Price$60.00
Media TypeTrick
CategoryBizarre, Mentalism
Date AddedJan 01, 2010
Antoninus Pius Version 2.0
(Based on 2 reviews)
After telling the legend, the magician shows his audience six engraved wooden pieces which he will make face down a table. he also shows them a beautiful box with sand in its inside.
The magician explains that, in the way of Antoninus, he has drawn a picture on the sand inside the box, which is now hermetically sealed and he asks someone from the audience to hold the box with their hands and to choose one of the six wooden pieces. The magician explains that there has been only one part of the experience and that now the participant (as Antoninus's beloved) will draw something on the sand and the magician (as the Emperor) will choose a piece and the prediction matches.
At that point, the magician asks his audience: "Do you still believe this story is only a legend?"
Reviews
(Top ▲)
Antoninus Pius Version 2.0 Review
RATING: 4 stars
REVIEW
I have read some negative reviews of this product, and my experience was different.
Also, my reviews are more about how you might create great magic with the product rather than things like how it was packaged, etc. I don't have anything that combines the ideas and methods they have, so I find this product very clever and with great potential.
Everything works great with my unit. I can’t tell whether the device is made of real wood or pressed wood. However, it looks very nice.
The combination of simple methods are very clever. The routine involves two methods to first predict their selection and then to reveal their selection.
Some have said the sand is scented. Mine appeared to be regular, unscented sand. I think unscented regular sand is best. If yours comes scented, you might want to wash the sand and that should remove the scent.
The instructions are very clear and they provide a very good piece of theatrical presentation.
I gave this a 4 star review because I think this can be used for an excellent theatrical routine.
USABILITY
The methods are very simple and suitable for amateurs and professionals. The effect is probably best suited for parlor and maybe stage. It would be a bit bulky for walk-around. The box is around 3.5 by 3 by 3 inches.
Note: You will need to use audience management as you can show the box to the audience, but you it would be best to not have them handle or inspect it too much, as they may discover one of the two methods used.
BONUS
The effect comes with a very nice routine that tells the story of a Roman Emperor and his beloved.
However, sometimes more personal sounding stories are more impactful. Here is a different sample routine with a more personal touch.
But first, a general comment. If you introduce something as “cool”, it will likely not be perceived greater than just “cool”. If you introduce something as amazing, while you take the risk that it is not perceived as amazing, you have set the bar for them to be amazed. Work on your presentation, your confidence level, and your magic will be stronger. When presenting a prop like this, it is important how you introduce the prop.
Refer to the product for the descriptions on the methodologies used. Below is the story line patter:
“For all of us, there is a connection that transcends our mental abilities. This is where magic lies. The reason magicians use props is because that connection sometimes needs a conduit for the link. I have an amazing little box I would like to share with you. I got this from my rather strange great aunt and uncle. They were sort of loners, but greatly enamored with each other. They were truly soulmates. Before my great aunt died, she sat me down and told me about this box and how they used it. She told me that my great uncle became interested in ESP and purchased this little box with these little ESP symbol tiles. My uncle used to travel a lot on big ships. Before leaving, he would take a handful of sand from the beach and place it in this box. He and his beloved wife would then write something in sand and the message would be transmitted instantly to the other. They sent each other messages every evening before going to bed. She demonstrated it's powers to me. After she died, she left me the box in her will. I guess she thought I might be the only one to even possibly understand the powers of this little box.
I’d like to try something, that if it works, is an amazing glimpse into the power of nature. We are going to keep this simple, because I’m going to assume that our connection may not be as strong as the my great aunt and uncle.
I’m going to have you randomly pick from these shuffled images. You are going to look at the image and I am then going to try to draw the same image in the sand.
(After doing the first phase, move into the second phase)
OK, that was amazing, but it could have been coincidence. There was a one in six chance, or around 17% chance of getting it right. Let’s try it again, this time, you are going to draw the message in the sand and try to send the message to me. It is rare for this to be spot on in two out of two tries, but let's give it a shot.
