Paper Shapes, Magic T oys, Tricks and illusions, …

1 The Rubber band BookEveryone enjoys performing Tricks to amaze their friends and constructing toys that really work. Among the manyamusing projects in this book you will find puzzles and illusions, games to play and things to make - from a motorisedsteam engine to a harmless rapid repeater pistol and a greetings card that smiles! Created with ordinary rubber bandsand cheap, everyday materials, the projects range from the very simple to the more complicated, providing hours of funfor children of all ages. Eric Kenneway has written a number of books on crafts and origami, including Paper Fun, Paper Shapes, Magic Toys, Tricks and illusions, Fingers, Knuckles and Thumbs and The Horrors the following pages you will find all sorts of Tricks , stunts, games and other enjoyable things to do with rubberbands. If you have a rubber band ready, you can start right away on some of the projects in Part 1 : (or this section ismade up of things to do using rubber bands and nothing 2 contains things to do using rubber bands with other odds and ends.)

2 You will need to collect a few emptymatchboxes, one or two clothes pegs and things of that sort. None of these required objects should be difficult to 3 contains instructions for making things which need, in addition to rubber bands, material such as balsa are also one or two projects here which do not require any special craft material but do require a certain amountof accurate measuring. So most of the things which are quick and easy to do appear at the front of the book, while Part3 contains the things which may take a little more time as well as more you startThe things you need are listed at the beginning of every project. You will find rubber bands described as thin , long , wide and so on. These descriptions are meant to be a rough guide only. Experiment with whatever rubberbands you have while you build up a collection of bands of different sizes for future readingThere are many craft books which contain some projects in which rubber bands are used, but little is publishedabout rubber bands in particular.

3 Investigating Science with Rubber Bands, by Laurence B. White, Jr, published byAddison-Wasley Publishing Co, Reading, Mass, (1969), however, contains a lot of facts and many interestingideas that rubber band enthusiasts will Encyclopedia of Impromptu Tricks , by Martin Gardner, was published as a series of articles in Hugard sMagic Monthly beginning in the issue for March, 1951, and continuing for several years. It contains a large section ontricks with rubber bands, some of which appear in this book. It is a pity that this encyclopedia has never been publishedin book form and remains difficult for most people to , it remains for me to thank Ray Bolt, Steve Carter, Mick Guy, Elsie Hill, Francis Martin, Lynn Merchant andSam Randlett, who have all contributed in one way or another to making this little ITHINGS TO DO USING RUBBER BANDS ONLYR ubber band wrestlingThis is a game for two will need: one or more medium-sized rubber bands1.

4 Sit at a table facing each other. Each rest your right hand on the table; hook your fingers togetherand keep your thumb raised. Place a rubber band around the two thumbs. (If there is a third personpresent, let him put the band in position and generally act as referee.)2. At the command: Go , try to capture the rubber band by wriggling it on to your own thumbwithout dropping it. The rules can be varied. You may decide that the one who has won most oftenin a set of five or ten contests is the winner, or each contest may be treated separately-the winnertakes the rubber a rubber bandThis is a very simple trick, but it is great fun to will need: one thin rubber band1. Place one end of the rubber band round the tip ofyour forefinger; stretch it around your thumb and down,holding the other end in place with your little Point at a target and raise your littlefinger. The band will be released and shoottowards whatever you are aiming atJumping bandYou will need: one thin or medium-sized rubber band1.

5 Place the rubber band onyour Take hold of it with your otherhand and pull it up behind your Carry it over the middle fingerand loop it on to the forefinger tell everybody that you willmake the band jump from your forefingerto your middle finger. Ask somebodyto hold the tip of your forefinger. Thiswill make the trick look more difficultthan it really Say, One .. two .. three ..jump! and quickly bend your middlefinger. Part of the band will slip off whichhas the effect of releasing it entirely fromthe forefinger. The band will jump acrossand hang from the middle finger bandYou will need: one wide rubber band1. Hold the band as shown with your right hand at the top and your left hand below. Give the band precisely twotwists by running your right forefinger back against the Ask a friend to take the band fromyou. Make sure that he holds it in thesame way that you are holding it withthe right thumb and finger at the top andthe left thumb and finger at the challenge him to remove thetwists from the band .

