Sawing a woman in half Sawing a woman in half Sawing a woman in half is a generic name for a number of stage magic tricks in which a person (traditionally a female assistant) is apparently sawn or divided into two or more pieces. There remains a debate about the origin of sawing illusions, with some sources saying a magician named Torrini may have performed the first version in front of Pope Pius VII in 1809. However, it is more likely that the story is a fiction which has its roots in the writings of the famous French magician Jean Robert-Houdin. In his "Memoirs", written
A Mouse Divided irises out. A Mouse Divided A Mouse Divided is a 1953 "Merrie Melodies" animated short directed by Friz Freleng and featuring Sylvester. The title is a pun on Lincoln's House Divided Speech. The episode starts where a drunken stork delivers a baby to the nearest available home. Sylvester's wife, wanting a baby, despite his objections ("And what thanks do I get? I wish I was dead! Boo hoo hoo! Every day it's the same thing - pitter-patter of little feet!"), graciously receives the package. Sylvester is nonetheless excited- until he learns the baby is a mouse, at which point he