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ILLUSTRATIONS BY.-T KRAUS #.
+
+

E. P. DUTT.N A NEw Y'RK

Copyright O f986 by Bill Severn
Illustrations eopyright O f986 by Fred Kraus
All rights reserved. Printed in the U.S.A.
Chapters or portions of chapters in this book have appeared in Bill Severn's
column in Bogs'Life magazine. The author and publisher gratefully acknowledge
the courtesy and contribution of Boys'Life to the book.
No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by
any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any infor-
mation storage and retrieval system now known or to be invented, without permis-
sion in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who wishes to quote brief
passages in connection with a review written for inclusion in a magazine, newspa-
per, or broadcast.
Published in the United States by E. P. Dutton, a division of New American
Library, 2 Park Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10016.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Severn, Bill.
Magic fun for everyone.
Chapters or portions of chapters have appeared in
Severn's column in Boys'life magazine.
1. Tricks. 2. Conjuring. I. Title.
GV1547.S488 1986 793.8 86-r1480

ISBN: 0-525-24485-9 (cloth)

ISBN: 0-525-48253-9 (paper)
Published simultaneously in Canada by
Fitzhenry & Whiteside, Limited, Toronto
w
DESIGNED BY EARL TIDWELL

1098765432r
First Edition
 Contents

Introduction

1 MAGIC WITH STRAWS

The Hot-Air Straw 4
The Snip-Apart Straw 7
The Straw Game 10

2 WITH DOLLAR BILLS

Dip for a Dollar 16
The Sock-Away Buck 19
Million-to-One Wish 22
The Money Cutter 25

COMEDY TRICKS
The Pen That Writes Any Color 30
The Zero Spell 33
Spooky Tapping Pencil 36
The Sneeze Stopper 39
The Strongman Flea 42
Aunty Gravity's Ruler 45
Rap Wrap Ribbon 48

HERE TO THERE

Crisscross 52
The Name That Walks Through a Plate 56
The Jumping Circles 59
Sealed Color Flight 62

MIND BENDERS
Reading with Your Fingertips 66

vI
aa
vlll Contents
aaa

Magical Chairs 69
It's Magic Time 72
The Spell of the Cat 75
The Invisible Computer 78
Liquid Thoughts 81
The Haunted Book 85

6 CARD MAGIC
The Royal Joggers 90
The Double-Guess Countdown 93
The See-Through Cards 96
Bringing a Card to the Top 98
The Pocket Dip 99
Computer Card Trick 100
Find Me My Card L02
Meet My Assistants 105
The Whole Royal Family 107
There's a Ghost in Your Pocket 110
The Card Detective 113
Time to Rise 116
Humpty Dumpty Changing Card 120

7 COIN MAGIC

The Money Jar L26

The Magic Money Maker 130
The Seesaw Nickels and Pennies 133
A Coin-Vanishing Envelope 136
Pulse Beat 138
The Money Catch I41

8 WITH ROPE AND STRING

How to Make Your Own Magic Rope L46
A Rope and a Knot from Nowhere 148
Before You Can Count to Three 151
Guaranteed by Magic L54
The Ring-String Puzzle 158
 Contents
a

tx

9 PAPER MAGIC
The Aunt Trap L64
Postage Paid by Magic L67
The Invisible Hole 170
Circle Around a Star 173
The Sliced-Banana Mystery 177
 lntroduction

