Bill Drop Science Magic Trick

By Wayne Kawamoto, About.com Guide

Effect: This science magic trick - actually it’s a challenge based on a scientific principle - looks so easy. Simply ask a spectator to hold his or her thumb and fingers apart and then you hold a bill in between where it should be easy to grasp. You challenge the spectator to grab for the bill when you drop it. Despite their best efforts, the spectators can’t grab the bill, which falls to the floor. The secret is all science and physiology.

Scientific Secret: Humans have fast reactions, however, the time that it takes the bill to drop is shorter than the time for a spectator to visually see that the bill is dropping, send a message to the brain and then have the brain trigger the fingers to grab. While the process of sensing and then grabbing the bill takes less than a third of a second in most people, the drop of the bill is less, which is why spectators can’t grab the bill. To perform this one, just follow my instructions.

Previous

• Bill Drop Science Magic Trick - Introduction
• Bill Drop Science Magic Trick - Rest the Hand
• Bill Drop Science Magic Trick - Position the Bill
• Bill Drop Science Magic Trick - Drop the Bill
• Bill Drop Science Magic Trick - Missed

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