A classic of magic!And this is a GORGEOUS version of this effect!
The Rice Checkers Orange effect has a great history.It was a favorite of the great magicians, including Alexander Herrmann, Goldston, Thurston, Richiardi- just to name a few.It was popular because it is a very colorful and interesting set of props, plus it is ASTOUNDING!
The effect is that you have two tubes (decorated as Oriental magicians), a stack of red and yellow checkers, a canister of rice and an orange.You tell a brief story about how you wanted to give gifts to each of three friends- one likes to play checkers, one is a cook, and one likes oranges.So you place a set of checkers under one Oriental magician tube for your friend who likes checkers.You place an orange under the other Oriental Magician tube, for the friend who likes oranges.And you pour a cup of rice into a third canister, for your friend who likes to cook.You explain that, to your surprise, your friends have decided that they want a present intended for another. Well, since you are a magician, you'll have to do some magic.You place your hand on the tube that is covering the orange, and say "For example, my friend who likes oranges has told me he wants to take up checkers. I was going to give him the orange, remember? But let's see if I can do some magic."You lift the tube- and the CHECKERS are under that tube now!
You pick up the canister with the rice, and say "My friend who likes to cook was going to get some rice, but he would rather have an orange. So remember that I poured rice into the canister? Well, I'm going to pour out an ORANGE!"
Finally, you put your hand on the Oriental Magician tube that originally covered the checkers.You say "My friend who likes to play checkers has decided to take up cooking. So I had to change the checkers that were under this tube- into RICE!"And you lift the tube so the rice can pour out.
Helpful tip from Peter Monticup:Put the Oriental Magician tubes on a tray before your performance.That way, when the rice pours out from under the tube, it doesn't go all over the place.It will be contained on the tray so you can dispose of it easily after your show.
You supply the real rice and the real orange to be produced.
The legendary Monk Watson performed a clever variation of this effect. He presented it as "Rice Checkers APPLE". As he started the routine and introduced the apple, he took a big bite out of it. During the routine, he would mention "the apple with the bite out of it". At the end of the effect, when he lifts the tube to reveal what is supposed to be the checkers, it is instead the apple- with the big bite out of it!