The Thumb Tie by Dave Brown

A thumb tie is a simple concept; the magician has his thumbs tied together in full view of everyone, nothing is hidden behind the back or under a cloth or any of the other false looking magician type practises. The tying is exactly what it appears to be.Two volunteers are each given a hoop and asked to throw them to the performer, as the hoops are caught they appear to melt through the tied thumbs and are left hanging from the performers forearm.Even with the volunteers watching just inches away from the thumbs, the performer's thumbs appear to melt through the volunteers clasped hands.The comedy comes from the situation and the expressions of the volunteers, this is maximum effect for minimal props - you just need a short length of rope, a pair of scissors and two hoops of some sort (tips about the hoops are given in the book), oh and the detailed instructions given in this book.This routine has been responsible for more bookings and television appearances than anything other routine I have done.There are many thumb tie routines and methods around. I have used as many as I can find but when I needed to improvise I found that couldn't rely on any of the methods I knew about.I decided to develop my own method and came up with this particular thumb tie method.The routine has been performed literally hundreds of times and most of them in the most extreme of conditions, on the street. I was a street performer for many years and this routine was developed over a number of years and in front of thousands of audience members all around the world.It can be performed without any spoken words if needed, the tying material can be improvised - once you understand why it works you will always have a guaranteed crowd pleaser at your disposal.Over the years I have come across everything that could wrong with the routine and I have built into the handling providing for all outcomes. When you purchase this routine you get years of work and a premium routine that is guaranteed to work.