The strong arm magic trick is a classic stunt that has been performed in some of the old black and white movies in different variations. Today, circus performers still practice this old trick for young audiences.
Strong Arm Magic Stunt
This is a magic trick which strong men in many of the old time circuses used to use. They would hitch a team of horses to each of their hands and the horses would then be held in check by the man – they couldn’t pull him apart.
What really happened was that the horses were pulling against each other. You can work the same trick by getting several stout pieces of rope and letting some of your friends try to pull you apart. Three pieces of rope are needed – one long piece which goes up the sleeves and across the back (shown in Fig. 2 and Fig. 3.) and two short pieces which are given to the fellows to pull on and which are, to all appearances, gripped in the performer’s hands. The two short pieces have rings on them which hitch on the hooks of the hidden long piece of rope.
This makes a good stunt to try among your gang, but you must prepare for it ahead of time.
Source: Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.), 24 May 1925.
