10 More Amazing Science Stunts (3)

For this stunt you need a straw and a plastic bottle. Start off by rubbing the straw on a piece of cloth and balancing it on the top of the bottle. And what you'll find is that just by placing your finger anywhere near the end of the straw you'll be able to move it around. To make a rocket out of a tea bag, all you need to do is take a teabag like this, cut off the end and then empty out the tea. And that will leave you with a cylinder of paper. Stand the cylinder of paper upright and then carefully light the top of it. As it burns down, eventually at some point the rocket will launch. Place the tips of your first fingers together like this around about six inches from your nose. And then focus on an object in the distance. What you'll find is that your fingers appear to transform into a small sausage. And just by separating them, that sausage will appear to float in mid-air. This involves a pencil, a heavy object like a vase, a piece of string and a feather. Attach the vase to one end of the string and the feather to the other. And then suspend the vase over the pencil. And when you let go of the feather, it wraps around the pencil, breaking the fall of the vase. Ensuring the vase is perfectly safe. For this bet, explain that you are going to place a penny on its edge, and ask how many other coins you need to stack up to reach the height of the penny. Maybe five, maybe six. In fact, the answer is a surprising twelve coins. Have your friends stand in a doorway, and ask them to push their arm against the frame for around about thirty seconds. When they step out of the doorway you will find their arm will magically rise into the air. Ask your friends whether it is possible to climb through a postcard. When they say no, explain that all you have to do is fold the postcard in half, and then take a pair of scissors and make a series of cuts along the length of the card. And then turn it around and make some more horizontal cuts between the ones your have already made. And then open out the postcard and make a final cut right along the length of it. All being well, when you pull on the two ends you will have a very long loop, which allows you to climb through a postcard. Place a coin onto a plate. Now pour some liquid over it. Now challenge your friends to pick up the coin without getting their fingers wet. The answer involves a glass and one of these. It's a piece of cork with three matches attached. Place the cork into the liquid and then light one of the matches. The moment it is lit, place the upturned glass over the matches. What you will find is that all of the water is sucked up into the glass, allowing you to pick up the coin and so win the bet. Sprinkle some pepper into a bowl of water, and challenge your friends to make the pepper move towards the edge of the bowl. When they give up, simply place some liquid soap onto the end of your fingertip, and simply touch the pepper. In order to be able to hold an inflated balloon over a candle without bursting it, first of all, place some water inside the balloon. Blow it up, tie it off and then gently lower it over the candle.