1. David Blaine’s Above the Below Magic Trick
David Blaine is an American magician known for his death-defying feats that have earned critical acclaim. From freezing himself in a block of ice to being buried alive, Blaine is famous for his extreme stunts. In 2003, he attempted an endurance trick like no other. Blaine began fasting for 44 days on September 5, 2003, while sealed inside a transparent glass box, suspended 30 feet above the ground on the banks of the River Thames in London. He had no food or nutrients throughout the stunt, surviving only on 4.5 liters of water per day.
Inside the box, the only items Blaine had were a clean water pipe from the ground, a blanket, some lip balm, a journal, and a pen. Above the Below is perhaps Blaine’s most daring stunt, surpassing even his other dangerous acts such as being buried alive for seven days, standing in ice for three days in nothing but shoes and underwear, or balancing on top of an 80-foot pole in Central Park, New York for 36 hours before jumping into a cardboard box. At the time, Above the Below captured widespread media attention and became a major topic for the press.

2. Dynamo Walking on Water
Dynamo is perhaps the most famous magician of modern times. He has traveled the world showcasing his incredible street magic and performing on numerous television shows where he stuns audiences with his tricks. Dynamo has been the source of mystery and wonder for many years, with illusions that seem to defy the laws of physics. One of his most iconic tricks is walking on water across the River Thames in the UK, which has become one of the most famous water-walking illusions in recent years.
In 2011, Dynamo amazed fans worldwide with his walking on water illusion. Audiences watched in awe as Dynamo appeared to walk across the Thames, leaving them speechless and unable to explain what they had just witnessed. While it might seem like Dynamo possesses supernatural powers, the trick is actually based on a simple scientific principle. To create these mind-bending illusions, images are placed in front of a series of props and simple tools. With the perfect shot, the desired effect is achieved—making it look flawless. One of the fascinating aspects of the world of magic is how tricks and illusions continually evolve. New magicians are always emerging, adding to the richness of events and conventions around the world.

3. Pulling a Rabbit Out of a Hat
Rabbits and top hats are iconic symbols of magic. It is believed that the first magician to perform the trick of pulling a rabbit out of a hat was Louis Comte, a Parisian magician in 1814, known as 'The Kings Conjurer'. One of his more famous tricks involved borrowing a hat and pulling various objects from it. Milbourne Christopher, in his book *The Illustrated History of Magic*, mentions that the hat trick became popular in the 1830s, though the original performer remains unnamed.
The top hat itself is believed to have originated in Europe around the late 1700s. With its size and shape, it was the perfect prop for a magician to use to make objects appear. Magicians like Louis Comte used rabbits because they are cute, easy to handle, perfectly sized, compressible, and calm when hidden. Even into the 20th century, magicians continued to borrow hats from the audience to pull out rabbits and other animals.

4. PT Selbit's Sawing a Woman in Half Magic Trick
The sawing a woman in half trick quickly became an iconic illusion after its debut by British magician PT Selbit in January 1921 at the Finsbury Park Empire in North London. His assistant, Betty Barker, was placed inside a vertical wooden box. Selbit tied ropes around Barker’s wrists, ankles, and neck, threading them through holes in the box. He then invited the audience to come onstage and tighten the ropes to ensure she could not move an inch.
Selbit sealed the box and laid it flat with the help of his assistants, before beginning the illusion. First, he slid thick glass panels through the gaps in the box, making it appear as though they passed through her and emerged on the other side. Then, as if that wasn’t enough, PT Selbit took a saw and cut through the middle of the box, scattering sawdust everywhere. According to magic experts, this was the first performance of the ‘sawing someone in half’ trick, a feat that has become synonymous with magic, only rivaled by the trick of pulling a rabbit from a hat. It caused a sensation, and within a year, Horace Goldin was touring with his own version. Modern variants often divide the assistant into multiple parts, use clear boxes, or even substitute a buzz saw and forgo the box altogether!

5. The Melero Rings by the Legendary Ernesto Melero
The Melero Rings illusion is inspired by the 'Chinese Linking Rings' trick. This classic magic trick involves using a set of solid metal rings, typically made of chrome or stainless steel. It's considered one of the oldest tricks in magic, though its true origins remain uncertain. While it's often associated with China, some also believe it may have originated in Japan.
The Melero Rings is a legendary magic act from the Venezuelan underground magic icon Ernesto Melero. This illusion is typically performed with three to eight rings, but can also feature dozens or just two. A modern variation involves using borrowed rings from the audience. One of these rings has a small slit that allows magicians to visually deceive the audience by slipping one ring inside the other during the performance. This technique is a key element of close-up magic.

