The Magicians have been performing The Afghan Bands Tamim
Noorzai Magic Trick for over a hundred years. With the right presentation,
it is still a sure-fire winner in any Magician's or Street Performer's
repertoire.
How It Looks To the Audience
The Magician shows three large paper bands, which have been
made from gluing together three strips of paper. With a pair of scissors, he
cuts the first band in half lengthways and shows the expected two bands of
paper. However, when he cuts the next band in half, he ends up with two,
interlocked circles! Finally when he cuts the last paper band in half, he ends
up with one giant circle!
How the Trick Is Done
To do this trick, you will need three strips of paper about
ten feet long and two inches wide. You can make the strips from newspaper, by
gluing pieces together.
Make the first band by gluing the ends of the strip together
normally. When this band is cut it will give you two separate circles.
When making the second band, give one of the ends a half
turn, then glue the ends together. When this band is cut, it will give you two
interlocked circles.
Finally, before gluing the ends of the last strip together,
give one of the ends two half turns. When this band is cut, it will result in
one large circle.
Tips
When you cut each band, you start at one point in the band
and continue cutting all the way around the band until you reach the starting
point again.
The reason why you use long bands of paper is that it will
conceal the twists in the bands better.