The Great Rope Escape Magic Trick

f you want to add some fun to your meeting, perform a simple magic trick. Cub Scouts will love it.

It is difficult to describe a magic trick with just instructions, so if you need to see a video of  it to understand the concept, you can probably find one on YouTube.

The Great Rope Escape

Materials

• 2 pieces of rope or string, each about 3 feet long

Instructions

1. Ask for two volunteers from the audience. For Cub Scouts, I recommend getting a parent/Cub pair.
2. Tie the ends of one string around the wrists of the first volunteer. They should be somewhat loose, but tight enough that he can’t remove his hands from the loops.
3. Tie one of the ends of the other string in the same manner around one of the wrists of the second volunteer.
4. Slip the loose end of the second string through the middle of the first volunteer’s arm/string loop.
5. Then tie the loose end of the second string to the second volunteer’s other wrist. Now they should be linked together.
6. Tell the two volunteers to try to unlink themselves, but they can’t remove the loops of string from their wrists.
7. After they try for a minute or so, ask them if they give up.
8. Now, take the center of one of the first volunteer’s string and slide it under the wrist loop of the second volunteer.
9. Pull it through and bring it up over the hand and down the wrist of the second volunteer.
10. The first volunteer should be able to pull on his string to unlink the two now.