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then slides the cabinet's midsection apart from the top and bottom thirds, giving the appearance that the assistant's midsection has been pulled away from the rest of her, giving her a "zig-zag" shape. While divided, a small door on the cabinet's midsection can be opened to examine—even touch—the assistant's body inside, a duty frequently performed by an audience member brought up on stage to help perform the illusion. At the completion of the illusion, the assistant's midsection is slid back into place, the two blades removed, and she steps out of the cabinet unscathed.
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162:(2014), detective Edgar Stephens enlists the help of his former military buddy, master magician and former Magic Circle member Max Mephisto, to solve the murder of a young woman whose body was cut in thirds like a Zig Zag Girl's, the body parts placed in boxes akin to magicians' Zig Zag Girl prop boxes.
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The design of the box creates a usable space (shown in pink) larger than the audience would expect. Black stripes down the front of the cabinet make this space appear narrower, and the blades (shown in red) do not extend all the way across. Apparent ornamentation on the box (shown in green) is hollow
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A number of magicians have begun performing variations on the basic illusion. In some, rather than the assistant's face being visible through a hole in the front of the cabinet, their entire head projects out of the cabinet through a hole in its upper surface. In another variation, rather than being
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The assistant (usually a woman) is placed in an upright cabinet, her face, hands, and left foot visible through openings in the front of the cabinet. Large metal blades are inserted horizontally in the cabinet's midsection, dividing it—and presumably the assistant inside—into thirds. The magician
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in the wake of Harbin's death. The concept of dividing a lady assistant into two or three parts was something that Harbin experimented with throughout his career before creating his ultimate divide, the Zig Zag Girl. Evidence of his fascination with this concept of dividing an assistant can be
45:(1970). The book was limited to 500 copies, and owners of the book were granted permission to build or have built the Zig Zag Girl (or indeed any other of the items in the book). The rights to the book and the Zig Zag illusion were then in time passed to
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Unlike more conventional magic tricks, this illusion relies on the skill of the woman inside, while the magician outside is a demonstrator. The success of the illusion rests on the woman's ability to fit into the smallest possible
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The blades are inserted into the right side of the box. It appears as if the blades take up more space; when inserted, the handle fills up the width of the box on the outside: but the blade inside only slices a portion of the
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The sliding contraption is not as narrow as it seems. Black paint hides a column that gives extra space for the woman. The designer of the box must give the most space to the woman while making it appear as small as
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103:. The trick hinges on two things: that people will not suspect the woman is key for the trick to work, and that the box is larger than it appears. Details are as follows:
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The black strips down the sides make the box appear narrow. In reality, all that black space is usable. The box accommodates the woman (although it is a very tight fit).
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divided into three pieces, the assistant is instead divided into five - This variation is commonly referred to as the "Five-Way Zig-Zag".
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found in his earlier publications; the closest relative to the Zig Zag is the "Little by Little" illusion, which was also explained in
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Harbin was frustrated by his illusions being pirated by other magicians, and this inspired him to publish the method in his book
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into thirds, only to have them emerge from the illusion at the end of the performance completely unharmed.
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is shown inside of a trisected Zig Zag Girl box, although the trick itself is not depicted.
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Breaking the
Magician's Code: Magic's Biggest Secrets Finally Revealed
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Breaking the
Magician's Code: Magic's Biggest Secrets Finally Revealed
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illusion. In the Zig-Zag illusion, a magician divides an
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spends the majority of the play in a Zig Zag Girl box.
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The method of this trick was partially explained by
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illusion is a stage illusion akin to the more famous
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187:Season 7, Episode 15: "Mr Monk and the Magician"
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250:Dawes, Edwin A.; et al. (1993).
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67:Further developments
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711:Abracadabra
703:Periodicals
479:Conventions
384:Inside No 9
217:Inside No 9
774:The Sphinx
636:Guidebooks
607:Levitation
600:techniques
598:Tricks and
564:Mathemagic
554:Escapology
539:Children's
523:techniques
469:Assistants
260:References
199:Full House
174:Television
149:Literature
142:Misty Rowe
58:The effect
801:Magicians
692:Conjuring
529:Cardistry
119:possible.
29:assistant
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816:Timeline
753:Magigram
732:The Jinx
574:Platform
484:Exposure
225:See also
830:Related
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760:Mahatma
671:(1928–)
533:history
514:Bizarre
462:General
409:Video,
393:BBC Two
300:YouTube
821:Tricks
695:(1992)
687:(1975)
679:(1961)
663:(1902)
655:(1876)
647:(1584)
589:Street
579:SĂ©ance
569:Mental
559:Gospel
507:Genres
489:Stores
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108:space.
76:Method
784:Lists
746:Magic
718:Genii
584:Stage
474:Clubs
296:Video
196:" of
129:Films
549:Coin
519:Card
359:ISBN
182:Monk
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