This Doesn't Work Like You Think it Does: Vanishes

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If you have a vanish of a small object that doesn’t end like this…

then you don’t really have a vanish.

So if you vanish a card and it looks like this…

Or you vanish a coin and it ends like this…

Then what you have is a cute, possibly impressive, bit of finger gymnastics that allow you to hide something that’s still in your hand. But you haven’t convinced anyone the object is anywhere but in your hands.

Obviously in magic we have to make concessions because we’re not performing genuine miracles. But showing your hands empty is kind of the definition of vanishing something. So you can’t make concessions on that part of it. It’s the first and only thing you would do to show something has vanished. 

And there’s just no reasonable justification not to do it.

You can argue that a Book Test is a dumb way to demonstrate mind reading, because why would they need to look at a word in a book? That makes some sense, but I can come up with a reasonable justification for that with the story of the effect.

I can’t come up with a reasonable justification for why I can vanish something, just so long as my fingers are tight together or my hand is in some awkward position. Sure, I could feign a crippling case of arthritis, and live that way for years to really convince people. Then when I vanish the coin and my fingers are kinked in some odd manner, people will say, “Poor guy. The power to vanish coins. But not heal his arthritis.” But that seems like a long way to go.

You might say, “I don’t care. Look, they know they’re magic tricks. So it doesn’t have to be 100% convincing.” I know a lot of performers take that position. And I get that.

Personally, I want them to know it’s a trick, but I still strive to give them no obvious explanations to latch onto.

Of course, that means abandoning a lot of “vanishes” where the object is still hidden in my hand. I’m fine with that. There aren’t a lot of vanishes that end totally clean. But there are enough. I’m always looking for more though. So if you know of any (that I’m unlikely to have heard of), email me and let me know about them.