Not self exploding
Normal glass bottles and cups do not work
You have to keep paying for the trick over and over

This is a specialty product with very good potential. I’ve used the coke bottle version (you can also buy self-exploding mugs or drinking glasses) in a seance-themed routine where the visiting “spirit” is angry about being summoned and reacts by causing the bottle to do its thing. The effect gets a startled WOW factor from audiences.

Some notes:

a.) Allow the bottle to be handled at the beginning of the routine. You can even use it to pound a nail into a block of soft wood. This is a sturdy bottle and quite convincing. There is no gaff nor gimmick to be seen by passing it around.

b.) You need to take safety precautions. This is not for kids shows. On a risk scale from 1-to-10 with ten being the highest risk, I would rate this at 2.5. That’s low risk but you are still dealing with glass in a litigious world! The “results” of exploding the bottle do not typically spray or scatter widely but you’ll obviously want something to catch the pieces. I use a burlap mat that can then be folded up around what remains. I also make sure that spectators are a minimum of five feet away. That can actually be easily accomplished by making distance part of involving them in the storyline and patter. The higher you hold the bottle the more bounce you might get from fragments. I think two feet is more than enough to make a significant impact. Still – think it all through and exercise the appropriate caution.

c.) I have seen the complaint that: “you need to buy another after each use.” Well --- yeah. Did anyone think that an exploding bottle might be re-usable? To me, for a specialty impact, the cost is fair. Moreover: if you think you might want this for a show, buy at least two. You need to “test” with one (or more) to get a sense of how this works and how to best stage with it.