Here is a collection of more than fffty original tricks for wizards of

all ages. They are tricks your friends probably won't have seen
before, with fresh plots and magical surprises, and are easily put
together at home for performing almost anywhere.
They include what have proved to be some of the most popular
tricks from my rnagazine magic columns. The props are simple, no
special skill or prior knowledge of magic is required, and there is
no difficult sleight of hand to learn.
But magic tricks cannot be performed entertainingly as soon
as you read the instructions. All tricks have to be practiced, so that
you can do them without fumbling. More important, if you want to
make them fun for others to watch, you will need to rehearse not
only the handling of the props, but also the presentation.
Tricks in themselves, no matter how cleverly they are accom-
plished, amount to no more than little puzzles. What makes them
entertaining is the presentation that surrounds them: the plot, the
talk, the acting-out of the make-believe, the buildup that creates
amusement and mystery.
Presentation is given first for each of the tricks in this book, so
that as you learn the trick you can keep in mind how it should look
to those watching. Next is a list of needed props, then a bare-bones
explanation of the secret, with directions for putting the props
together and setting them up. Finally you will learn uhat Eou do,
detailed step-by-step instructions for performing and presenting
the trick.
The instructions have been written from performance, and
when they specify that something should be done in a precise way
there is a reason for it. If it isn't done that way, the trick may not
work. The details are important and should be followed carefully,
one step at a time, with props at hand.
But after you Iearn to do a trick the way that has been ex-
plained, you may decide that handling something another way is
easier and more natural for you. Each magician gradually discovers
his own best methods of performing, and trying a trick one way or
another is part of the fun.
 lntroduction

You also may want to change the original presentation, the

plot, the words you say, the story you build around the trick. Don't
hesitate to change it to suit your own ideas and personality, or to
put the talk into your own words. Consider the instructions a pat-
tern for learning, a place to start, and take the trick from there to
make it your own.
I + *

*
 The Hot-Air Straw

HOW IT LOOKS
"This is a hot-air straw," you say, as you take a drinking straw
from your pocket. "It works like a hot-air balloon." You hold it to
your mouth and blow through it. "It doesn't blow up, but it foats
this!"
-likeThe straw magically clings to your fingertips as you hold your
palm-down hand out fat. When you slowly lift your hand, the straw
foats up with it. Then it foats at the ffngertips of your other hand
and can be pushed back and forth while foating there, with your
ffngers spread wide apart.
While the straw is still clinging to your ffngers, you pull it free
and immediately hand it to your friends. "If you don't believe it
works by hot air," you say, "then it must be magic."

WHAT YOU NEED

A plastic drinking straw; transparent tape.

THE SECRET
Tape is wrapped around the straw to make a small tube that
will stick to one of your ffngers.
Take a l-inch piece of tape, turn it stickE side out, and wrap
it around the center of the straw, fastening the tape to itself to make
a tube. It should be wrapped tightly, but you should be able to slide
it back and forth on the straw. Put the tape-banded straw in the
inside right pocket of your jacket.

WHAT YOU DO
Reach into your pocket with your left hand. Slide the tube to
the center of the straw. Hold it between your thumb and middle
ffnger, with your thumb covering the tape, and bring out the straw.
Show it and say, "This is a hot-air straw. It works like a hot-air
balloon."
4
 The Hot-Air Straw

FRONT VIEW

Straw clings to spread-apart

right fingers-and you can
slide it back and forth.

BACK VIEW

Left hand draws straw

up out of right hand.

Tape stays
stuck to finger.

\p
 Magic with Straws

Lift it to your mouth and blow through it. As you do that, press
the tape against the inside of your middle ffnger, so it sticks firmly
to the first joint of that ffnger. Turn your left hand over, palm down
in front of you. Move your hand forward and slowly spread your
ffngers out fat and wide apart, as you say, "It doesn't blow up, but
it foats-like this!"
The straw clings to the underside of your ffngers as if foating
there, secretly held by the tape stuck to your ffnger. Lift your hand
a few inches and then lower it again, so that the straw seems to foat
up and down with it.
Now turn your right hand palm upward and bring it under
your left hand, palm to palm. Roll the straw a little to detach the
tape from your left ffnger and stick it to your right middle ffnger.
Keep your hands palm to palm and turn them over together so that
the right hand is on top. Take your left hand away and leave the
straw clinging to your right ffnger.
Spread your ffngers wide apart. Lift them a little and then
lower them again. While the straw is clinging to your right ftnger,
gently slide it back and forth by pushing one end and then the other
with your left hand. (The straw slides right and left through the
tube of tape that keeps it stuck to your right middle ffnger.) Finally
center the straw beneath your right'ffngers again.
Lift your right hand up, turning its palm toward you and its
back toward those watching. Lift it until the top end of the straw
points toward the ceiling. Hold it that way a moment, with the
straw still clinging to your spread-apart ffngers. Then take the top
end of the straw with your left hand and draw it straight up and out
of your right hand, leaving the little tube of tape secretly stuck to
the inside of your right middle ffnger.
With your left hand, give the straw to your friends. At the same
time,let your right hand drop to your side and detach the tape with
your thumb, so it falls to the foor unnoticed, as you say, "If you don't
believe it works by hot air, then it must be magic."
 The Snip-Apart Straw

