The Westcar Papyrus describes a conjuring trick performed 4,500 years ago. Image credit: Keith Schengili-Roberts via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.5) It’s literally the oldest trick in the book, although it’s one you’ve probably never seen before. And while no beautiful assistants are sawn in half, this ancient illusion – performed for the Egyptian Pharaoh Khufu – is death-defying in the truest sense of the word. Long before the rabbit-in-the-hat trick was even conceived, an unknown Egyptian scribe penned what is now known as the Westcar Papyrus. Thought to have been written during the Second Intermediate Period – which lasted...