Theos-Talk Archives (November 2002 Message tt00773)

leonmaurer@aol.com wrote:
> Appreciate your quoting such documentation, or giving me some 
> references -- (preferably on the web, if possible). My father, a 
> master chemist, occultist, stage magician, show producer, and good 
> friend of Houdini, demonstrated how Moses pulled off his trick of 
> turning his real staff to a snake and back to a staff -- to defeat the 
> snake trick of the Egyptian Priests (which my dad told me were simple 
> tricks of alchemy). However, since I suspect that there isn't any 
> real evidence that Moses' trick had anything to do with paralyzing a 
> real snake, as claimed by Brian/Bridgitte, I'd like to confirm this. 

I didn't know your father was Walter Gibson. 

Over the years, my magic (stage) library has steadily decreased. It's
not in any of my current volumes, and, as it reveals how tricks are
done, it is not likely to be on the web (I looked anyway, using a BUNCH
of different search terms and phrases). I had read it in at least three
history of magic books; two used the wood explanation, one gave as
alternatives the wood and the paralyzed snake theories. The last also
gave detailed explanations of Egyptian temple hydraulics, so I would not
dismiss the "minority report" out of hand. 

Bart Lidofsky