Problem: Article: Invisible elastic bands are thin and clear so they're very hard to see up close or at a distance. Put your hand through the elastic band so it's wrapped around your palm. Position the band so it's in the crook of your hand between your thumb and index finger. You can buy invisible elastic bands online or from magic stores. Look for 2 volunteers in the audience or on the street to help you perform your magic trick. See if there are any people who are in a relationship or are related in some way so you can use their "bond" as an explanation for the trick. Ask the participants to stand on opposite sides of you so they're about 45 feet (1.21.5m) apart from one another. You can also choose 2 strangers if people watching you don't know one another. Choose 1 volunteer to close their eyes and ask them to confirm that they can't see anything. Have the other participant keep their eyes open. Ask the person with their eyes closed if they can see anything at all to confirm that their eyes are closed. Another option is to use a blindfold on the person who has their eyes closed if you want to be absolutely certain they cannot see. Slide the index finger on your opposite hand under the elastic band to stretch it between your hands. Once you have the elastic band on your finger, pull your hands 45 inches (1013cm) apart to stretch it out.
Summary: Put an invisible elastic band around one of your hands before the trick. Instruct 2 people to face each other standing 4ft (1.2m) apart. Ask 1 participant to close their eyes. Slip a finger between your palm and the elastic band to stretch it out.

Problem: Article: Pick a topic that interests you, and that you think it would be good to know more about. If you are writing a hypothesis for a school assignment, this step may be taken care of for you. Gather all the information you can about the topic you've selected. You'll need to become an expert on the subject and develop a good grasp of what is already known about the topic. Focus on academic and scholarly writing. You need to be certain that your information is unbiased, accurate, and comprehensive. Scholarly search databases such as Google Scholar and Web of Science can help you find relevant articles from reputable sources. You can find information in textbooks, at a library, and online. If you are in school, you can also ask for help from teachers, librarians, and your peers. Spend some time reading the materials you've collected. As you do so, look for and make note of unanswered questions in the literature. These can provide excellent ideas for areas to investigate. For example, if you are interested in the effects of caffeine on the human body, but notice that nobody seems to have explored whether caffeine affects males differently than it does females, this could be something to formulate a hypothesis about. Or, if you are interested in organic farming, you might notice that no one has tested whether organic fertilizer results in different growth rates for plants than non-organic fertilizer. You can sometimes find holes in the existing literature by looking for statements like "it is unknown" in scientific papers or places where information is clearly missing. You might also find a claim in the literature that seems far-fetched, unlikely, or too good to be true, like that caffeine improves math skills. If the claim is testable, you could provide a great service to scientific knowledge by doing your own investigation. If you confirm the claim, the claim becomes even more credible. If you do not find support for the claim, you are helping with the necessary self-correcting aspect of science. Examining these types of questions provides an excellent way for you to set yourself apart by filling in important gaps in a field of study. After studying the literature on your topic, generate one or more unanswered questions you'd be interested in exploring further. These are your research questions. Following the examples above, you might ask: "How does caffeine affect females as compared to males?" or "How does organic fertilizer affect plant growth compared to non-organic fertilizer?" The rest of your research will be aimed at answering these questions. Once you have generated your research question or questions, look in the literature to see if the existing findings and/or theories about the topic provide any clues that would allow you to come up with ideas about what the answers to your research questions might be. If so, these clues can form the basis for your hypothesis. Following the examples above, if you discover in the literature that there is a pattern that some other types of stimulants seem to affect females more than males, this could be a clue that the same pattern might be true for caffeine. Similarly, if you observe the pattern that organic fertilizer seems to be associated with smaller plants overall, you might explain this pattern with the hypothesis that plants exposed to organic fertilizer grow more slowly than plants exposed to non-organic fertilizer.
Summary: Select a topic. Read existing research. Analyze the literature. Generate questions. Look for clues as to what the answer might be.

Problem: Article: Start planning about 2 to 3 weeks before your birthday. Send out invitations early and through multiple media channels, such as Facebook, text and phone messages. Create a Facebook page or website about the party. Add those you've invited to the page in order to create a hub of information that can keep everyone up to date on the latest information on the party. Figure out where the party is taking place and how many people can comfortably fit into the venue. Prioritize your family and close friends to make sure your party is full of people you enjoy being around. Create a cutoff date. When inviting a large amount of people, place a cutoff date for accepting the invitation, or on the number of attendees allowed to the party, to make sure you don't end up with far more guests than you can handle. If the cutoff date is well before the actual date of the party, you can open the invitations to additional guests to account for those who failed to RSVP. Account for those who can't make it. If you are planning a large party, allow for guests to invite one friend, or invite more people than you think you can actually handle. This is helpful if your party is less formal and you aren't sending RSVPs. If you are concerned about guests bringing friends that you aren't comfortable with, place a caveat on the invitation regarding plus ones. For example, you might require guests to ask if they would like to bring a plus one, allowing you to screen your guests carefully. Your family and friends are bound to be leaving you messages about your impending birthday, with some suggesting they hold a party for you. Let them know early that you will be holding your own, so that a surprise birthday party doesn't go to waste! Choose a time and place that is as convenient for the largest number of people as possible. Take into consideration whether your friends have obligations, such as kids or projects, and whether there will be plenty of alcohol. Celebrate on a more convenient day than the actual day of your birthday if it happens to fall on a holiday or work day. If you don't plan on going to a restaurant or bar for your birthday, and you don't think you have the space to hold it at your house, ask a friend if they can help with hosting duties. Food, drinks and decorations will need to be taken care of prior to the big day. Assign some work to friends or family to help pull everything together. Create some space. Move tables, chairs, and other furniture in order to create enough space for the expected number of guests. Avoid blocking off exits or creating dangerous obstacles when arranging the party space. Have guests bring food and drink. You can make planning much easier if guests are required to bring food and drink to the party. Set up the music. Create a party playlist according to the ambience of the evening. Preset playlists are available on many music streaming programs, including Spotify and Apple Music. Some popular music stations also list their playlists for you to mix and match. Have a great time! Remember to stay safe and minimize the risks for you and your guests. Serve water and other snacks if you plan on serving alcoholic drinks. Drinking on an empty stomach increases the rate at which alcohol is absorbed into the blood stream. If someone is getting too rowdy or a tensions get heated, take them to the side and let them know they need to either calm down or leave. Keep your valuables secure and in other rooms, away from the party. Be mindful of your neighbors. You wouldn't want your party to end early because you're making too large a ruckus.
Summary:
Plan ahead. Create the guest list. Check your messages. Set a location and time for the party. Organize and prepare leading up to the big day. Throw that party.