Straightjacket Escape

Effect

The magician is ensconced in a standard canvas straightjacket, and perhaps further inconvenienced -- say by being suspended upside down 100 feet in the air over a live volcano. Despite the jacket's supposed irremovability, the magician is able to escape from the restraint.

Secret

A straightjacket has buckles up the back, a buckle between the legs, and ties to bind the wearer's arms behind the back. It seems impossible for a normal human to escape from such a thing, but actually there are several methods for doing so.

  1. Use a big straightjacket. A magician who is slight of build but purchases an XXL straightjacket will actually find that it's more difficult to keep the thing from falling off than to get out of it. To hide the difference in size, the magician does a great deal of chest puffing and muscle flexing while the device is put on.
  2. More affluent magicians can have silk straightjackets custom made. These devices look like real straightjackets, but they are light, airy, and slip right off.
  3. Another easy method for escaping from a straightjacket is to have an assistant "forget" to buckle a strap here or there. Oops!
  4. And finally, if the magician insists on a real or borrowed straightjacket and is put into it by volunteers, a hidden penknife will do the trick. Just cut off those annoying straps and you're on your way!End of story
If you would like to perform this effect yourself, you can find a nice straightjacket at Hank Lee's Magic Factory

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