Scam School

Hosted by Brian Brushwood. New episodes Wednesdays.

If Harvard offered a PhD in deceit, this would be it. Award-winning magician Brian Brushwood takes viewers on an inside tour of bar tricks, street cons and scams. If you watch carefully, you'll never have to pay for a drink again! Read More

Static Charge Match

Thursday, May 29th, 2008 – running time 06:34

Effect: Despite being an insulator, Brian is able to charge a match with static electricity which then causes another match to jump into the air.

Method: When the matches come into contact, Brian flicks the end of one match which then propels the other into the air.

Need: The key to making this effect work is I BUILD ANTICIPATION. If you just walk up to someone and flick the match, nobody will be impressed. But if you carefully position the first match in their hand, then make a production of shuffling around to build up static electricity, the anticipation of something dangerous about to happen will put the mark on edge. It's that tension that gets turned into a yelp when the match rockets up into the air.

Bonus: when you flick the match, it makes a crackling sound that sounds like a spark!

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About the Show

Details
Show Title:
Scam School
Description:
If Harvard offered a PhD in deceit, this would be it. Award-winning magician Brian Brushwood takes viewers on an inside tour of bar tricks, street cons and scams. If you watch carefully, you'll never have to pay for a drink again!
Categories:
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Launch Date:
Apr 6, 2008
Episodes:
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