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Clearly Impossible
Clearly Impossible is a variation of the illusion of sawing a woman in half devised by Jonathan Pendragon.Schneider, A., "A New Clear Sawing", ''Genii'' magazine, June 1993 (Vol 56, No 6). Description The illusion is very similar in principle and performance to the older " Thin Model" versions of sawing a woman in half, with the exception that the boxes used to cover the assistant being divided are clear, rather than opaque. In basic concept, it is very similar to the transparent sawing developed by Les Arnold in the late 1970s. However, in the Pendragons version, the boxes are much smaller, and are never covered at any point during the illusion. As a result, the assistant within the boxes remains in full view throughout, making this a particularly baffling illusion for the audience. Performance The illusion usually begins with the magician showing the audience a low table, designed to split into two halves. The main assistant is then introduced, and lies down on the table. Oth ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Illusion
An illusion is a distortion of the senses, which can reveal how the mind normally organizes and interprets sensory stimulation. Although illusions distort the human perception of reality, they are generally shared by most people. Illusions may occur with any of the human senses, but visual illusions ( optical illusions) are the best-known and understood. The emphasis on visual illusions occurs because vision often dominates the other senses. For example, individuals watching a ventriloquist will perceive the voice as coming from the dummy since they are able to see the dummy mouth the words. Some illusions are based on general assumptions the brain makes during perception. These assumptions are made using organizational principles (e.g., Gestalt theory), an individual's capacity for depth perception and motion perception, and perceptual constancy. Other illusions occur due to biological sensory structures within the human body or conditions outside the body within one's phys ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sabrina Salerno
Sabrina Debora Salerno (; born 15 March 1968), known mononymously as Sabrina, is an Italian singer, songwriter, model, actress and television presenter. During her career, she has scored ten international hits, including three number ones. Internationally, she is best known for her 1987 single "Boys (Summertime Love)", which topped the charts in France and Switzerland, and peaked at No. 3 in the United Kingdom. The song was accompanied by a provocative music video, which established Sabrina's image as a sex symbol. Her other popular recordings include "All of Me (Boy Oh Boy)", "My Chico", "Like a Yo-Yo", "Gringo (Sabrina song), Gringo", "Siamo donne (song), Siamo donne" and a cover version of "Call Me (Blondie song), Call Me". Early life Sabrina was brought up by her aunt in Genoa before moving to live with her grandparents in Sanremo. She went to live with her mother when she was 15. She sang in the choir at her local Catholic Church and at school formed a pop group with her ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The One Show
''The One Show'' is a British television magazine and chat show programme. Broadcast live on BBC One weekdays at 7:00 pm, it features topical stories and studio guests. It is currently co-hosted by Alex Jones, Roman Kemp, Ronan Keating and Lauren Laverne. Various reporters also assist with subject-specific presenting, both in the studio and on location, or through filmed segments. Originally produced in Birmingham and then in the BBC Media Village in White City, London, since 2014 the studio has been based in Broadcasting House, the BBC's headquarters in London. Launched with a pilot series in 2006, leading to a full series from 2007, it has had various previous permanent and temporary hosts. After initial low ratings, the partnership of Adrian Chiles and Christine Lampard from 2007 to 2010 has been credited with boosting ratings and establishing the show as a popular staple of British viewing. The longest-serving partnership was between Jones and Matt Baker, who h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blue Peter
