Mysterious - Combustion in water

[sham.v007]

Hi forum,

I saw something mysterious today. The person spread some cardamons on a white paper. The cardamoms were seal packed from the shop. Then transferred them into an empty jar. I took a mouthful of fresh tap water and kept in the mouth for a minute or 2. Then spit all of it in the jar, immediately closed the lid of the jar and shaked it. This caused a combustion in the jar. I am perplexed. The only thing from the person was the white paper on which the cardamons were spread. Rest of the items were mine. I am really perplexed. Could there be something on the paper that stuck to the cardamoms, then due to the water being warm in my mouth, it combusted?

 

Really looking for answers. Thank you.

[DrP]

Was it in a class or was a magic trick in a cafe or something?

 

I am not aware of any combustion of cardamom with water... Maybe the paper was impregnated for the performance. Magicians can switch things right in front of your eyes without you noticing to... maybe he put some sodium bits in there or something else that reacts.

[sham.v007]

Thanks DrP. The guy claimed himself to be a priest with powers. I'm perplexed because all items were mine except the paper on which I spread the cardamons. He had not touched anything in the entire process except just laying the paper down in front of me. It happened within 1 foot of distance from me. I'm baffled.

[DrP]

Sounds like a magicians trick - I do several regularly for total strangers - it is a real joy seeing the different reactions you get from people. The best tricks are the ones that seem totally impossible and involve the items coming from the spectator and everything being fully examinable.

 

 

He has powers alright. ;-) The power of distraction and the power to mislead. We all have that if you know what to do.

 

 

Best reaction ever I had was from a girl in McDonnalds... I bit a chunk out of a coin that she gave me in the change and she just froze solid and looked SO scared of me... I assured her that everything was alright and there was nothing to worry about... I spat the coin piece back at the coin and restored it again and I thought she was going to have a seizure or something... I had to calm her and explain that it was just a magic trick.... She thought her world had fallen apart. lol. (PS - This trick is done by David Blaine and Dynamo - it costs about $10- max on ebay, lol)

Edited January 25, 2017 by DrP

[sham.v007]

Thanks for clearning it up DrP. This is so baffling. What could have been on the paper that sticks to cardamom and I cant see? I brought the paper home and did the same thing, but didnt work - obviously!

[imatfaal]

I think one of the cardamom was probably switched with something which looked like cardamom but wasn't (or more likely was cardamom plus something else). If you are willing to scam people and have the patience to practice then it is relatively easy to use the inattention or mis-attention of the mark to pull-off some audacious switches

[DrP]

Not sure what he is using - you won't necessarily SEE what he has stuck to his paper (or a switch as Imat just said)... It could be underneath. Sounds a bit dangerous really if he is using sodium or something like that - there are liquids that burst into flames with water - but they are quite rare and nasty and I do not think any responsible magician would use them - especially if they get the spectator to spit all over them into a jar.

[Phi for All]

Then spit all of it in the jar, immediately closed the lid of the jar and shaked it. This caused a combustion in the jar.

there are liquids that burst into flames with water

To clarify, did the jar explode since the lid was closed? What was it made of? DrP's quote is the first time fire is mentioned, though you use the word "combust" which means "burst into flames". I'm unclear exactly what happened, and I wondered if you actually meant the jar "exploded" without flame, perhaps from the pressure built up from expanding gases?

[DrP]

Ha! Phi's post made me rethink and it gave me another idea based on a standard magicians trick - it could be that there was something in the lid of the jar, which fell into the water when he shook it.

 

I have a cool little trick jar which has a magnet in the lid. You have a dice made of metal with only 5 sides, the 6th is left open so it is like an open box. The dice is filled with a few smaller dice. You load it into the jar and show 1 dice.... you shake it (the metal dice shell sticks to the roof of the jar... and is hidden in the lid which is quite deep) and it looks as though the dice has exploded into lots of little dice. It is a kids trick really, but gives a cool effect.

 

Quote Phi "..first time fire is mentioned." You are right! Sorry - I supposed fire when the OP said combustion.

[Phi for All]

I picture the water and seeds being shaken in the jar, a bit of time for the seeds to chemically react and cause gas to build up, and then BLAM! The glass jar explodes, throwing shards everywhere! Why didn't you do this in a proper lab? Oh, the humanity!

