I just bought a “new old stock” Adams Pop Bottle Trick (otherwise known, I take it, as Anti-Gravico). I had this as a kid, and it worked great.

But this one, even though I believe it to be genuine and vintage, does not fit any glass pop or beer bottle I’ve tried to use it with. Coke Zero, Corona, Stella Artois... nothing works. The gimmick is too small. It either goes on barely half way, or just not at all.

Disappointing. Money wasted. Have glass bottles expanded their “mouthpieces” over the intervening years? Has the old clear plastic gimmick shrunk? Any way of fixing or adjusting it? Or is this a lost cause?

I made one with a piece of clear packing tape cut round the bottle that it was designed to fit. Use the sticky side to attach, despite the water! One use only, but don't be cheap! Puncture with needle when ready. No problem. Releases easily then sticks to bottle to ditch.

Karnak, of course it will not fit any plastic bottles, It only fits pop bottles that has a metal cap. This was made, way back when there was not plastic bottles, only glass bottles. I keep a glass coke, and glass 7 Up bottle just for this effect.

Coke is selling vintage bottled coke currently in stores. You might check out some stores yourself.

Just did a search, Target, Wal-Mart, Sam's Club is suppose to be carrying the coke in a glass bottle with metal cap, you need a vintage bottle opener to remove the cap.

I've been using only glass bottles -- the kind with the metal cap that requires a bottle opener to remove -- and the old gimmick hasn't fit any of them so far. Too tight. I'm wondering if today's glass bottles are just slightly different in this regard than really old bottles of the past. Sometimes vintage Coke bottles turn up in antique shops; I'll bring the gimmick along next time I visit one for a test fit.

Karnak, I obtained an original gimmick, in the past 10 years. I found it was snug, but it still was easy to put on and off. I used it for children shows outside during the summer. All I can say, it was not so tight that it broke or split, but the kids really liked the effect. Of course I poured the water out on the ground in front of me. Then when empty, swung the bottle out, and they all thought they would get wet.

That old plastic, does shrink over time and improper storage. The only think I could suggest is to warm the gimmick with a hair drier, and then place on a bottle, Don't over heat, and don't force it to much. That plastic will melt very easily, and curl up to nothing.

I found the snugness an advantage, as it make me feel more secure in the handling.

Wish that company that bought the Adams Magic Company would bring the original back. It is much better then the one that came out several years ago, when the Anti Gravity was all the rage here on the Café. I did not cover the side of the lip of the bottle.

The one I have I believe is also original, in that it came in a very vintage looking Adams white box. But it was so tight I could only wedge it part way at best onto the mouth of every glass pop and beer bottle I tried. It wasn't a secure fit at all, as it just wouldn't fully seat properly all the way around. I tried heating it in hot water to try and soften, loosen, or expand it a bit, and after several tries got it to fit over the mouth of my bottles. It works now but still isn't quite a perfect fit, so I may try the hotter hair dryer approach (great idea, hadn't thought of that).

Maybe once it's hot enough and molded to fit properly, I should immediately immerse gimmick and bottle together into cold water, to "set" it and shrink/tighten it up enough to maintain a secure fit.

The funny thing was, when I was working on it in hot water, the gimmick unexpectedly came apart, in the sense that -- much to my surprise -- it was evidently composed of two gimmicks nested tightly together. The hot water loosened them enough to separate. The outer one developed a crack, but the inner one is okay. Maybe that was part of the excess tightness problem?

It has been many years since I sold the gimmicks when working at a magic store. But if I remember correctly, they were made for either the 6.5 ounce size and wouldn't work as well on the larger ounce sizes. Maybe you each could measure the volume of your bottles and verify this?

The only bottles I have are contemporary 8 oz and 12 oz glass bottles. The 6.5 oz appears to be a now-vintage size, no longer made. Might be available from antique sources. But as a kid I had this, and it worked fine on 12 oz bottles back then.

I believe the opening for glass pop bottles are made the same size. It has to do with putting on the cap by machine.

Yes, I have the 6 oz. size bottle. Karnak, the 6 oz. is has been brought back as I posted earlier. That is the only coke bottle there was in the 1940's to my knowledge. Much later 12 oz. bottles entered the market.

I believe you are being to picky about the "fit", from you last post, it seems you think it has to be gripping. It doesn't. This still used the scientific principle. The sides is more for centering the gimmick. If you know anything about air an water, you should know that there is no good seal without a gasket.

It works the way Adam's made it to work, not how you think it should work. and yes they were 2 for 0.25 cants back then. The new one I mentioned, sells or sold for like $12.50 for one.

Don't destroy the only one you have. Just perform the trick as the instructions says. Don Alan published a routine I one of his little booklets.

