School, Church, and Home Games

by George Orrin Draper

Egg Smash

Several players of the group are blindfolded and take a kneeling position upon the floor. Each is given a fake egg and is told to knock it upon the floor to summon the good spirit. They do this very carefully the first time, thinking they have an egg. The eggs are taken away and the group waits to see if a spirit appears. As it does not appear, the eggs are again handed to the players. This time they are not so careful in hitting the eggs down upon the floor, their first experience telling them they are fake. Again the eggs are taken from them and the spirit waited for. Failing to appear the second time, the eggs are returned to the blindfolded individuals for the third time, but this time instead of fake, they are the real article, much to the surprise and grief of those who break them vigorously upon the floor.

Musical Notes

This trick is easily played where a group is sitting around a bare wooden table. The player knowing the trick, pricks the prongs of a fork with his finger nails, causing it to vibrate as a tuning fork. He then makes his audience think that he pulls music from the nose of another player by reaching with his free hand and touching the nose of said player, and to the surprise of his auditors, music is heard.

The Trick—The instant the one who plays the trick touches the nose, he unobserved allows the end of the fork to come in contact with the hard surface of the table. The vibration of the fork is inaudible until its end comes in contact with the table.

Siam Club

Players are invited to join the Siam Club, for which certain rites and ceremonies are necessary. Those to be initiated into the club then kneel in a circle in the centre of the room and after bowing forward so that their foreheads touch the floor, they repeat after the leader the following sacred secret words, which they are instructed not to disclose to anyone else, under any conditions: "O whattagoo Siam." They repeat this over and over again until they begin to realize that they are saying, "Oh, what a goose I am."

Divesting

The trick is to remove the vest of one of the players while he is still wearing his coat. To accomplish the trick one must stand in front of the subject, unbutton the vest, loosening the buckles on the strap behind. Next he runs his left hand under the coat, raises the lower end of the back of the vest, while with his right hand he grasps the end of the vest around the neck of the person, who is instructed to hold his arms high above his head. The back of the vest may then be pulled over the head of the subject. One of the lower ends of the vest is then pushed down the coat sleeve. The operator then runs his hand up the coat sleeve and pulls the vest down the sleeve until the arm hole is free from the subject's hand. The vest is then drawn back up the sleeve and pulled through the sleeve and over the hand of the other arm. It can then easily be removed either by pulling down or up the sleeve.