But in the first years of this New Century, nylon whips have come into their own, especially with more imaginative performers who are exploiting the whips' properties under ultraviolet light. The nylon whip makers have kept abreast of the performers in breaking new ground with new tools.

In choosing a nylon whip, the same criteria that would be used to choose a good kangaroo or leather whip still applies. The whip should be tight. While kangaroo hide is half the weight of cow leather, it has twice the strength of cow hide, making it the perfect material to braid a tight, finely-plaited whip. Nylon is prous, making the whip "wonky" when it hangs loose. But when the whip handler "charges" the whip with energy by beginning a throw, the whip pulls tighter and takes on the characteristics of an animal-hide whip.

When I purchased a pair of nylon cowwhips, I was impressed with the braiding but disappointed by the action. So I swapped out the cow whip handles for standard Australian stockwhip handles -- the change was dramatic -- but the whips were so heavy, the long handles made each practice session a shirt-soaking workout. I switched handles again to standard bullwhip-style handles (using PVC pipe) -- the whips were now more accurate, more responsive, and much more graceful. I could now do the cutting tricks and the two-handed whipcracking routines I desired.

Abd behold -- the bright yellow nylon of the thongs glowed electrically under a blacklight. Because of the number of times per second the blacklight cycles, the whips also left "trails," a stroboscopic memory of the whip's movement.

Making no other changes to my whip-cracking routines, this single shift suddenly made my act more attractive to younger audiences, allowing me to perform as entr'acte entertainment between bands in nightclubs.

This mesmerising strobe can be distracting when you are working with them, so you need to make sure you could do this with your eyes closed. You will be relying on feeling more than sight with these whips under blacklight.

Magic shops and costume sellers are now carrying more blacklight makeup and UV special effects which can add to a blacklight performance. If my Assistant ("Target Girl") is working with these whips, we use styrofoam strips which have been sprayed with glow-in-the-dark paint. The same spray paint is also used on playing cards and on newspaper for other tricks.

The downside of using flourescent yellow whips is that they will get dirty quickly. When you are using the whips, try to keep them off the floor. Store them in plastic bags. When traveling, wrap the thongs in plastic bags to keep the leather conditioner from leather whips from darkening the nylon.

Cleaning nylon whips is still being debated. Some folks say you should put them in a pillow case and toss them into a washing machine (I do not know what this does to the shot loading inside). Other people suggest that you hand wash the whips in mild detergeant and hot water. Afterward, hang them to dry, periodically bending them. When they are dry, roll them between boards and complete the process by applying a thin coat of beeswax or parafin wax. Pecard's also makes a water repellent solution which has worked on my own whips.

Even crackers can be made of blacklight-activated thread. When I go shopping, I take a portable blacklight flashlight, which I shine on fabric and threads to see which ones glow brightly.

Beyond this specific high-end use, nylon whips are a good choice for starter whips. They compare to kangaroo whips the way a Honda compares to a Jaguar, but they work -- and at one-third the cost of kangaroo whips, a curious whip cracker does not need to sink a lot of money into something which might prove to be a passing fancy. ] Who should you get such whips from? Happily, there are several I know fiorst-hand who are good, and there are a few others who are recommended by good whip crackers. The "dean" of nylon bullwhips and snakewhips (in my opinion, of course) is D.T. King of Coyote Whips (http://www.coyotewhips.com). Running pretty close to him is the king of the cowwhips Rhett kelly (http://www.cowwhips.com). If you are in the Lousiana area, consider checking out a real Cajun, Billy Anderson, who will make a whip with a steel cable belly for you.. Anderson is at P.O. Box 9, Hwy. 66, Tunica, LA 70782, or call (225) 665-4692.. My friend Andrew Conway (author of "The Bullwhip Book") speaks highly about Greg DeSaye's work.

And as I said, nylon whips are relatively inexpensive. Made by Coyote Whips' Dave King, a 4-foot black nylon snake whip with redhide fall (the "Dante Nylon Whip") is only $90.00, and a 3-foot red nylon snake whip ("Dante's Little Red Devil") is only $80.00. A 4-foot bullwhip (with rigid handle) is $90.00, and whips can be made in black, red, blue, yellow, green, and orange. For two-tone whips, you'd add $10.00. For blacklight whips (yellow or orange), you'd add another $10.00.

Will nylon whips replace kangaroo whips? Never. Kangaroo whips, and to a lesser degree, cow leather whips, have both a density and a delicateness which nylon lacks. The award-winning whips will continue to be made of kangaroo.

But as an affordable option for beginners, a durable tool for whip handlers in wet areas, and a unique instrument for modern performers, nylon whips are proving that they are here to stay, in the New Century.