Sailing A Cardboard Boat In A Pan of water without touching or blowing on it may seem impossible, but it can be clone. Slit the stern as shown in the photo below; then when you float the boat, put a drop of soapy water in the slit, and it will shoot ahead as if by magic! The soap lowers the surface tension of the water behind the boat, and the greater tension in front pulls it forward.

PICKING A NAME BLINDFOLDED from a bowl is easy if you train your fingers to "see" the right slip. Divide a square of paper 6" by 6" or smaller into nine parts by folding it twice in each direction. Write a name on the center square, tear the paper along the folds, and put all nine slips into the bowl. Blindfolded, you can pick the right one every time. Simply feel the edges of the slips-the only one to have four rough edges will be the one you want!

WHEN YOU OFFER a friend a cigarette from a pack, you can astonish him by making it appear to rise of its own accord. You need a pack with a cellulose wrapper. Put one cigarette between the wrapper and the pack and, without letting your finger be seen, press on the wrapper. Hold the pack at an angle.

IF YOU'D MAKE A HIT, pretend to bend one of your hostess's spoons to demonstrate the "flexibility" of modern metals. Then quickly "unbend" it before she faints! Close both fists over the handle, with the little finger hooked under it, as shown at right, and pretend to bend against the table. The illusion is perfect

THIS SHELL GAME is in reverse. You can pick out the coin under the shell! Use a half dollar and milk-bottle caps, or another coin and caps slightly larger than its diameter. Turn your back while a friend covers the coin with a cap. The trick is to have a hair fastened unnoticed to the underside of the coin with wax so it will stick out under the cap!

TOUCH THE TIPS of two pencils held almost at arm's length. Easy, isn't it? Now try it with one eye closed. The result may surprise you! To make the test purely one of vision, drop your arms out of position between each attempt. The reason this simple trick is hard for most people is because we owe our ability to judge depth and distance to the fact that our eyes see an object from slightly different angles. Trained on one object, they act like a range finder.

Drawing A Handkerchief Through Flame is a feat to startle your friends! Roll the cloth tight and, starting at one end, draw it slowly and steadily through a candle or match flame. Don't hesitate, or it may burn. Better still, soak it in borax or alum beforehand.

CLOSE YOUR HAND over a paper match, open it, and the match will seem to have turned end for end-that is, if you have prepared a match beforehand by splitting it and reversing and gluing the halves so a head appears at both ends!

MAGIC ASHES from a paper containing a friend's initials will reproduce those initials on the palm of your hand! Prepare the initials on your hand with soap ahead of time. They won't show. Then burn the paper your friend has written on, and rub the ashes in your palm. They'll stick on the soaped lines.

Steadiness Can Be tested amusingly with a paper clip and a small horseshoe magnet. Bend the clip as shown at right, hold it upright on the table with one hand, and bring the magnet near it-not quite to it- with the other. The test is to hold the magnet just close enough for the clip to remain upright when released, but not so close that it will be drawn to the magnet! If your hand is steady, the clip will remain motionless. To make the test really difficult, don't support your elbow on the table when you try it at the right-done with a nickel and a glass three-quarters full of water. You must use a buffalo nickel, one not worn too smooth, and turn the Indian face up on the table. Set the balancing edge carefully so it will be aligned with the line made by the Indian's forehead and nose. There is a slight trough there-sufficiently deep to steady the glass and hold it on edge.

A NOVEL BALANCING STUNT is the one.

STANDING A MATCH ON END is simple enough when you once learn the trick, but your friends will fail every time unless they are let in on the secret. The very simplicity of the trick makes it all the more astonishing.

When no one is looking, wet one of your fingers with saliva, and touch the match with this wet spot before you try to stand it up. Press the match down firmly on the table, and the saliva will hold it in place. Use an ordinary wooden match, either safety or kitchen type. Book paper matches won't do-they bend under pressure.

FLOATING CORKS UPRIGHT in a bowl of water involves a simple law of science. Put three ordinary corks in the bowl and invite your friends to stand them up. After all have had a turn and failed, wet the three corks thoroughly and group them together with their large ends down. They will be held in the huddle by the cohesion of water molecules and surface tension. Then, since the base formed by the three corks grouped together will be greater than their height, they will stand upright by themselves as long as they cling together.