Last Link of the Day: Stupid Fish Tricks

I’m a sucker for magic, especially if it’s good enough to get people talking. This Chinese magician has apparently upset some animal activists with his fish tricks – the one where he gets them to swim in formation, specifically. Apparently some bleeding hearts are claiming that he has forced the fish to eat metal (or he’s injected them with it) and is controlling them with magnets. Now, I don’t like to give away magicians’ secrets, but if it gets people off this guy’s back, then I’m just going to bite the bullet and say it: those aren’t real fish, people. Seriously, it’s way easier to just get some realistic rubber fish than to try and make actual fish do your bidding. Obviously I can’t say this with 100% certainty, but as someone who works with special effects AND illusions, my professional opinion is that this is an awesome trick in which no fish were harmed.