HOW IT LOOKS
"This is the Iast straw," you say, as you hold up a plastic drink-
ing straw. "Anyhow, it was the last one left in the box. But if you
ever run low on straws, it's easy enough to make two out of one."
You fold the straw in half, take a pair of scissors from your pocket,
draw the straw up through your hand, and cut it in two. "Now there
are two instead of one."
You snip offthe two cut ends, then quickly snip offseveral more
little pieces, repeatedly cutting the straw. "What is harder than
making two out of one," you say, "is making one out of two. That
takes a little touch of magic." You tap your hand with the scissors
and open out the straw to show that it is back together, completely
whole once more.

WHAT YOU NEED

Two look-alike plastic drinking straws; transparent tape; a pair
of round-tipped scissors small enough to fft easily into your jacket
pocket.

THE SECRET
What you really cut in half and then snip away is an extra piece
of straw that you secretly get into your hand as you take the scissors
from your pocket. It is held so it looks like the center of the folded
straw itself.
To prepare it, cut a 4-inch piece off the end of one straw and
discard the rest. Bend that piece in half to bring its two ends to the
bottom and wrap a short strip of transparent tape around the ends
to hold them together.
Put that extra piece into your left jacket pocket, with its folded
center toward the front of the pocket. Place the scissors in the same
pocket with their handles toward the front. Stand the uncut dupli
cate straw on end in one of your inside jacket pockets.
 Magic with Straws

WHAT YOU DO
Take out the straw, show it, and fold it in half by bringing the
two ends together at the bottom. Hold it in your right hand and
reach into your pocket with your left hand. Close your ffngers
around the extra piece and the blades of the scissors. Bring out the
scissors and lift your hand so its back is toward those watching. The
extra piece is hidden in your ffngers and the handles of the scissors
stick up out of the top of that hand.
Open your ffngers enough so that you can put the straw into
your left hand, with its folded center directly over the bottom ends
of the extra piece, and then close your ffngers again to hold the
straw. Take the scissors by their handles with your right hand and
pull them up out of your left hand.
Show the scissors and hold the handles loosely in your right
hand, so that the right thumb and ffngers are free. Reach into your
Ieft hand, take the folded straw and extra piece together, and draw
them up through the left hand to grip the overlapping part be-
tween your left thumb and index ffnger. Hold them pinched to-
gether that way, with the center of the extra piece now looking like
the center of the straw itself. With your thumb and ffnger covering
the overlapping part, you can open your other left fingers wide to
show the straw all around.
Slide one blade of the scissors through the center of the extra
piece and cut it in half, seeming to cut the straw in two, as you say,
"Now there are two instead of one." Then snip offboth cut ends at
once to trim off two little pieces. Repeat that quickly several times,
letting the little snipped-offpieces fdl to the foor. The last time you
do that, just close the blades on what remains of the extra piece to
pinch it between them, and pull that away to let it fall to the foor,
as you give the scissors a ffnal snip.
You have now trimmed off the entire extra piece and only the
whole folded straw is left. "What is harder than making two out of
one," you say, "is making one out of two. That takes a little touch
of magic."
Tap your closed left hand with the scissors. Then open out the
straw and draw it through your hand to show it is in one piece again,
completely restored.
 The Snip-Apart Straw

Extra piece in hand

with scissors.

