Children's Party Magician Accidentally Performs Actual Levitation, Receives No Additional Tips

Part-time children's party entertainer and self-described 'mid-tier illusionist' Kevin Presto inadvertently achieved what three independent observers describe as genuine human levitation during a birthday party for six-year-old Madison Chen, an event that went largely unacknowledged by the audience of eleven children and four parents. 'I was doing the Balducci levitation — it's a simple angle trick where you stand on one foot and it looks like you're floating from behind,' Presto explained. 'But something went wrong. Or right. I'm not sure. My other foot left the ground. Both feet left the ground. I was floating. Genuinely floating. About six inches up, for maybe twenty seconds.' Parent and witness Denise Albright corroborated the account. 'He was definitely off the ground,' Albright said. 'Both feet, no wires, nothing underneath him. My first thought was, \"Oh, that's a nice trick.\" My second thought was, \"Wait, there's no mechanism for that.\" My third thought was, \"Madison wants cake.\"' The children's response was notably muted. 'Can you make a dog?' asked birthday girl Madison, referring to a balloon animal, approximately three seconds after Presto descended to the floor. When Presto attempted to explain that he had just defied gravity, another child asked if he knew any card tricks. 'I violated a fundamental law of physics in front of fifteen people and received the same reaction as when I pull a quarter from behind someone's ear,' Presto said. 'No extra tips. No gasps. One kid said \"my dad can do that\" and I'm fairly certain his dad cannot spontaneously levitate.' Presto has been unable to replicate the phenomenon. He has attempted the Balducci stance approximately 400 times since the party, 'always with both feet remaining firmly on the ground, which is how feet are supposed to work.' He received his standard fee of $150, no tip, and a slice of cake.