Probably this is the first time, the Tenyo Prison Box revealed and explained online.
I am talking about the teleportation magic effect of Tenyo T-202 Prison Box by Angelo Carbone.
How the locked ring could switch places that quick, with one hand holding the plastic box.
Tenyo Prison Box Secret Locked
I am sure many of you share the same idea how this magic trick is possibly done.
By merely rotating the compartment with the ring around.
Perhaps, it could turn out (no pun intended) to be correct.
This is just my wild guess about this 2001 close-up Tenyo magic trick.
I do not own this prop, neither do I know precisely the method of the trick.
My speculations are based on viewing the demo videos, and analyzing the prop from the pictures online.
Anyway, I read the T-202 Tenyo Prison Box locked you out from finding the secret, so to speak.
I would elaborate this locked secret soon.
The Effect:
Let your spectator to examine the plastic rectangular box divided into three compartments.
Furthermore let him check out the three solid bolts and wing nuts.
Borrow a ring from him and slip it into one of the bolt and tighten into one of the end compartments with a wing nut.
Then affix the other two bolts and wing nuts into the box.
Slide a transparent plastic cover onto the box, so that it is impossible to remove the ring.
Now cover the box briefly with a handkerchief or a silk scarf and then reveal it.
Magically the bolted ring appears in the middle compartment.
Alternatively you can lock the ring in the middle compartment, and it will jump to the next compartment.
Watch the T-202 Tenyo Prison Box demo video below:
Angelo Carbone Magic
T-202 Tenyo Prison Box is touted as one of the top Ten Tenyo tricks of all time from Angelo Carbone.
His other two popular creations for Tenyo Magic are: T-238 Floating Card and T-187 Mini-Morphosis.
This post is about exploring and explaning how the ring could jump to the next compartment.
Tenyo Prison Box Revealed
When I first watched the demo video of the Prison Box by Tenyo, this is my supposition.
The only sensible solution is by switching the positions of the two compartments, as hightlighted earlier.
Just rotates the two compartments around.
From casual observations, the rectangular plastic box appears as one solid case.
Clues How T-202 Tenyo Prison Box Works
But when I scrutinized it closer, I think the Prison Box is most likely not one complete case, as it seems.
I noticed the edges of these two wall panels of the two compartments, as indicted in the pictures below.
From this finding, I suspected there is a posibility, these two compartments are not attached to the case.
This means they are movable on their own.
Based on my rotating the two comparments assumption, then they should be one single unit.
Hence, they can pivoted together, thus switching places simultaneously.
To confirm my supposition, I kept a close eye on these two panels from the demo video above.
I noticed there is a movement to these two wall panels, as shown below.
This is the close-up view of the wall panels not properly aligned to the frames of the box after the rotation.
Three More Clues
There are three more cues which lead to my belief, how this Tenyo pocket trick is done.
Firstly, the similar way in which they hold the Prison Box when they do the trick.
Their hand positions appear like they are preparing to fidget with the box.
Sucker Gag Routine Same As Monkey Bar Trick
The second clue is when they do the gag routine of turning the whole box around for laughs.
Funnily enough, for me this is the first hint why I think the trick is by rotating the compartments.
I remember this sucker trick routine is also used in the Monkey Bar Magic Trick or the Magic Acrobatic Silks.
You can read a little more about this Monkey Bar Magic Trick below.
Secret Markings
Thirdly I detected the inconspicuous guides in the Prison Box.
The two holes with embossed features as indicated in the picture below.
This tells me the bolts and the nuts have to be specifically set.
To be exact, you have to slot the three sets of bolts and nuts in alternate direction.
Probably all the wing nuts have to be orderly positioned, so the spectators would not notice after the switching of places.
There are many magic apparatus which used the hidden indications as a part of the tricks.
I have divulged them in the Steel Ball Through Thick Glass Trick.
Rotating Gimmicked Compartments
I caught a glimpse of the rotating motion from these two video clips.
Watch Madison of Presenting Tenyo demo video.
At 3:31, you can see his right forefinger hooks onto the wing nut of the bolt with the ring.
He gives a quick pull upward and rotates it to his right.
This time watch closely at the red cloth indicated in the picture below.
At 3:32, you can see the swirling impression on the cloth, from his left to the right side.
To view it clearer, slow down the playback speed to 0.25.
In fact, you could hear the rattling noise, as Madison rotates the set of compartment.
I believe it comes from the moving ring knocking at the metal bolt.
From this video clip, at 2:28, his right pinkie, together with his middle and ring fingers are ready to swivel the two bottom compartments.
At 2:31, you can see the bottom edge of the box moving (indicated) under the blue silk scarf, from his right to left.
Prop With A Locking Device
Then I found out from the forums, that this T-202 Tenyo Prison Box by Angelo Carbone has a locking system.
When you handed out the 3-comparment box for examination, it is tightly locked.
It is only after sliding in the transparent cover, then it is unlocked.
To sum it up, most of you presumably got it right, just like this Tenyo Prison Box revealed here.
You turn the 2-comparment set around to achieve the teleportation effect.
No wonder someone said, even after examining the prop, there is absolutely no way for the spectator to figure out the secret.
The creative Shigeru Sugawara created the locking system for the Prison Box.
Yes, the same Shigeru Sugawara who designed many Tenyo magic tricks.
Among them are: T-114 Wonder Window, T-103 Frame Of Destruction and T- 132 The Ninja Experiment.
Monkey Bar Magic Trick/Acrobatic Silks
The key idea of the Tenyo Prison Box trick is somewhat similar to the classic Monkey Bar Trick or the Magic Acrobatic Silks.
It is what they called transposition effect, two or more objects interchanginging places.
The Monkey Bar Trick/Acrobatic Silks, you forcefully pull the strings/ribbons or silks back to their original positions in the bar.
Find out how the Monkey Bar Trick is done from this video, and the Acrobatic Silks from this video.