Folded center is laid

on top of extra piece.

Brought up together-
held between thumb and finger-
it looks like one straw.
 The Straw Game

HOW IT LOOKS
"This is a magic guessing game," you say, as you hold up a large
envelope. "In this envelope I have a bunch of straws." You take out
a drinking straw, show it, and drop it back into the envelope.
"There could be ffve or six, seven, eight, nine or ten of them. I'm
not going to tell you how many. That's what I want you to guess by
reading my mind."
You point to someone. "Will you please be our mind reader?
I am thinking of the number of straws in the envelope. When I snap
my ffngers, just call out any number from ffve to ten." You shut your
eyes, pretending to concentrate, and then snap your ffngers. He
may call out "Seven."
One at a time, you take the straws from the envelope, counting
aloud as you put each of them on the table. There are exactly seven
straws (or whatever number he called), and at the end the envelope
is empty. "Seven it was," you say. "You made a magic guess-or
did you read my mind?"

WHAT YOU NEED

Ten plastic drinking straws; a 6Yz-by-9Yz-inch manila clasp-
type envelope; scissors with a small pointed blade, or arazor blade
in a holder.

THE SECRET
Five double straws are used. Each has an outer shell that covers
another straw inside it. As you take them from the envelope, each
double straw can be shown as a single straw, or you can pull the
inner straw out of its shell and count them as two straws. They are
arranged so that you can count out any number from ffve to ten.
It is easy to make the shells. Just take ffve straws and cut each
of them open along one side on a straight line from end to end.
Because they are plastic, the cut-open straws will keep their round
shape.

10
 The Straw Game 11

Then take the ffve other uncut straws and slide one of them
down inside each shell. Push it down until I inch of the inner straw
sticks up out of the top end of the shell.
Put the five double straws in the envelope, standing upright on
their bottom ends. Turn the envelope with its fap side up, fasten
the clasp, and have it on the table at the start of the trick.

WHAT YOU DO
"This is a magic guessing game," you say, as you pick up the
envelope. Hold it upright, with its fap toward you. "In this enve-
lope I have a bunch of straws." Open the fap and reach into the
envelope with your right hand. Put your ftngers around the top end
of one of the straws, covering the part where the shell overlaps the
inner straw. Take out the double straw, show it, and drop it back
into the envelope.
"There could be ffve or six, seven, eight, nine or ten of them,"
you say. "I'm not going to tell you how many. That's what I want
you to guess by reading my mind." Put the envelope down on the
table and point to someone. "Will you please be our mind reader?"
Tell him that you are thinking of the number of straws in the
envelope, and that when you snap your ffngers you want him to call
out any number from ffve to ten. Shut your eyes a moment and then
Iook directly at him and snap your ffngers.
When he calls out a number, pick up the envelope again. Hold
it upright with your left hand at its left side near the bottom, thumb
at the back and ffngers in front. The counting out of the straws
should be slow and deliberate. Don't hurry it.
Suppose he has called the number seoen. Reach into the enve-
lope with your right hand and slide one of the double straws over
to the left. Grip its bottom end through the envelope between your
Ieft thumb and fingers. With your right hand, pull the inner straw
out of its shell and straight up out of the envelope. Put it on the
table, and count aloud, "One." Reach into the envelope, take out
the shell of that straw, put it on the table, and count, "Two."
Again reach into the envelope. Slide one of the straws to the
left. Grip its bottom end through the envelope between your left
thumb and ffngers. With your right hand, pull out the inner straw,
put it on the table, and count, "Three." Then bring out the shell of
that straw, put it on the table, and count, "Four."
12 Magic with Straws

