Miracle Mongers and Their Methods: A Complete Exposé of the Modus Operandi of Fire Eaters, Heat Resisters, Poison Eaters, Venomous Reptile Defiers, Sword Swallowers, Human Ostriches, Strong Men, Etc.Houdini, Harry
History
Miracle Mongers and Their Methods: A Complete Exposé of the Modus Operandi of Fire Eaters, Heat Resisters, Poison Eaters, Venomous Reptile Defiers, Sword Swallowers, Human Ostriches, Strong Men, Etc.
Houdini, Harry
Magic tricks -- History; Magicians -- Biography
Flames from the lips may be produced by holding in the mouth a sponge
saturated with the purest gasoline. When the breath is exhaled sharply
it can be lighted from a torch or a candle. Closing the lips firmly
will extinguish the flame. A wad of oakum will give better results
than the sponge.
Natural gas is produced as simply. A T-shaped gas pipe has three or
four gas tips on the cross-piece. The long end is placed in the mouth,
which already holds concealed a sponge, or preferably a ball of oakum,
saturated with pure gasoline. Blowing through the pipe will force the
gas through the tips, where it can be ignited with a match. It will
burn as long as the breath lasts.
In a London periodical, The Terrific Record, appears a reprint from the
Mercure de France, giving an account of experiments in Naples which led
to the discovery of the means by which jugglers have appeared to be
incombustible. They first gradually habituate the skin, the mouth,
throat and stomach to great degrees of heat, then they rub the skin
with hard soap. The tongue is also covered with hard soap and over that
a layer of powdered sugar. By this means an investigating professor
was enabled to reproduce the wonders which had puzzled many scientists.
The investigating professor in all probability, was Professor
Sementini, who experimented with Lionetto. I find an account of
Sementini's discoveries in an old newspaper clipping, the name and date
of which have unfortunately been lost:
Sementini's efforts, after performing several experiments upon himself,
were finally crowned with success. He found that by friction with
sulphuric acid deluted with water, the skin might be made insensible to
the action of the heat of red-hot iron; a solution of alum, evaporated
till it became spongy, appeared to be more effectual in these
frictions. After having rubbed the parts which were thus rendered in
some degree insensible, with hard soap, he discovered, on the
application of hot iron, that their insensibility was increased. He
then determined on again rubbing the parts with soap, and after that
found that the hot iron not only occasioned no pain but that it
actually did not burn the hair.
Being thus far satisfied, the Professor applied hard soap to his tongue
until it became insensible to the heat of the iron; and having placed
an ointment composed of soap mixed with a solution of alum upon it,
burning oil did not burn it; while the oil remained on the tongue a
slight hissing was heard, similar to that of hot iron when thrust into
water; the oil soon cooled and might then be swallowed without danger.
Several scientific men have since repeated the experiments of Professor
Sementini, but we would not recommend any except professionals to try
the experiments.
Liquid storax is now used to anoint the tongue when red-hot irons are
to be placed in the mouth. It is claimed that with this alone a
red-hot poker can be licked until it is cold.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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