(You then do the second phase)
They say that a bit of our energy is in everything we come in contact with. For me, this little box is very powerful because of my great aunt and uncle.
The box was the conduit, but (spectator's name) made it happen. Let's give (spectator's name) a big round of applause.
The routine provided with the effect is, in my opinion, very strong. I like the way they present it as a story that perhaps is just a legend. One problem is the box does not look like a relic from 141 AD Rome. The routine above is just an example of a more personal way to present it, and it is more believable that it could have been a box from your aunt or great aunt.
Happy magic trails to you.
RATING: 4 stars
REVIEW
I have read some negative reviews of this product, and my experience was different.
Also, my reviews are more about how you might create great magic with the product rather than things like how it was packaged, etc. I don't have anything that combines the ideas and methods they have, so I find this product very clever and with great potential.
Everything works great with my unit. I can’t tell whether the device is made of real wood or pressed wood. However, it looks very nice.
The combination of simple methods are very clever. The routine involves two methods to first predict their selection and then to reveal their selection.
Some have said the sand is scented. Mine appeared to be regular, unscented sand. I think unscented regular sand is best. If yours comes scented, you might want to wash the sand and that should remove the scent.
The instructions are very clear and they provide a very good piece of theatrical presentation.
I gave this a 4 star review because I think this can be used for an excellent theatrical routine.
USABILITY
The methods are very simple and suitable for amateurs and professionals. The effect is probably best suited for parlor and maybe stage. It would be a bit bulky for walk-around. The box is around 3.5 by 3 by 3 inches.
Note: You will need to use audience management as you can show the box to the audience, but you it would be best to not have them handle or inspect it too much, as they may discover one of the two methods used.
BONUS
The effect comes with a very nice routine that tells the story of a Roman Emperor and his beloved.
However, sometimes more personal sounding stories are more impactful. Here is a different sample routine with a more personal touch.
But first, a general comment. If you introduce something as “cool”, it will likely not be perceived greater than just “cool”. If you introduce something as amazing, while you take the risk that it is not perceived as amazing, you have set the bar for them to be amazed. Work on your presentation, your confidence level, and your magic will be stronger. When presenting a prop like this, it is important how you introduce the prop.
Refer to the product for the descriptions on the methodologies used. Below is the story line patter:
“For all of us, there is a connection that transcends our mental abilities. This is where magic lies. The reason magicians use props is because that connection sometimes needs a conduit for the link. I have an amazing little box I would like to share with you. I got this from my rather strange great aunt and uncle. They were sort of loners, but greatly enamored with each other. They were truly soulmates. Before my great aunt died, she sat me down and told me about this box and how they used it. She told me that my great uncle became interested in ESP and purchased this little box with these little ESP symbol tiles. My uncle used to travel a lot on big ships. Before leaving, he would take a handful of sand from the beach and place it in this box. He and his beloved wife would then write something in sand and the message would be transmitted instantly to the other. They sent each other messages every evening before going to bed. She demonstrated it's powers to me. After she died, she left me the box in her will. I guess she thought I might be the only one to even possibly understand the powers of this little box.
I’d like to try something, that if it works, is an amazing glimpse into the power of nature. We are going to keep this simple, because I’m going to assume that our connection may not be as strong as the my great aunt and uncle.
I’m going to have you randomly pick from these shuffled images. You are going to look at the image and I am then going to try to draw the same image in the sand.
(After doing the first phase, move into the second phase)
OK, that was amazing, but it could have been coincidence. There was a one in six chance, or around 17% chance of getting it right. Let’s try it again, this time, you are going to draw the message in the sand and try to send the message to me. It is rare for this to be spot on in two out of two tries, but let's give it a shot.
(You then do the second phase)
They say that a bit of our energy is in everything we come in contact with. For me, this little box is very powerful because of my great aunt and uncle.
The box was the conduit, but (spectator's name) made it happen. Let's give (spectator's name) a big round of applause.
