Goldfish Coins: My Favorite Illusion Done by The Master Illusionists Penn & Teller!

Penn & Teller performed Friday night (4/18/14) at Union Colony Civic Center.  These guys have been around for years- they know how to put on a great show!  My girlfriend and I were at the show and we had a wonderful time with all the illusions the guys pull off!  After the show, Penn & Teller even made it a point to get pictures and sign autographs for everyone outside the theater! Great, great guys!

Their show has a LOT of illusions: Sword throwing; making someone disappear; hiding a cell phone within a fish; fire-eating…

One in particular that night though, was my favorite!

One of the illusions that Penn & Teller do involves a container of water and a goldfish bowl. During the show, the two performers would break off and do separate illusions- this illusion with the water and fishbowl is done by Teller. Teller gets a woman from the audience and has her sit on a chair there on stage. Teller stands to her right. To HIS right is a large transparent container of water. Teller gives the woman an empty goldfish bowl to hold. He then, reaches into the large container to scoop out some of the water- it’s a deep container, but he only scoops a little water off the very top. Then, he turns to his left and pours the water into the woman’s fishbowl. Wait- it’s not water, but coins! Wow. OK, THAT’s cool!

He does this a few times, until there’s a good amount of coins in that fishbowl. He picks up the bowl and swirls the coins around, and then empties the fishbowl back into the larger container of water- Wait- -they’re not coins now, they’re actual GOLDFISH! Come on! Everyone gasps and applauds… He bows.

He then looks at the woman and gives her a look that says he doesn't want her to go away empty handed. She’s now holding the fishbowl again. Teller reaches back into the container, now swimming with goldfish, and scoops up a few to put into the woman’s bowl—and…. they’re now coins again! Stop it!! Applause, applause!

Just fun!

How do you think he pulls that off? Have you ever seen Penn & Teller? Let me know!