Gozinta Boxes

First advertisement for Lubor's Die in Magigram (1970)

The Gozinta Boxes are a topological magic trick invented by Lubor Fiedler in 1966 and first introduced at the 1970 FISM convention in Amsterdam. In this plot, a cube-shaped box is removed from inside another box. The positions are subsequently reversed and the outer box is now placed inside the inner box, creating a paradoxical situation.

The word 'gozinta' (sometimes written as 'gazinta') is an uncommon word that, according to Google ngram, first appears in the English language around 1910. The word gozinta is a form of eye dialect, just like words such as fella instead of “fellow” or helluva instead of “hell of a . . . ”. Eye dialect is used by groups of people to distinguish themselves from others. The term gozinta was first used by primary school teachers to explain the principles of long division. For example, 2 gozinta 4 because 2 × 2 = 4, 4 gozinta 12 because 3 × 4 = 12, 8 gozinta 24, 9 gozinta 72 and so on. The word gozinta has twice been registered as a trademark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

The first prototype of what we now know as the gozinta boxes was invented in the middle of the nineteen-sixties. Lubor Fiedler developed the idea when he ran out of space in his small apartment. He discovered that two identical boxes of certain proportions almost perfectly fit into each other. This random occurrence spawned the development of what we now know as the gozinta boxes and was first introduced to the magic world at the 1970 FISM convention in Amsterdam. Lubor entered the inventions contest and baffled both the audience and the judges with his performance. But alas, Lubor did not win the competition because he promoted his business and was thus disqualified. Missing the prize did not stop him from quickly selling the six copies he brought to Amsterdam.

Edwin Hooper of the Supreme Magic Company bought the rights to the trick and successfully marketed it under the name Lubor Die. Jeffery Atkins introduced the name Gozinta Boxes at the 1971 Friendly Convention at Bideford. Supreme Magic bought the rights to his script and started selling the prop under the name Gozinta Boxes, which is now the generic name for this magic plot.

A range of versions of the gozinta plot has been marketed over the past decades. In 1993 Tenyo released a close-up version under the name Parabox. This version included a sponge ball production by Tooru Suzuki.