July 30, 2008

Harry Eng was a master of "Impossible Bottles". Harry would tell you straight away that everything went through the neck of the bottle... THINK!

Related "Impossible Bottle" linkys: InsidetheBottle Gallery Impossible Bottle Whimsey Squee in bottles? Folk Art in Bottles

posted by sugarmilktea 16 years ago
  • ))))))) Amazing.
  • Glorious! Thanks!
  • I read in a magician's magazine that Harry would actually put the cards and box in separately then use tweezers to get them in the cardbox.He would put all 52 cards in this way. I have no idea how he got some of the other objects in those bottles.
  • You forgot this classic!
  • *puts mare in a gallon jug*
  • *is now busy THINKing* )))))))))) thanks smt!
  • Mmmlet Mmmme Mmmout!
  • Ooh this is brilliant smt, thank you! Love this stuff!
  • If I could save stuff in a bottle, The first thing that I'd like to do, Is to save SMT in a bottle that once held J.B., Just to spend it with you...
  • Well done, SMT! *goes of to browse links, thus being even more unproductive this morning*
  • Curse you, SMT! I still can't figure out how to get that light bulb in the bottle.
  • Funny that you mentioned that one, GramMa. I've been tossing that one around in my mind as well. Well, hell. Knowing how secretive he is about his methods, I said I couldn't even begin to imagine how one could put a light bulb in a bottle, and left it at that. "Oh, it's easy," he said. See, what you do is..." And as I stood there, mouth open, he told me. I had to admit, the solution was indeed simple. And ingenious. Hmmmm... I also remembered yesterday a time many years back when I visited a store in a mall during the holiday shopping season - - I believe the store was "The Museum Store"? Anyways, they had a rack of puzzle bottles. Most of them had some strange wooden cross piece inside with small wooden "marbles". The object of the puzzle was to get the balls out of the bottle. Problem was, every time you tipped the bottle, the cross blocked the neck - and the balls were effectively stuck inside. I stood there and laughed - - because the solution seemed so painfully easy to me - - but I stood and watched a good-sized group of people struggle, to no avail, to get those wooden balls out!! Even my best friend was there, and he was shaking the bottle up-and-down like a madman. People were frustrated, and saying that it was obviously impossible to solve. That is, until I grabbed one myself. I placed the bottle on the floor, gave it a good spin, and out shot all of the balls in a mere second. Everyone’s' mouths dropped open in disbelief. My friend just laughed and said "if anyone could figure this out, of course it was you!" The staff in the store were not happy with me. I suppose the customers who seemed eager to get one of these "impossible puzzle bottles" suddenly felt duped that it was too easy after all. I keep asking myself, "getting a bulb in a bottle, is it just as easy?" I think I'm over thinking this one!
  • Also, I've been working on the same parlor puzzle for a good 6 years now -- for the life of me, I cannot figure it out. It's a good stress-reliever though! I hope to solve it before I die...
  • OK, that was fun to watch - but it would have been better if the egg still had its shell.
  • One of my university lecturers introduced a class by doing that the other day. The topic was how to get the kids interested and motivated to learn from the moment you walk into the room. It was quite effective.