Needle through arm magic trick?

July 11, 2006 9:43 AM

How did actor/magician Harry Anderson's "Needle Through the Arm" magic trick work?

He performed this on Saturday Night Live in the 80s -- the trick involves shoving a large needle through his forearm (complete with dripping blood). The needle is removed and the arm is apparently healed and unharmed.

You can see it performed by someone else in this YouTube video. (Warning: Graphic video)

posted by jca to Media & Arts (7 answers total)

You can buy it here.
posted by Floydd at 9:48 AM on July 11, 2006

Wikipedia.
posted by milquetoast at 9:53 AM on July 11, 2006

An ex heroin addict once showed me how to stick a straight pin through the flesh of the arm with no bleeding.... entirely different, I suppose.
posted by IronLizard at 10:03 AM on July 11, 2006

Response by poster: Hmm. It didn't come up when I searched through Wikipedia -- don't know why I missed it. Thanks for the link(s).
posted by jca at 10:04 AM on July 11, 2006

The needle is removed and the arm is apparently healed and unharmed.

Not in the video you linked. The last shot shows no healing - what magic/trick are you referring to?
posted by dash_slot- at 11:51 AM on July 11, 2006

If you read the wikipedia article, you can see how you'd make it appear that the wound was gone, as it's quite easy to undo. The guy just didn't choose to do that in the video. I'm not sure which version I'd prefer, the "tada, nothing wrong with me now" or "I still have a gaping hole in my arm". The first seems more like "magic" and the second just makes it look like you hurt yourself though.
posted by RustyBrooks at 12:13 PM on July 11, 2006

Response by poster: This is probably obvious, but Harry Anderson's version on SNL is much better than the YouTube link I gave -- I couldn't find the SNL clip online.
posted by jca at 1:47 PM on July 11, 2006