6. The Floating Woman Trick by John Nevil Maskelyne

If you are a fan of magic performances, one act that is sure to come to mind is the breathtaking illusion where a woman floats in mid-air. This is one of the most beautiful and mysterious illusions ever performed. First presented by John Nevil Maskelyne in 1901 at the Egyptian Hall in London, it left every magician who witnessed it in awe. Maskelyne, renowned for his titles as ‘The Magician’ and ‘Inventor,’ is especially famous for his world-class skill in magic.
In the performance, Maskelyne made a woman levitate from a couch on a brightly lit stage, with a ring wrapped around her body to prove no wires were involved. During one of the performances, American magician Harry Kellar stood up from the audience, walked onto the stage, and inspected the apparatus. The performers froze, and Kellar stepped offstage. Kellar attempted to buy the secret right after Maskelyne revealed it, but Maskelyne refused to sell. As a result, Kellar hired Paul Valadon from Maskelyne's team to learn the trick and create his own version, which became known as the Kellar Levitation.
Cups and Balls is a classic magic trick where balls appear and disappear under cups. This illusion is one of the oldest and most famous in the history of magic, with origins traced back to Roman magicians in 3 BC. The trick has many variations, but the most common involves three balls and three cups. The magician makes the balls pass through the bottoms of the cups, jump from one cup to another, disappear and reappear elsewhere, and sometimes even transform into different objects. The cups are typically opaque, and the balls are brightly colored.
Penn & Teller have performed a standout version of the Cups and Balls illusion, where they start with three opaque cups and then switch to transparent cups. The transparent cups provide the audience with visual clues about how the balls are loaded, but the audience still can't figure out the trick! Penn & Teller use their right hands to place a ball into one of the two overturned cups while their left hands retrieve another ball from underneath the overturned cups.

8. David Copperfield Makes the Statue of Liberty Disappear
David Copperfield remains one of the most famous magicians of all time, and in the 1980s, he was one of the most recognizable figures in the world. Over the course of his career, he has performed many awe-inspiring illusions, including flying over the Grand Canyon and walking across the Great Wall of China. However, the most famous illusion of his career was making the Statue of Liberty disappear in 1983.
In front of a live TV audience and 20 tourists, Copperfield made one of the most iconic landmarks in the world, the Statue of Liberty, vanish. The trick was simple to understand but still left everyone baffled at the time. Copperfield positioned his live audience on a platform on Liberty Island, facing the statue, and showed them the statue blinking on a radar screen. He then raised a curtain in front of the statue. When the curtain fell, the Statue of Liberty had disappeared. The bright spot had vanished from the radar screen, and the floodlights that had been shining on it disappeared into thin air. Copperfield later explained that he chose to perform this trick as a symbolic demonstration of what the world would be like without freedom.

9. Penn & Teller Catching Bullets
One of the most infamous illusions in magic is the bullet-catching trick. Some of the most thrilling tricks involve putting the performer or others in dangerous situations. The legendary magician duo Penn & Teller are among the most successful magicians in Las Vegas and have been performing together since 1975. One of their most famous acts is the bullet catch, which they have performed many times.
The bullet catch is an iconic stage illusion where a magician seemingly catches a bullet shot directly at them, often in their mouth, sometimes in their hand, or even while holding other objects. Penn & Teller perform this trick by firing at each other, catching the bullets in their mouths. During the act, they wear bulletproof vests and helmets—specially designed ballistic helmets. They've performed this act countless times over the years and often ask a member of the audience to sign the bullets as proof of the trick's authenticity. The bullet catch is considered one of the most dangerous and audacious feats a magician can perform, even when conducted in a controlled environment.

10. Harry Houdini's Water Torture Chamber in China
Regarded as the most famous magician of all time, Harry Houdini is best known for his escape tricks. However, one of his most iconic performances was the upside-down water torture, also known as the Chinese Water Torture Cell. According to the biography *The Secret Life of Houdini: The Making of America's First Superhero*, this trick was first performed as part of a one-act play produced by Houdini himself called *Houdini Upside Down!*
Built in 1911, the Chinese Water Torture Cell involved the performer being shackled inside a box before being hoisted upside down and lowered into a tank filled with water. Houdini performed this death-defying illusion numerous times, stunning audiences worldwide. The trick was later replicated by other magicians. The success of Houdini's illusion came from the fact that the cell was not entirely watertight, a fact only discovered when museum owners used the structure as a fish tank in the 1970s. Since the top of the cell was made of materials that held Houdini in place, he was able to avoid issues that earlier versions of the trick faced with heavy, complicated lids that allowed water to escape.
