I’ve always been a fan of magic and, being a bit of a klutz myself, particularly impressed by the sleight-of-hand abilities of many of the best practitioners. Here is a great example by Yann Frisch in a variation of the familiar cups and balls trick. You always have to be wary of magic tricks you see on the internet because of the possibility of subtle cuts but this performance is apparently from a live performance at a competition where Frisch won a prize.
Neetzan Zimmerman gives the background.
Wow. This guy is good.
Several years ago Penn and Teller had a wonderful video about the ball and cups routine. They did it twice, in fact. Once at normal speed and it does truly look like magic.
Then, being the kind of irascible ne’er do wells that they are, they did the same routine very slowly. The jig was up right there. It was plain to see their moves and you could follow the paths of all the balls quite easily.
Nonetheless, their skill at doing it too fast to follow is what makes them famous.
But still, Wow. This guy is good.
I wonder, though, can he do it really slowly?
You know the thing that really intrigues me? It’s how he bounces a ball on the floor and it comes back and lands on the table. The angles just don’t seem right for that to happen.
I was wondering about that too. Notice, however, that his hand is out of sight whenever he does that. Also, those are bean-bags; they don’t bounce.
I love Penn & Teller. I haven’t seen the exact routine you describe, but it reminds me of a similar one in which they do the standard cups & balls routine using clear plastic cups. As in the stunt you describe, everything is out in the open for you to see, yet the slight of hand is still fast, skillful, and hard to follow.
Yeah, I don’t think he is actually bouncing it but tossing it back onto the table to make it look like it is bouncing off the floor. Fantastic original routine, one of the best I have seen.