How to Help Your Child Pick a Role Model

I know a few magicians. Once I asked one of them if it’s possible to buy a small smoke bomb that can be thrown at the ground to produce a large enough puff of smoke to give the thrower cover to hide or flee. He said, “Yeah, it’s called a flash pot.”

A flash pot is a device you have to set up in advance, run wires to, and trigger remotely. I explained that what I wanted was a smoke bomb I could carry in my pocket and throw at a random time or place when needed. He said, “no, what you want is a flash pot.”

I thought he was being dense at the time, but in retrospect, I am suspicious that he might have been maintaining a trade secret.

I’d love to tell you that I was asking as research for a book, or because I had some specific purpose in mind, but if the smoke bomb I wanted had existed, I would have just used it to disappear at random moments to freak people out. You know, leaving family gatherings, ending job interviews, that kind of thing.

And yes, I probably would have shouted, “NINJA VANISH!”

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