Hot Ball by Viking Mfg.

The first ads I could find for this are for Thayer’s c. 1926 and Davenport’s c. 1924 but I am not sure who devised the effect first. Thayer’s version was called “The Red Hot Ball” and Davenport’s was called “The Hot Ball“. According to Dr. Albo (Vol. IV, page 153) they were made in Europe and distributed throughout the USA, so for now at least, let’s assume they came from Davenport’s originally since the last time I looked England was still part of Europe 🙂

Effect: A solid metal ball is given to a member of the audience to hold, after a few seconds he is seen to look very uncomfortable and commences to pass the ball from one hand to the other again and again, causing the audience to roar with laughter; at last the ball becomes so hot that he is unable to hold it any longer and has to drop it on the floor, causing unbounded merriment. The ball is beautifully made and cannot fail under any circumstances. The working is simplicity itself, and the effect on audience is pure comedy.

Uses easily obtainable chemicals you supply.

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