The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1895-02-03
GIRLS.
Their Tricks Can Be Performed by
Any One Instructed In Them.
L 10 cciar,S Mo zipo

L On -
Any One Instructed In Them.
Casters Magazine.
There are many tricks in the repertoire
of the so-called electric or magnetic girl.
all Of which seem, at first sight, to involve
strength. or else some occult power, AS a
matter of fact, however, they involve
neither 1Sat e5ev The ars s SIT m n Part Par ab 81 5n ef an Is
one to perform. Furthermore, 1t will be
found that the very mechanical laws which
the ones upon which they depend for their
success, and the chief reason why they
have witnessed them is that they have not
tried to repeat them themselves upon the
first opportunity afforded.
Let us take the first trick mentioned,
namely, that of lifting a heavy person in
the chair. Tell him to sit down and hold
the chair against all your efforts. He will
plant his feet firmly upon the floor, thus
throwing his weight chiefly on his feet in
stead of on the chair. as he thinks he IS
yourself, and you will realize that 1t is a
fact. To move the person all that the girl
f nas s st. a2 Is p 20 fea D Whieh a she e assumes,
she will obtain a considerable purchase by
bracing her arms on her knees, and VIII
thus have no difficulty in raising the chair
slightly. AS the sitter assumes a new posi-
ton, so as to more successfully resist this
effort on the part of the girl, she suddenly
relaxes her push, directing the chair off to
one side or the other. Before the sitter
has recovered himself she has raised the
chair again, and so on; the stronger he IS
or the more he opposes or strives to OPP
pose her. the worse he is off. and the
more successful she will be. The trick is
more effective if three men try. to hold
the chair down, because of their divided
effort + ont,a and tendency end fo. t Where ra mHre tt than nn, one
each other rather than her. She will be
perfectly powerless, however, should even
with no thought of opposition.
While in Chicago I saw the announce
ment Of an electric girl who VII j included Sdu at od IN
four feet long and as thick as a broomstick,
! were requested to hold it in a vertical
position before us while grasping it firmly
in both hands. The girl, standing in front
of US and facing us. placed the palm of her
open hand against the lower portion Of the
stick, resting it on the side nearest US and
hands up and. down for a few moments, in
order 'to make better electric contact. as
we were informed, and after enjoining us
to hold the stick perfectly vertical. we were
told to press down on it as hard as we
/ could. This we did until the veins seemed
| ourselves as hard as we could, we, two
strong men, were unable to press down
hard enough to make the stick slip past
the open palm of her hand. Had the girl
grasped the stick with her two hands, l
am sure she could not have withstood my
downward pressure alone. | would have
borne her, stick and all. to the floor. But
there she stood, with but one open hand
bearing against the side OF the stick; and
force the stick past that wonderful hand.
Surely there seemed something uncanny
about this. But it is very simply explained.
The whole secret consists in insisting
upon the men holding the stick in a verti-
cal position. When the girls open hand is
first placed against the lower portion of
the stick she moves it two or three times
up and down, pulling gradually more and
more against it. As this tends to pull the
stick away from the vertical, she insists
that the men keep it straight. Thus eau
toned, they will exert more and more eff
fort until, when she feels that the pressure
against her hand is sufficient, she instructs
them to push down with all their might
They DO so, and imagine they are exertine
a tremendous vertical thrust, whereas their
vertical effort is actually very slight-in-
sufficient even to overcome the friction OF
the stick against her moist hand. The rner
are, really, exerting g. tremendous effort
but are deceived as to it's direction. With
their hands tightly grasping the upper enc
Of the stick, they are really trying to force
the other end of the stick against the palm
cf her hand