文．林欣靜 圖．莊坤儒
本篇中英文節錄自《台灣光華雜誌》
九十九年四月第三十五卷第四期
『看魔術搞什麼鬼？──魔術、科學大車拚』
本文圖片提供：台灣光華雜誌
本社為尊重《台灣光華雜誌》，中文原文登出，僅供參考，中英文如有不盡相符之處，敬請包涵。
On April 8 1983,
iconic American magician David Copperfield
unveiled a
stunning piece of magic. In front of the
watchful gaze of his audience, he made the 93-meter-tall Statue of Liberty
vanish.
Broadcast live around the world, the trick left millions
dumbstruck in front of their televisions, with some so shocked that they
unconsciously crossed themselves for comfort.
Was it
witchcraft or some sort of superpower? Those in
attendance and watching on television around the world were left wondering about this and more. The real answer, though, is none of the above. The statue never left its
pedestal; Copperfield was simply using
physiology and
mechanics to
fool the audience
into temporarily not being able to see it.
Firstly, the audience in attendance that night
was seated on an outdoor stage specially made to
rotate. When the show began, Copperfield started off with
spotlights,
searchlights, and a
helicopter to prove to everyone that the statue was in fact there. Then as the curtain was raised in front of the statue, they went to
commercial and followed that with Copperfield telling the audience about the history of the Statue of Liberty. While the audience's attention was
elsewhere, the stage slowly turned, and the helicopter
overhead turned with them.
After a few minutes, the curtain was lowered, and not
aware of having been turned, the audience
naturally couldn't see the statue anymore.
At the same time, the searchlights and spotlights set up at the second site, where the audience would be looking, proved that the
miraculous disappearance had occurred. Amidst the
gasps and
applause, Copperfield again raised the curtain, and in moments the statue was once again standing in front of the audience, completing possibly the greatest
feat of
illusion of the 20th century.
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