Cigar box juggling

Cigar box juggling is the juggling of rectangular props that resemble cigar boxes. Wood block manipulation was thought to have started by Japanese prisoners who were given small wood blocks as head rests for sleeping. Cigar box manipulation was developed as a vaudeville act in the United States between the 1880s and 1920s, and was popularized by W. C. Fields.^[1] Originally, performers would take actual boxes that cigars were stored in and nail them shut to create their juggling props. Today, cigar boxes for juggling are typically purpose-built, hollow wooden or plastic blocks with suede or foam rubber padding attached to the sides.^[1]