Torn phone book
The torn phone book is a classic trick , mostly performed by magicians and strength athletes.
You start with the fact that the first time you grasp it firmly, a small notch is made in the book block unnoticed with a previously sharply filed thumbnail . This notch is then enlarged by turning the two ends of the book back and forth, the sharp thumbnail remaining in the notch and acting like a knife. This is how the thumbnail cuts further and further into the leaves. At a certain point, this cutting action of the thumbnail is no longer necessary, because then the muscle strength is sufficient to split the book into two parts by the notch effect . Although this approach sounds easy, it does require considerable force.
The legendary Corvette Captain Felix Graf von Luckner was also known for tearing up a telephone book with his bare hands and for crushing coins with his fingers during his appearances. In order to further strengthen his enormous hand strength, he consulted the trainer for weight training Theodor Siebert (1866–1961) in his body school in Alsleben (Saale) as early as 1906 .
This trick with the phone book is rarely shown on television today, because the hands are enlarged too much by the cameras and this reveals the work of the thumb.
The identical technical process is used nowadays by the so-called rescue scissors to rescue vehicle occupants. The cutting edge initially only scores the metal before the further cutting process takes place via the shear effect .
Individual evidence
- ^ Brigitte Haberland: Count Luckner in Alsleben. In: Civitas Alslebiensis Alsleben / Saale e. V. - Heimatverein Alsleben an der Saale, year 2007, issue 18, pp. 69–70.