6 He must continueto grip each end firmly between thumband finger, but apart from that may movehis hands in any way he likes. He shouldfind it impossible to remove the Carefully take hold of the rubberband once more; holding it in the sameway you did before. Show how easyit is by just moving your hands in avertical circling motion; bring the lefthand up and the right hand down ..4.. and the twists have friend will wonder why he it is because he onlyappeared to be holding the band inthe same way you were. In fact,because he took the band from theother side, his twists were the reverseof yours-and that makes all bandYou will need: one medium-sized lubber band1. Place the forefinger of eachhand into the loop of the rubberband and move your fingers in acircle away from Bring the thumb tip and thetip of the forefinger of each Switch fingertips so that theright forefinger touches your leftthumb and vice Keeping the tips together, separatethe thumb and fingers to allow the rubberband to drop to the table.

7 When you arefamiliar with this little routine, run throughit for a friend and challenge him to do thesame. He will probably find that his rubberband becomes trapped around his fingerswhen he reaches what should be the is because step 2 is not quite sostraightforward as it seems. You must haveyour fingers and the rubber band bothcorrectly placed when making this sure to follow the illustration illusionYou will need: one long rubber bandOne buttonhole (so wear a jacket or cardigan)To be effective, this illusion needs to be performed in one fluid movement. Practise the following few steps until youare familiar with them. Then work up your speed before trying it on your Pass the rubber band through yourbuttonhole. Place your thumbs througheach end, bringing the thumb tips Hook your left little finger aroundthe lower right side of the band . Hookyour right little finger around the lowerleft side of the band .

8 Then withdrawyour left finger, bringing your left thumbdown to hold the loop in Withdraw your right little fingerfrom its original .. and the rubber band is releasedfrom the buttonhole, apparentlypenetrating your jumping bandYou will need: two rubber bands one thin and one small1. Place the smaller band across the third and fourthfingers of one hand. Wind the thin band around yourfingertips. (This is not essential but it makes the tricklook more difficult.)2. Bring your thumb across, hook thesmaller band on to your thumb tip and stretchit back. Bend all four fingers forward into theband. Do this in one secret movement as youpass your other hand in front Extend the fingersonce .. and the band has jumped on to the firstand second You can take the bandback to the position illustratedin step 1 by pushing the bandwith the thumb of your otherhand as you pass it across bandsYou will need: two medium-sized rubber bandsNote: In the illustrations the bands are made to appear differently coloured so that they can be distinguished moreeasily, but when actually performing this trick you should use ones of similar To start stretch a band between the thumb andmiddle finger of your right hand.

9 Hang the other bandfrom your left thumb. Lower this band behind thefirst one and take the end on your left Slide one band along the other a fewtimes, moving it back and forth in thedirection of the In this step we secretly untrap the twobands so that we can create an . illusion ofpenetration. Your right hand will hide what place your left middle fingertip behindyour left forefinger to hold that end of the band inposition. Pull your right-hand back, stretching theband. Bring the fore- and middle fingers of theleft hand round to the front of the black band ,meanwhile slipping the middle finger out of thewhite band which will automatically jump backon to the forefinger. Return to the positionillustrated in fig. 2 (except that the white band isnow in front of the black one).4. Continue to slide the rubber bandstogether as if they were still trapped. (In fact,your audience should be unaware that step 3has taken place.)

10 Then say, I think I can feel itcoming through now. After a while, stop thesliding motion and separate the two bands witha sudden movement as if one had just cut rightthrough the bandYou will need: one medium-sized rubber bandIt is a good idea to perform this trick immediately after completing the Penetrating Bands when your audience hasjust seen you handling two rubber bands. Set up the trick by doing steps 1-3 casually with the hands under the table,or hidden in some other Hang the rubber band on yourright forefinger; give it a half twist andhook the other end on to your Put your left thumb and forefingerthrough the two spaces as Now stretch the band ..4.. and bring your thumbsand fingertips together. At thispoint, bring your hands from underthe table and show your audiencewhat appear to be two To increase the illusion that you areholding two bands, separate the thumb andforefinger of one hand, then close themagain.