Now asyou put your hand into the envelope to take out the
next straw, push your thumb doun on the top end, sliding the inner
straw down inside its shell so the top ends are fush. Take out that
double straw, put it on the table, and count, "Five." Repeat the
same thing with each of the two remaining double straws, pushing
their top ends fush before you bring each out, and count, "Six," and
"Seven,"
Open the envelope wide and shake it upside down to show
there are no more straws in it. "Seven, it was," you say. "You made
a magic guess-or did you read my mind?" Pick up all the straws,
put them into the envelope, fasten the clasp, and put the envelope
aside.
(To remember how many double straws must be pulled apart
and counted out as a separate inner straw and a shell, just subtract
ffve from whatever number is called. If ffve were called, you simply
would count out all ffve double straws. For six, you would need to
count one inner straw and one shell, plus the four remaining double
straws. Seven is two inner straws and two shells, plus three doubles;
eight is three inners, three shells, two doubles; and so on.)

l!
tl
n
ll
It
ll
ll
II
ll
lf
Bottom end of double straw II
is gripped through envelope !I
between left thumb II
and fingers. lr
 The Straw Game 13

To count a double straw

as two straws,
right hand pulls
_\_
inner straw out of shel!.

-
INSIDE )t
THE ENVELOPE
To count double straw
as a single one,
thumb pushes inner straw
down inside shell.

flush at ends
 *

*
+
+

+
 Dip for a Dollar

HOW IT LOOKS
You show two small pieces of paper, wad each of them into a
ball, and drop them into a paper bag. Then you take a dollar bill
from your pocket, crumple that into a ball, and drop it into the bag
with the two paper balls.
"Two scraps of paper and a dollar bill," you say, as you shake
the bag to mix the three balls inside it. You invite someone to reach
into the bag. "Just dip your hand down into it and take any one of
the three. . . . The rules of this game are that you can take only one.
But if you get the dollar, I'll let you keep it."
He takes one of the balls from the bag, but what he gets is one
of the scraps of paper. "Sorry," you tell him, "but at least it didn't
cost you anything to take a chance." You shake up the bag again and
invite a second person to try his luck. "This time, there are only two
left," you say. "Dip your hand in and take either one. You have a
fffty-ftfty chance of getting the dollar."
But the second person also gets only a ball of paper. "Too bad,"
you say, as you reach into the bag and remove the dollar bill, which
you open and put away in your pocket. "But thank you both for not
taking my money."

WHAT YOU NEED

A dollar bill; three scraps of white paper about the size of a
dollar; a flat-bottomed paper bag.

THE SECRET
Your dollar is safe because you never really drop it into the bag
until the end of the trick. You switch it for an extra ball of paper,
and the dollar stays hidden under your ffngers that hold the top of
the bag.
To set it up, fold the dollar in half and put it into an empty
right-hand pocket. Wad one of the scraps of paper into a tight little
16
 Dip for a Dollar 17

ball and put that in the same pocket. Have the paper bag and the
two other scraps of paper on your table.

