Mr. Magician displays a cocktail glass… and patters about the strange qualities of the liquid within. Should you drink it — your neighbor would feel the inebriating effects. Really ! Let us demonstrate.

Sir Hocus-Pocus removes a drinking straw from a box, and rips it in half. Using one of the halves, he sucks it full of the strange liquor and transfers the filled straw to a spectator, who caps a finger over both ends of it. Now the other half of the straw is brought into use. It is empty, but is capped in the same manner by another spectator. One…two…three ! The filled straw is squeezed – now it is absolutely empty and dry !….. and the dry straw is squeezed – but it is absolutely filled !…. the liquor squirts out !

The straw, of course, is prepared. The hydrostatic principle is, physically, the secret. But let us go through the maneuvers of preparing the straw. We have, at our side, a jar of vaseline, or wax of some sort not too solid, and a round stick that fits snugly into the straw. There is a mark on this stick that denotes when it has entered the straw to the center. And also needed is a water pitcher deep enough that a straw can be submerged in water except for about a quarter inch at the top.

If you will stick the straw into the pitcher of water and then tightly cap your finger over the top opening of the straw, you will find, upon lifting it from the water, that the straw is full of liquid. Release your finger and the water will run out. That’s the hydrostatic principle.

Now that you understand what we’re getting at, let’s go to work. Place the straw upright in the water (real liquor is not necessarily used in the effect – water will successfully simulate gin). Fill the top opening with vaseline. Using the stick, force the vaseline half way down the straw. This, you notice, forces half the water out of the water out of the straw. In other words, the top of the straw – when the stick is removed – is empty, and the bottom half contains water. You’ll be surprised how freely the straw can be handled. But let me warn you, if an air hole forms through the vaseline the water will be released, so be certain to pack it tightly.

Nest this prepared straw in a box of straws so you can withdraw it when needed. Patter along, concentrating your talk on the liquid to misdirect attention from the straw which you remove from the box. Tear it in half (above the vaseline) and lay the filled half-straw on the table. Now you apparently fill the empty half-straw. Really you let the water, or cocktail, as the audience believes, flow back into the glass before you reach your finger into the drink in order to cap your finger over the bottom opening of the straw so that (seemingly) none of the liquid will escape.

This half of the stunt is all psychological. But it will amaze you how convinced your audience will be that the straw contains liquid, especially when you apply the showmanship by handling the straw with great delicacy so as not to spill even a drop ! EVEN THE PERSON INTO WHOSE FINGERS YOU TRANSFER THE STRAW WILL BE CONVINCED THAT IT IS FILLED !

Let me mention right now that a wax straw must be used in this trick, as water cannot be seen through that variety as it can through the cellophane type. Do not be afraid of the different weight, when the straw is full or empty, for it won’t be noticeable to the participating spectators.

The rest of the working you already know. The half-straw, actually full of water, but thought by the spectators to be empty, is handled very casually with no particular attention shown to it, and placed between another spectator’s fingers.