The routine provided with the effect is, in my opinion, very strong. I like the way they present it as a story that perhaps is just a legend. One problem is the box does not look like a relic from 141 AD Rome. The routine above is just an example of a more personal way to present it, and it is more believable that it could have been a box from your aunt or great aunt.
Happy magic trails to you.
(Top ▲)
I really wanted to give this effect 4 stars - I really did.
First I am not really sure why this product is not listed under the others from Anton Corradin as he is the one sourcing and marketing them.
The effect sounds like a fantastic piece of theater and it really would be if presented in the right way to a theatrical or parlor audience. The way it works is quite ingenious and there is more than one way to figure out what the spectator has chosen.
The instructions are a little bit 'iffy' in clarity, but you will be able to decipher the basic handling from them.
The props look very nice, but to me they feel like some sort of composite wood. By that I mean that it seems that someone took fine wood pulp and combined it with some sort of binder/adhesive and poured it into a mold (similar to the way hand-made paper is made) and after it was set, it was removed and cut/shaped. I may be wrong, but that is what it feels like.
The sand that comes with it was scented, but I could not tell what it is. This may be a bad thing for some people who are allergic to certain scenting agents, but I can appreciate the thought behind it.
As for the gimmick, I would bet that most people would be familiar with it, as would most young children, who either have or have had a toy at some point that has this same kind of device on it.
Now there is where I have the biggest problem with this: When I got my unit, the gimmick was completely useless and I could not use it at all because it was not functional. I even read the instructions a couple dozen times and followed them to the letter, which did not help.
So what to do? Contact the creator of course, which I did and was told that I would get a replacement gimmick in the mail shortly. After two months I contacted him again because I had not received it and was told that one was sent some time previous to that and that another would go out shortly. That was two years ago and I am still waiting...
I realize my experience with this may be unique, but for $60 there should be no problems.
There was an extra piece of something (I cannot identify exactly what it is) that came with this product that was not mentioned in the instructions, so I have no idea what it is for or how to use it.
Since then this nice-looking $60 ($70 if you count the shipping cost) set of props has sat on my shelf as nothing more than a curio-paperweight. I would love to use it someday and if I ever get it fixed and have that opportunity, I will attach an addendum to this review to reflect those experiences accordingly.
First I am not really sure why this product is not listed under the others from Anton Corradin as he is the one sourcing and marketing them.
The effect sounds like a fantastic piece of theater and it really would be if presented in the right way to a theatrical or parlor audience. The way it works is quite ingenious and there is more than one way to figure out what the spectator has chosen.
The instructions are a little bit 'iffy' in clarity, but you will be able to decipher the basic handling from them.
The props look very nice, but to me they feel like some sort of composite wood. By that I mean that it seems that someone took fine wood pulp and combined it with some sort of binder/adhesive and poured it into a mold (similar to the way hand-made paper is made) and after it was set, it was removed and cut/shaped. I may be wrong, but that is what it feels like.
The sand that comes with it was scented, but I could not tell what it is. This may be a bad thing for some people who are allergic to certain scenting agents, but I can appreciate the thought behind it.
As for the gimmick, I would bet that most people would be familiar with it, as would most young children, who either have or have had a toy at some point that has this same kind of device on it.
Now there is where I have the biggest problem with this: When I got my unit, the gimmick was completely useless and I could not use it at all because it was not functional. I even read the instructions a couple dozen times and followed them to the letter, which did not help.
So what to do? Contact the creator of course, which I did and was told that I would get a replacement gimmick in the mail shortly. After two months I contacted him again because I had not received it and was told that one was sent some time previous to that and that another would go out shortly. That was two years ago and I am still waiting...
I realize my experience with this may be unique, but for $60 there should be no problems.
There was an extra piece of something (I cannot identify exactly what it is) that came with this product that was not mentioned in the instructions, so I have no idea what it is for or how to use it.
Since then this nice-looking $60 ($70 if you count the shipping cost) set of props has sat on my shelf as nothing more than a curio-paperweight. I would love to use it someday and if I ever get it fixed and have that opportunity, I will attach an addendum to this review to reflect those experiences accordingly.