WHAT YOU DO
Open the bag, show it empty, and stand it upright. Show the
two scraps of paper and wad each of them into a ball. Take one
between your right index ffnger and thumb, put your hand well
down inside the top of the bag, and drop that ball into it. Drop the
second paper ball into the bag the same way.
Reach into your pocket with your right hand. Get the extra
paper ball hidden inside your lower three ffngers, by closing them
around it, and take the dollar between your thumb and index
ffnger. Bring it out with the back of your hand toward those watch-
ing. Open the dollar between your hands to show it, wad it into a
ball, and hold it between your thumb and index finger.
Put your hand well down inside the bag, as you did when you
were dropping in each of the paper balls. Let the extra paper ball
drop from your ffngers, so it falls into the bag instead of the dollar,
and pull the dollar back into your fingers. Without removing your
hand from the bag, bring it up inside to the top rear edge. Grip that
top edge between your thumb, down outside at the back, and
ffngers fat against the inside. (The dollar stays hidden under your
ffngers, pressed against the inside top of the bag. That is how you
will hold the bag until the end of the trick.)
Lift the bag from the table, shake it, and say, "Two scraps of
paper and a dollar bill." Invite someone to dip his hand into the bag
and to take any one of the three. Make it clear that he is to take only
one, but explain, "If you get the dollar, I'll let you keep it."
Hold the bag high as he reaches into it, so he can't look down
inside. There are only three paper balls in the bottom, so it makes
no difference which one he takes. Ask him to unroll it to show
everybody what he got. Then shake the bag again and invite a
second person to try his luck; he also gets only a ball of paper.
While he is unrolling that, rest the bottom of the bag on your
left palm, and as you do that, secretly let the hidden dollar drop
from your right ffngers into the bottom of the bag. Remove your
right hand and keep the bag held with your left hand.
Tip the mouth of it toward you, and say, "That leaves only one
for me." Look down into the bag, show your right hand empty, and
18 With Dollar Bills

reach inside. Close your ffngers around the remaining paper ball to
hide it in them and take the dollar between your thumb and index
ffnger.
Bring out the dollar, hold it up to show it, and put the bag aside
on the table. Open the bill and then put it away in your pocket,
leaving the hidden paper ball in your pocket with it, as you say,
"Thank you both for not taking my money."

Dollar
is kept.
i:.1:li;i fi

t- \-.
.r t,rF.
F tngers
Z:,:-' drop extra
paper ball
instead.

Hand comes up
inside
to hold bag
at top.

Fingers press
hidden bill
against inside
back of bag.
 The Sock-Away Buck

HOW IT LOOKS
You take an old sock from your pocket, and you say, "For my
nextfeat of magic,I'll use only onepot-one sock." You unroll the
sock, turn it inside out to show it empty, and place it on the table.
Then you show a dollar bill and crumple that in your hands to roll
it into a small ball. "You've heard people say that they're going to
sock their money away.. . . I've found that it works a lot better by
magic."
After showing the rolled-up dollar, you put it into your pants
pocket. "Whenever you've got a little money that you're tempted
to spend for something you don't really need-just snap your
fingers twice." You snap your fingers in'front of the pocket and then
snap them over the sock that is lying on the table. "This is called
'passing the buck."'
You pull the pocket inside out to show that it is empty and the
dollar has vanished. With your hands also empty, you pick up the
sock, reach down inside it, and produce the missing dollar. "That's
really socking your money away."

WHAT YOU NEED

An old sock, thick enough so it can't be seen through; two
look-alike dollar bills.

THE SECRET
One of the bills is in the sock at the start and remains hidden
because of the way the sock is turned inside out. The duplicate bill
is secretly tucked up into the top of your pocket, where it remains
hidden when the pocket is pulled inside out.
Crumple one of the bills and roll it into a small ball. Lay the
sock on the table, toe to the left, top end to the right. Put the balled
bill on the toe and roll up the sock from left to right, so the bill is
at the center of the rolled sock. Fold the other dollar in half and put
19
20 With Dollar Bills

that into the empty right pocket of your pants. Put the rolled sock
in the same pocket.