''Blue Peter'' is a British children's television entertainment programme created by John Hunter Blair. It is the longest-running children's TV show in the world, having been broadcast since October 1958. It was broadcast primarily from BBC Television Centre in London until September 2011, when the programme moved to dock10 studios at MediaCityUK in Salford, Greater Manchester. It is currently aired on the CBBC television channel on Fridays at 5 p.m. The show is also repeated on Saturday mornings on BBC Two, Sundays at 9:00 a.m. and a BSL version is shown on Tuesdays at 2:00 p.m. For decades the show was regularly broadcast live; however, in March 2025, a fully pre-recorded format was introduced. Following its original creation, the programme was developed by a BBC team led by Biddy Baxter; she became the programme editor in 1965, relinquishing the role in 1988. Throughout the show's history there have been forty-three official presenters; currently, it is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zoe Salmon
Zoe Salmon (born 7 January 1980) is a Northern Irish television presenter. She hosted the children's television programme ''Blue Peter'' from 23 December 2004 to 25 June 2008. She also appeared on ''Dancing on Ice'' in early 2009. She was the 1999 Miss Northern Ireland. Life and career Salmon was born in Bangor, County Down, Northern Ireland. She attended Kilmaine Primary School and Glenlola Collegiate School while growing up in Bangor, a town on the east coast of Northern Ireland which she says is her "favourite place.... It's a really pretty seaside town with a marina which is lovely in the summer". She then attended Queen's University, Belfast, where she gained a 2:1 degree in law, before qualifying as a solicitor. She was crowned Miss Northern Ireland in 1999 (beating future '' Big Brother'' contestant Orlaith McAllister). In 2009 she was placed at number 20 on '' FHM''s 100 sexiest women. In 2016, Salmon married William Corrie, in Barbados. On 1 April 2022, Salmon gav ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Louisa Lytton
Louisa Claire Lytton (born 7 February 1989) is an English actress, best known for portraying the role of Ruby Allen in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' and Beth Green in the ITV police procedural series ''The Bill'' (2007–2009). She also appeared as a contestant on the fourth series of ''Strictly Come Dancing'' in 2006 and represented the UK at the Eurovision Dance Contest 2008, finishing ninth. Her theatre credits include playing Betty Rizzo in the UK touring production of the musical '' Grease'' (2017) and Jenny in '' 2:22 A Ghost Story'' (2023). Early life Louisa Claire Lytton was born on 7 February 1989 in the London Borough of Camden. She attended the Sylvia Young Theatre School in Marylebone, London. She is of Italian descent on her mother's side and her first cousin once removed is Lisa Maffia, a member of the So Solid Crew. Career ''EastEnders'' Lytton made her first appearance in ''EastEnders'' on 18 March 2005, playing Johnny Allen's daughter Ruby Allen. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Penélope Cruz
Penélope Cruz Sánchez (born 28 April 1974) is a Spanish actress. Prolific in Spanish and English-language films, she has received various accolades, including an Academy Award, BAFTA Award, a David di Donatello and three Goya Awards. Cruz made her acting debut on television at age 16, and her feature film debut the following year in ''Jamón Jamón'' (1992). Her subsequent roles included ''Belle Époque'' (1992), '' Open Your Eyes'' (1997), ''Don Juan'' (1998), '' The Hi-Lo Country'' (1999), ''The Girl of Your Dreams'' (2000) and '' Woman on Top'' (2000). She is known for her frequent collaborations with Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar in '' Live Flesh'' (1997), '' All About My Mother'' (1999), '' Volver'' (2006), '' Broken Embraces'' (2009), '' I'm So Excited!'' (2013), '' Pain and Glory'' (2019), and '' Parallel Mothers'' (2021). For her role in Woody Allen's romantic drama '' Vicky Cristina Barcelona'' (2008), Cruz won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. H ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hans Klok
Johannes Franciscus Catharinus "Hans" Klok (born 22 February 1969) is a Dutch magician and illusionist. Biography Klok was born in Purmerend, North Holland. On his tenth birthday, he received a magic set as a present and began performing for friends at their birthday parties. Klok started his professional career in magic as a teenager. At the age of fourteen, he became youth champion of the Netherlands and Europe in conjuring, and won the Wenegini Prize. In 1990, Hans and his assistant Sittah won the Grand Prix of the Netherlands and the Henk Vermeijden Cup with "the fastest metamorphosis in the world". By age 23, he was part of a touring show with Dutch comedian André van Duin. In 1994, Klok performed for the first time on the Las Vegas Strip, as part of NBC's ''The World's Greatest Magic'', broadcast live from Caesars Palace to an audience of 60 million people. Hans used the period after that to prepare his first theatre show, which premiered in October at the Luxor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jessica Simpson