 

But cardamom seeds are used as a digestive, to relieve gas buildup in the stomach. Is that how those products work, relieving gas buildup by adding more, so you have to belch and feel better? I always thought they disturbed the gas buildup somehow, relieving the pressure from the inside. I don't have a lot of experience with these products.

[DrP]

QUOTE: "..Shards everywhere...Oh the humanity!"

 

Ha Ha Ha! - I pictured the poor OP spitting the water in a jar with sodium/potassium chunks crafted to look like seeds.... with the whole lot going up in their face with bits of burning sodium sticking to his lips. lol. I decided not to mention it as this is clearly not what happened other wise they would have said so. lol.

[Phi for All]

I'd also like more context. Where did this take place, on a public street or in a building? How did it come about? Why was the OP carrying around cardamom seeds sealed from the shop, and an empty jar with a lid? Where did the person get the white paper? Did he pull it from a pocket, borrow it from a desk, and was it folded or flat? Where did the water come from, a public fountain, or a bottle the OP had?

 

But honestly, knowing whether this is a combustion event or an explosion event should tell us what we need to know. If there really was fire involved, that changes everything.

[Adri27]

Hi Sham.v007,

 

Can you elaborate on what the priest did? And did he say it was for a purpose? I don’t want to offend you but this very same thing happened to me as well and I’m beyond confused and perplexed! 

 

Looking for answers!!!

[Andiez]

On 14/04/2018 at 4:21 PM, Adri27 said:

Hi Sham.v007,

 

Can you elaborate on what the priest did? And did he say it was for a purpose? I don’t want to offend you but this very same thing happened to me as well and I’m beyond confused and perplexed! 

 

Looking for answers!!!

OMG. This happened to me too. But the “priest” swapped my jar for another jar, saying that the one I had brought was too small. However, the one he replaced it with was exactly the same size as the one I had, and it was made out of plastic - mine had been glass. 

He told me he was removing a negative energy that was inside me. 

Things didn’t add up to me, so I decided to look this up. 

Can someone explain it?

[DrP]

On ‎14‎/‎04‎/‎2018 at 7:21 AM, Adri27 said:

Hi Sham.v007,

 

Can you elaborate on what the priest did? And did he say it was for a purpose? I don’t want to offend you but this very same thing happened to me as well and I’m beyond confused and perplexed! 

 

Looking for answers!!!

When you say it happened to you too....  do you mean the priest done it and you saw it or that you ate the seeds and then reproduced the effect yourself?

 

4 minutes ago, Andiez said:

OMG. This happened to me too. But the “priest” swapped my jar for another jar, saying that the one I had brought was too small. However, the one he replaced it with was exactly the same size as the one I had, and it was made out of plastic - mine had been glass. 

He told me he was removing a negative energy that was inside me. 

Things didn’t add up to me, so I decided to look this up. 

Can someone explain it?

Again - the priest swapping the jar seems suspect to me.  Sounds like a magic trick. Creating fire from what seems like nothing is an easy magic trick, you can but it on e-bay.

 

Disclaimer though   -  I haven't tried it as an experiment - maybe it works, if it does then it will have a chemical explanation.  As of now though I believe it to be a magic trick  -  point me to some evidence of it actually being a reproducible effect and I might change my mind.

 

[Strange]

It is very obviously a magic trick.

On 14/04/2018 at 8:21 AM, Adri27 said:

but this very same thing happened to me as well and I’m beyond confused and perplexed! 

Perhaps you can supply some details.

1. Who performed this trick?

2. Did they ask for money?

3. Where did it take place?

4. Who provided the jar, water, seeds, paper?

5. If you provided these, why did you have them?

6. Was the jar made of glass or plastic?

30 minutes ago, Andiez said:

OMG. This happened to me too. But the “priest” swapped my jar for another jar, saying that the one I had brought was too small. However, the one he replaced it with was exactly the same size as the one I had, and it was made out of plastic - mine had been glass. 

1. Who was this "priest"? (How did you come to meet them? What do they claim to be a "priest" of?)

2. Did they ask for money?

3. Where did it take place?

4. Why did you have a jar with you?

5. Who provided the water, seeds, paper?

6. If you provided these, why did you have them?

 

[Andiez]

The priest or Indian magic man (don’t know the term used to refer to people from India who claim to do this is) provided the paper and plastic jar with lid. I had brought my own glass jar with a lid, but he exchanged it for his own container with the excuse that mine wasn’t big enough. I say ‘excuse’ because the jar he used was exactly the same size as mine, and the contents merely took up 1/4 of the jar. He asked for money afterwards, saying that he had only removed a small part of the negative energy inside me, and that in order to remove the large one that was left inside he needed to buy gold to get statues made out of 4 different metals - it’s a long story. It was performed in his house, in his prayer room. He gave me a list of things to bring, though I didn’t know what they were to be used for until I got there. He never explained anything thoroughly to me, and I assumed it was due to a language barrier. I now believe I was desperate for answers and against my better judgment... I believed anything. 