WHAT YOU DO
Take out the rolled sock and put it in your left hand. Hold it
with the top end toward the right and rolled-up part lying against
your ffngers. Curl your ffngers loosely around it, with your thumb
over it, and lift that hand so its back is to the audience.
Take the top end of the sock with your right hand and slowly
draw it out to the right, unrolling it from the left hand to hold it out
and show it. As the sock unrolls, the hidden dollar will come into
your curled left ffngers. Close them slightly to keep the dollar hid-
den. Continue unrolling the sock until you can grip its toe between
your left thumb and index ffnger.
Hold the sock stretched out between your hands for a moment.
Then drop the toe from your left hand to leave the sock dangling
from your right hand. Immediately bring your right hand over to
your left one. Lay the top end of the sock across your left palm so
it lies over the bill hidden in the left ffngers, with the top of the sock
toward the left. Open the top with your right hand and draw part
of it down a few inches over your left ffngers, like a cuff that covers
your ffngers and the hidden bill.
Show your empty right hand and slide it down inside the sock
to the bottom. Grip the inside of the toe and pull it straight up to
turn the sock inside out. Because of the way the sock was "cuffed"
over your left ffngers, turning it inside out automatically brings
those ffngers inside what is now the top of it. Simply open them and
let the hidden bill fall into the sock. Give the sock a little downward
shake, as if to untangle it, and place it on the table.
Take the other bill out of your pants pocket and roll it into a
ball. Show it with your right hand and put it back into your pocket.
As your hand goes down inside, push the bill up into the top far-left
corner of your pocket with the tip of your thumb. Leave the bill
tucked in the top corner and bring your hand out, showing it
empty.
Move your hand down in front of the outside of your pocket.
Snap your ffngers and say, "This is called 'passing the buck."'
Quickly lift your hand above the sock lying on the table, and snap
your fingers again. Slide your hand back into your pocket, grip the
 The Sock-Away Buck 21

bottom of the lining, and pull the pocket inside out. The bill, tucked
up into the top corner, remains hidden and seems to have vanished.
Show your hand empty, then push the lining back in and remove
your hand.
Show your empty left hand, pick up the sock, and hold it by its
top edge with that hand. Again show your empty right hand and
push it down inside the sock. Push it all the way to the bottom,
pushing the bill down with it. Then bring the bill up out of the sock.
Show it, and drop the sock to the table. With both hands, quickly
unroll the bill, hold it spread between them, and say, "That's really
socking your money away."

Unrolling sock
between hands. . .

Hidden bill
...leaves bill
hidden in fingers.

Top of sock
is turned down
as cutf
over fingers.
 Million-to-One Wish

HOW IT LOOKS
"Would you believe I spent a dollar for these?" you ask, as you
take two plain index ftle cards from an envelope and put them on
the table. "They're supposed to be Magic Wishing Cards-but I
don't see anything magic about them."
With both hands empty, you pick up the cards. You show each
of them, front and back, and stack them together in one hand. "The
directions say that you get only one wish. Once in a lifetime. But
you can wish for a million dollars, a trip around the world, anything
you want. All you have to do is tap the cards." As you speak, you
tap the cards. "That's silly. I never should have bought them. Do
you know what I really wishP I wish I had my dollar back."
You lift off the top card and a dollar bill suddenly appears
between them! "Oh, no!" you say, as you open the dollar. "I could
have wished for a million-and I settled for a buck!"

WHAT YOU NEED

Three 3-by-S-inch ruled index cards; double-faced (sticky both
bill; an envelope to hold the cards;
sides) transparent tape; a dollar
scissors.

THE SECRET
One of the cards has a pocket where the folded bill is hidden,
and you secretly slide the dollar out while showing both sides of
each card and stacking them together.
To make it, cut straight across the top red line of one card with
the scissors, cutting off the part above that line. Take a second card
and fasten strips of double-faced tape to its face at the Ieft and right
edges, from the red line down to the bottom. Attach the cut-short
card to the face of the sticky-taped card, below the red line. Make
sure the side and bottom edges are squared so the two look like a
single card. This leaves a pocket opening along the red line of what
22
 Million-to-One Wish 23

is now the double card. The printed red line helps hide the edge
of the opening.
Turn the bill with its narrow ends top and bottom. Fold it in
half from top to bottom, and again in half the same way. Slide it into
the pocket of the card until all but about Yt inch of the bill is inside
the pocket. Turn that card over facedown, with the pocketed bill
under the bottom edge. Put the remaining single card on top of it,
and put them together into the facedown envelope.