Jessica Ann Johnson (née Simpson; born July 10, 1980) is an American singer, actress, and fashion designer. After performing in church choirs as a child, Simpson signed with Columbia Records in 1997, aged seventeen. Her debut studio album, '' Sweet Kisses'' (1999), sold two million copies in the United States and was led by the ''Billboard'' Hot 100-top three single " I Wanna Love You Forever". Simpson adopted a more mature image for her second studio album, '' Irresistible'' (2001), and its title track peaked within the top 20 of the chart. The album received gold certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Simpson's third studio album, '' In This Skin'' (2003), sold three million copies in the United States. During her earlier career, Simpson became known for her relationship with and later marriage to Nick Lachey, with whom she also appeared on the MTV reality television series '' Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica'' (2003–2005). Following the release ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cat Deeley
Catherine Elizabeth Deeley (born 23 October 1976) is an English television presenter. She is currently the main co-presenter for ITV's '' This Morning'', alongside Ben Shephard. Deeley began her career as a co-presenter of the ITV children's show '' SMTV Live'' (1998–2002), for which she won a BAFTA Children's Award, and its spin-off chart show '' CD:UK'' (1998–2005). In 2003, she co-presented the talent show '' Fame Academy'' on BBC One and became the presenter of the ITV talent show '' Stars in Their Eyes.'' Following the final series of ''Stars in Their Eyes'' in 2006, Deeley began hosting the reality competition show '' So You Think You Can Dance'' in the United States, for which she has been nominated five times for a Primetime Emmy. Since 2003, Deeley has been a patron of London's Great Ormond Street Hospital for sick children. In December 2009, she was made a UNICEF UK ambassador. Early life Deeley was born on 23 October 1976 at Sandwell General Hospital in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mischa Barton
Mischa Anne Marsden Barton (born 24 January 1986) is a British-American film, television, and stage actress. She began her career on the stage, appearing in Tony Kushner's '' Slavs!'' and took the lead in James Lapine's '' Twelve Dreams'' at New York City's Lincoln Center. She made her screen debut with a guest appearance on the American soap opera ''All My Children'' (1995), and voicing Betty Ann Bongo on the Nickelodeon cartoon series '' KaBlam!'' (1996–97). Her first major film role was as the protagonist of '' Lawn Dogs'' (1997), a drama co-starring Sam Rockwell. She appeared in major pictures such as the romantic comedy ''Notting Hill'' (1999) and M. Night Shyamalan's psychological thriller '' The Sixth Sense'' (1999). She also starred in the indie crime drama '' Pups'' (1999). Barton later appeared in the independent drama '' Lost and Delirious'' (2001) and guest-starred as Evan Rachel Wood's girlfriend on ABC's ''Once and Again'' (2001–02). She played Marissa Coop ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sawing A Woman In Half
Sawing a woman in half is a generic name for a number of stage magic tricks in which a person (traditionally a female assistant) is apparently cut or divided into two (or more) pieces. History There remains a debate about the origin of sawing illusions, with some sources saying a magician named Torrini may have performed the first version in front of Pope Pius VII in 1809. However, it is more likely that the story is a fiction which has its roots in the writings of the famous French magician Jean-Eugène Robert-Houdin. In his ''Memoirs'', written in 1858, Robert-Houdin described a sawing illusion performed by a magician named Torrini. Modern magic inventor and historian Jim Steinmeyer has concluded that there was probably no real Torrini and the story was merely a way for Robert-Houdin to play with ideas. It was suggested during a court case in 1922 that the trick can be traced back to ancient Egypt; however, this claim has not been substantiated.''Goldin v. Clarion Photoplays ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
