking myself “why does he need the piece of paper covering the glass? Why can’t he just walk through the glass _without_ the paper in front of it?” ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2005, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-i-search-on-to-find-how-this-magic-trick-is-done/337047/9 "2005-12-24T06:18:48Z")
> [@Bryan Ekers](#): > > Penn & Teller did an unexplained (and painfully long drawn-out) trick on one of their specials; making a submarine disappear despite being surrounded by a bunch of camera-wielding scuba divers. They explained it. They let the air bubbles accumulate to the point where the scuba divers couldn’t see through them, then lifted the sub from the air. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2005, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-i-search-on-to-find-how-this-magic-trick-is-done/337047/10 "2005-12-24T06:28:16Z")
> [@Captain Amazing](#): > > They explained it. They let the air bubbles accumulate to the point where the scuba divers couldn’t see through them, then lifted the sub from the air. [Maxwell Smart] Ah, the old “flying sub” trick. [/MS] ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2005, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-i-search-on-to-find-how-this-magic-trick-is-done/337047/11 "2005-12-24T07:00:01Z")
> [@wolf\_meister](#): > > I kept asking myself “why does he need the piece of paper covering the glass? Why can’t he just walk through the glass _without_ the paper in front of it?” Well that is the crux. Done expertly, upon the final sublimation the magician would subliminally mask your logic with the reinforced logic of the paper as proof of actual penetration. Apparently Angel failed at his task. ---
**Author:** ![GrizzRich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7ba0ec/32.png) [@GrizzRich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrizzRich)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2005, 10:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-i-search-on-to-find-how-this-magic-trick-is-done/337047/12 "2005-12-24T10:14:43Z")
Unfortunately, there’s a flaw in your question… You’re _presuming_ that we’re aware of the exact trick to which you’re referring. There’s several ways one can _do_ a certain trick. No one way is the _right_ way as long as the illusion is convincing. ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2005, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-i-search-on-to-find-how-this-magic-trick-is-done/337047/13 "2005-12-24T14:44:10Z")
I like the “open” sign that is “attached” to the glass, but doesn’t move, which helps reinforce the notion that the glass is permanent. However, it doesn’t move when they bang on the glass and it is actually attached to the frame, not actually on the glass. But the ‘open’ sign is a great touch.