Super Chair Suspension
Published April 20th, 2008 in UncategorizedSuper Chair Suspension is an illusion where a person floats in midair, supported only by the back of a fold-up chair.
A magician places two foldable chairs facing each other, then he puts a board across, on top — bridging the two chairs. Someone lies on top of this board, and the magician wraps her in cloth. He then removes one chair, leaving the board and the girl to hover, supported by the remaining chair. The magician finally removes the board itself, leaving the girl to hover.
The trick can be performed with an untrained audience member: (WindowsMedia video of the trick| Picture of the trick)
Method
The remaining folding chair is specially reinforced and engineered. It holds up an invisible board, hidden in the cloth wrap, that supports the girl on top. It is crucial for the chair to face inward to hide the body.
This illusion benefits from human anatomy. Because the upper body is usually more massive than the lower body, the center of gravity shifts upwards, towards the head. The heads of young children in proportion to their bodies is larger than adults, shifting the center of gravity further upwards, towards the head. This doesn’t allow more of the body to extend past the center of gravity threshold without the body’s center of gravity passing it, keeping the chair stable. The audience is tricked because they assume the body’s center of gravity is the center of the body. This is not true. The center of gravity is usually much higher. The skewed proportion enhances the cantilever effect.
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