[Strange]

 

3 hours ago, Andiez said:

He asked for money afterwards, saying that he had only removed a small part of the negative energy inside me

So is this some sort of alternative/spiritual therapy?

Quote

don’t know the term used to refer to people from India who claim to do this is

I would use the term "con man", personally. I think it is despicable that people like this play on the fears and desperation of the vulnerable using magi tricks. 

I'm glad to hear you didn't fall for his "gold statue" scam.

3 hours ago, Andiez said:

I now believe I was desperate for answers and against my better judgment... I believed anything. 

I hope you have found a better source of help with your problems! Best wishes.

Edited April 20, 2018 by Strange

[Believer]

And exactly the same thing happened to me too. In Sydney area. An Indian priest asked me to bring several fruits, a packet of cardamon, water (tap or botteled), an empty container in which I could put my hand. He promised you clear the negative energy residing in my belly. So the process is as follows:

 

We (the priest, his assistant and I) sit down. He reads a few mantras on the fruit (3-4 different fruit) and place them on a place of worship. Opens a container that I had bought. Gives me a pack of tissues and asks me to clean the inside of the container. We split open a few cardamoms from a packet (I had bought them). Then he gives me mouthful of the seeds to chew and puts the rest into the empty container. I chew and chew and chew while he does a bit of mantras again and again. Then I spit everything in my mouth into the empty container. He asks me to sip some water and spit that too into the container. I do so and I see the contents of the container catch fire. The assistant promptly takes the container and closes it with a lid and goes into the corner of the room and put an orange cloth over it.  Oh he captures the devil in the container alright. The priest stands up and tells me that was the baby and the mother devil. The father devil is still inside me (don't laugh). It will cost me upwards of 3.5k AUD to resolve it. Solution: make a statue of five metals with my name written on it. And then he will do his sorcery. All this happened in his home. There was language barrier too. These guys are South Indian. I am not.

 

What the damn just happened.

On 4/20/2018 at 1:39 PM, Andiez said:

The priest or Indian magic man (don’t know the term used to refer to people from India who claim to do this is) provided the paper and plastic jar with lid. I had brought my own glass jar with a lid, but he exchanged it for his own container with the excuse that mine wasn’t big enough. I say ‘excuse’ because the jar he used was exactly the same size as mine, and the contents merely took up 1/4 of the jar. He asked for money afterwards, saying that he had only removed a small part of the negative energy inside me, and that in order to remove the large one that was left inside he needed to buy gold to get statues made out of 4 different metals - it’s a long story. It was performed in his house, in his prayer room. He gave me a list of things to bring, though I didn’t know what they were to be used for until I got there. He never explained anything thoroughly to me, and I assumed it was due to a language barrier. I now believe I was desperate for answers and against my better judgment... I believed anything. 

Same here

[Andiez]

2 hours ago, Believer said:

And exactly the same thing happened to me too. In Sydney area. An Indian priest asked me to bring several fruits, a packet of cardamon, water (tap or botteled), an empty container in which I could put my hand. He promised you clear the negative energy residing in my belly. So the process is as follows:

 

We (the priest, his assistant and I) sit down. He reads a few mantras on the fruit (3-4 different fruit) and place them on a place of worship. Opens a container that I had bought. Gives me a pack of tissues and asks me to clean the inside of the container. We split open a few cardamoms from a packet (I had bought them). Then he gives me mouthful of the seeds to chew and puts the rest into the empty container. I chew and chew and chew while he does a bit of mantras again and again. Then I spit everything in my mouth into the empty container. He asks me to sip some water and spit that too into the container. I do so and I see the contents of the container catch fire. The assistant promptly takes the container and closes it with a lid and goes into the corner of the room and put an orange cloth over it.  Oh he captures the devil in the container alright. The priest stands up and tells me that was the baby and the mother devil. The father devil is still inside me (don't laugh). It will cost me upwards of 3.5k AUD to resolve it. Solution: make a statue of five metals with my name written on it. And then he will do his sorcery. All this happened in his home. There was language barrier too. These guys are South Indian. I am not.

