My first magic trick, my first *real* magic trick, was a floating dollar bill, and it ran me $60. Imagine my disappointment when I opened the case to find the secret was some wax and string. I got taken in by the advertising and the quick talking salesman who had way to much time to practice that effect. I wanted to believe so much, that I forked over my hard earned cash (and as a teenager, that money didn't come easy. It was days of putting together hamburgers).
Well something similar is happening with something I love, and I figured I'd warn you all.
My friend Michael over at Try Out Toys introduced me to Sphereplay™, commonly known as contact juggling. It's an amazing art and is absolutely inspiring to watch, and even more inspiring to perform. It's something that I have used to relax and lose myself in and something that I find to be a lot of fun. Michael has put a lot of effort into spreading the joy of contact juggling to anyone who wants to learn it, and does a great job of teaching and encouraging the players.
Unfortunately, another company has found out how amazing contact juggling is and have decided to use it as a money making scheme. Infomercials have popped up by a company called Fushigi Ball , and in these infomercials they claim that you too can use these "magic gravity balls" to do increadible things, and you don't even need any practice! My personal favorite part is when the girl yells "I don't know what it is but i can do it!"
Check it all out at here.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
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2 Response to Try Out Toys vs Fushigi
I feel sick to my stomach when this commercial comes on. My favorite is that the fine print in the video lasts for less than three seconds (for two or so paragraphs of info)and is - get this - too small to read even when the video is paused. I know because I wanted to read how they could possibly justify this scam as something you could pick up and do right off the bat when I snagged it with the DVR.
I looked online and found most of what the fine print says.
“Experienced Fushigi performers. Proficiency in the art of contact juggling or Fushigi takes practice. Please ____ __ tutorial DVD for full instructions___ _______ the physics of gravity defiance and floating levitation prior to use. You must ____ years __ ____ ___ ____. Please read all disclaimers carefully before attempting any Fushigi _______ __ ___ ____ the _____ ______ and _____ ______ ___ ___ to property damage or bodily injury.”
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