As mentioned above, the older gimmicks were intended for glass soft drink bottles that had a rounded upper lip like the classic Coca-Cola bottles. (or similar bottles) For the longest time Coca-Cola kept the same basic bottle design. Now it seems like Coca-Cola and most other beverage companies change their bottle designs much more often. (which also creates a problem using the Nielsen bottles: Coke, Beer, Ketchup ... none quite match current bottls ... the Wine and Champagne bottles tend to retain a standard shape and don't change as often as soft drink and beer bottles)

You could always just use a classic 6 oz. glass Coke bottle for this effect. (plenty available on eBay or flea markets). I don't think anyone will really question it. The glass Coke bottles are not totally unfamiliar objects. Coca-Cola does still make their product available in 8 oz. glass bottles. They are not precisely the same as the classic 6 oz. green glass bottles, but it means people still know that Coke is available in glass bottles. I believe those 8 oz. bottles can be used with the gimmick.

Part of the strength of this effect was the ability to borrow a Coke or beer bottle to perform the effect in settings where performing it in a seemingly impromptu manner was appropriate. (at a party or at a restaurant or bar) If you're doing it as part of a more formal show and you don't need to borrow the bottle I don't see a problem using your own bottle (which could be examined if you want).

Click here to view attached image.

I wanted to follow up on what I posted above. There is a version of this being sold that is unbranded , the generic packaging simply says "Magic Tricks" (see photo).

Avoid this version! The gimmick is twice as thick as the classic version of the gimmick. From a few feet away it is visible, so using this version requires it to be presented as a platform or stage trick (requiring distance from the audience) instead of a close-up/parlor trick that can be performed close to the audience.

The description on eBay is:

"ANTI-GRAVITY WATER , EASY MAGICIAN MAGIC TRICK ENGLISH INSTRUCTIONS - This classic magic prop works on GLASS BOTTLES ONLY!!! AND... is finally available for today's style of Glass Bottles."

(and sadly the seller exposes the working of the effect in his further description, which I have not reproduced here . The seller treats this excellent magic effect like it is a "toy", just like what has befallen items like the dancing cane and the appearing cane, needle through balloon, etc.)

It is true about it working on today's style glass bottles, but to me this version of the gimmick is much inferior to the classic gimmick for the reasons I stated above.

Avoid this one (see photo) -

Click here to view attached image.

Your detailed follow-ups (both of them) are appreciated.

There's this:

"Coca-Cola notes that its 8 oz. glass bottles are still widely available across the country. Those recyclable bottles are nearly identical to the old 6.5-ounce bottles. They have less glass but hold more cola."

Source: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/coca-cola-r......-bottle/


OLD glass Coke bottle - The classic Coca-Cola bottles held 6.5 FL OZ of Coca-Cola:
The bottles were 7.5” tall.  The bottom of each glass bottle had a diameter of 2.25”.  The bottle was made of heavy, thick green glass.

NEW 8 oz glass Coke bottle - 7.4” tall , 2.2” diameter. Bottle is thinner glass, so it's almost the same size , but holds more liquid.

https://www.dimensions.com/element/coca-cola-bottle-8-oz

https://manhattanwater.com/product/coca-......oz-24ct/

Of course, there's a whole other market for Coca-Cola in glass bottles in Central America. Search for "Mexican Coke". (these are 12 oz. bottles). I don't know if these work with the old AG gimmicks , but I expect so. ( https://www.heb.com/product-detail/coca-......e/862949 )

Click here to view attached image.

Researching this a bit , I find a similar effect was sold in the 1940's - 1970's called 'HydroCoke' by Leon Maguire. Ad from New Conjuror's Magazine , 1945.



This seems to have been a combination of "*Isley's AntiGravico" and the Hydrostatic Glass/Bottle, because after the bottle was inverted and the liquid was suspended in the bottle, the performer could command the liquid to flow out of the bottle , then stop, then start again. In the book "The Professional Touch" by Monk Watson, he describes a similar idea that he credits to Otto Curl, given to him by Otto Curl at the 1944 Abbott's Get-Together.


* Re: Isley's AntiGravico , see:
https://throwingcards.blogspot.com/2018/......ico.html . Seems that the effect was actually invented by Bob Andre, but marketed very successfully by John Isley. (at first Bob Andre was credited in the ads, but gradually it came to be known as "Isley's Anti-Gravico").

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I have an old one from Royal Magic from stiff plastic, but it's starting to split and discolor. I bought a new one and it is very flimsy plastic. It doesn't work at all unless I put vaseline on it. (thanks for the tip Bill Hegbli!)
I do this trick busking and it's fun! I'm going to have to learn how to mold plastic, I think! They are getting hard to find.

I have a Hydro-Coke in my drawer. I also found the food coloring formula for Coca Cola! (2p green, 4p yellow, 7p red) I kind of want to know how I could make one with a bigger bottle.

Not a flimsy piece of plastic.
https://www.penguinmagic.com/p/6.30AM

Link doesn’t seem to work.

Is this what you were aiming for?

https://www.penguinmagic.com/p/13728

Looks interesting.

Hydro does look good too. Diamond Jim usually has workers, so it is probably worth a $6 investment.
The one I was attempting to link was Anti-G by Cesaral. Unfortunately, I think it may be discontinued.