Benson Bowl

Benson Bowl Routine is a variation of the Cups and Balls using a single brass bowl, a wooden wand, and three sponge balls developed by Roy Benson. It was Benson's interpretation of Rezvani's "The Cushions of the Princess," which became known as The Tomato Trick. Whereas Rezvani used small pincushions that looked like tomatoes, Benson adapted the trick using sponge balls.

Bruce Elliot's published the effect in The Phoenix #156 in 1948. It was made famous by Don Alan, and Frank Garcia used the routine in his close-up act for years.

The Benson Bowl routine can be found in several books:

• Bruce Elliott's Classic Secrets of Magic
• Don Alan's routine in Jon Racherbaumer's In a Class by Himself: the Legacy of Don Alan
• Roy Benson by Starlight by Levent and Todd Karr