Cup n Balls Magic ... The cups and balls is a classic performance of magic with innumerable adaptations. The effect known as acetabula et calculi was performed by Roman conjurers as far back as two thousand years ago.[1] One popularly circulated picture, thought to date from 2500 B.C. from the walls of a burial chamber in Beni Hasan, Egypt,[2] shows two men kneeling over four inverted bowls. It was taken by early Egyptologists Wilkinson[3] and Newberry[4] as evidence that the cups and balls effect, or its related deceptive gambling game, thimblerig, possibly dates back to Ancient Egypt. Because of its context, modern Egyptologists regard the image as a game using pots[5] or cups[6] but details of the game are unknown. The illustration is unique in ancient Egyptian art, so whether or not the game utilizes sleight of hand trickery may never be known unless a future discovery produces a similar image in a more explanatory context. youtu.be/2JI03MW3Oms
Posted on: Sat, 04 Oct 2014 00:43:30 +0000