 

What the damn just happened.

Same here

Get out of town!!! Exactly the same thing!! Only he told me the gold was too expensive here in Melbourne but he knew a guy in Sydney who could sell the gold at a cheaper price! So he would have to travel to Sydney! I bet they’re family. This guy and his assistant (apparently his brother) are from South India too! What do they look like? What’s the main guy’s name? These two live with their mother in St. Albans, but apparently used to live in Geelong. Scammers 100%. I wonder how many others they’ve done this to? 

My story didn’t end there. They continued to ask for money for different things. 

Mum glad, you don’t know how glad to have “met” (figurative speech) someone who went through the same. Thank you so much for sharing. 

[Believer]

30 minutes ago, Andiez said:

Get out of town!!! Exactly the same thing!! Only he told me the gold was too expensive here in Melbourne but he knew a guy in Sydney who could sell the gold at a cheaper price! So he would have to travel to Sydney! I bet they’re family. This guy and his assistant (apparently his brother) are from South India too! What do they look like? What’s the main guy’s name? These two live with their mother in St. Albans, but apparently used to live in Geelong. Scammers 100%. I wonder how many others they’ve done this to? 

My story didn’t end there. They continued to ask for money for different things. 

Mum glad, you don’t know how glad to have “met” (figurative speech) someone who went through the same. Thank you so much for sharing. 

The guys I am dealing with here are 50 and 25 years old. They said the same thing to me too. they know a guy who'll sell at a cheaper rate just for me and I thought well....why? then he gave me a cheaper alternative (2.5k Aud) of doing some prayers for 40 days and then there was another cheaper option of less than a 1000 aud. so overall they just wanted to squeeze out whatever they could. I hope when they were asking you for money in different ways they were not hinting blackmail or anything...were they?

[Strange]

I think you guys should report this to the police. They might not have done anything illegal (yet) but what they are doing is pretty despicable.

[Andiez]

1 hour ago, Believer said:

The guys I am dealing with here are 50 and 25 years old. They said the same thing to me too. they know a guy who'll sell at a cheaper rate just for me and I thought well....why? then he gave me a cheaper alternative (2.5k Aud) of doing some prayers for 40 days and then there was another cheaper option of less than a 1000 aud. so overall they just wanted to squeeze out whatever they could. I hope when they were asking you for money in different ways they were not hinting blackmail or anything...were they?

The guys I dealt with were 30 & 25, or thereabouts, I have no way of verifying their age. They said their father is in South India but was returning in Feb, then in March, then in April. I’m beginning to think he’s in Sydney. Their website says they do this from different parts of Australia. They tried to get different amounts of money off me but I told them no, and he told me to give him a call when I can come up with the money. Of course I’ll never call him, but he’ll probably end up calling me. 

We absolutely should go to the police. 

[Believer]

2 minutes ago, Andiez said:

The guys I dealt with were 30 & 25, or thereabouts, I have no way of verifying their age. They said their father is in South India but was returning in Feb, then in March, then in April. I’m beginning to think he’s in Sydney. Their website says they do this from different parts of Australia. They tried to get different amounts of money off me but I told them no, and he told me to give him a call when I can come up with the money. Of course I’ll never call him, but he’ll probably end up calling me. 

We absolutely should go to the police. 

so not a blackmail really...right? more like being clingy or over insisting about money right..??

 

No wonder mine has a grandfather in south India too and he does some magic prayer stuff in India for us in Australia. crazy. I am only scared that this does not turn into blackmail. so far except being a con artist mine hasn't turned into a blackmailer. fingers crossed.

[Andiez]

17 minutes ago, Believer said:

so not a blackmail really...right? more like being clingy or over insisting about money right..??

 

No wonder mine has a grandfather in south India too and he does some magic prayer stuff in India for us in Australia. crazy. I am only scared that this does not turn into blackmail. so far except being a con artist mine hasn't turned into a blackmailer. fingers crossed.

Yeh, this one has a grandfather in South India as well who helps and gives him advice, because my problem is so big that he’s never seen anything like it in all his fifteen years of experience, so he needs his grandfather’s help. 

In fact, he’s so keen to help because he can see what a great person I am, like family, so he calls me “sister”. 

His name is not Joshi, is it?