WHAT YOU DO
Take out the envelope, hold it fat, and remove the two cards
together. Talk about the Magic Wishing Cards, and drop the en-
velope on the table. Keeping the cards facedown, put the top (sin-
gle) card on the table, and then put the double card down on top
of that.
Hold your empty left hand out in front of you, palm up and
ftngertips toward the right. Show your empty right hand, and pick
up the double card from the table, with its pocketed bill still hidden
underneath. Put it on your left ffngers and hold it with your thumb
lightly on top. Now pick up the single card and slide it in under your
left thumb, on top of and slightly overlapping the Ieft edge of the
double card. Hold them both fat in your left hand.
Take the right edge of the bottom (double) card between your
right thumb and ffngers to slide that card out of your left hand. A.r
Eou slide it out, secretly press your left ffngers up on the edge of
the bill so it is drawn out of the pocket and stays in your left hand,
under the other card that is still in that hand.
With your right hand, show the front and back of the double
card. (The now-empty pocket is fat and won't be noticed at a quick
glance.) Slide it back under the left-hand card, between that card
and the bill that lies hidden on your left ffngers.
Take the top card from your left hand and show both sides of
that. Slide it baek under the left-hand card, but this time slide it in
under the bill. That leaves the bill hidden between the two cards
in your left hand.
Tap the cards three times with your right index ffnger, and say,
"That's silly. I never should have bought them. Do you know what
I really wish? I wish I had my dollar back."
Lift off the top card and reveal the dollar that suddenly has
24 With Dollar Bills

appeared between them. "Oh, no!" you say, as you open out the
dollar. "I could have wished for a million-but I settled for a buck!"

Short card is stuck

to face of taped card;
I
folded bill is in pocket.

Single
Card ...r> Both held flat-
bill is in pocket of bottom card.

Double
<i Cafd

Left fingers keep bill

that is pulled out of pocket,
as right hand
slides out bottom card.

Suddenly a dollar bill

appears between
the magic wishing cards!
 The Money Cutter

HOW IT LOOKS
You borrow a dollar bill and slide it into a fat paper tube. The
tube covers only the center of the bill, Ieaving its top and bottom
ends in full view. "You've probably seen some magician on televi-
sion perform the famous illusion of sawing somebody in half," you
say, as you fold the paper in half from top to bottom, with the bill
inside it. "But I'll bet you've never seen George Washington sawed
in half."
You take a pair of scissors and slowly cut right through the
center of the folded paper and the dollar, cutting them in two.
"Well, now you have . . . the man on the dollar, who did some
cutting up himself when he chopped those cherry trees!"
Opening the cut-apart paper, you pull out the dollar, undam-
aged and together again. "There he is, back in one piece," you say,
as you return the borrowed bill. "One whole dollar, almost as good
as new."

WHAT YOU NEED

A piece of fairly stiff paper, cut to a size 3 inches wide and 7
inches long; transparent tape; scissors.

THE SECRET
The tube has a slit across the back, and the bill's bottom end
comes through it to the outside, so when it is folded you can cut
through only the paper, without cutting the dollar. By cutting the
folded tube in half, you also destroy the slit,leaving no secret to be
discovered if the cut-apart paper is examined at the end of the trick.
You will need a new tube each time you do it, but they are easy
to make. Just turn the paper lengthwise, fold it in half left to right,
and crease the fold. Open it, cut a horizontal slit across the center
of the left half to within about r/t inch of each side edge, and close
it again. Fasten it together by sticking half the width of a /z-inch
26 With Dollar Bills

strip of tape down the right edge, beyond the slit, and bending the
other half-width around to the front. Put it in a jacket pocket with
its slit toward your body, and have the scissors handy.

WHAT YOU DO
Take out the fat paper tube and drop it on the table, with its
slit side down. Ask to borrow a dollar bill and put that on the table.
Pick up the tube, keeping its back toward you, and hold it upright
with your left hand, ffngers around the front and thumb at the back.
The tube's bottom edge should be behind your left ffngers. Squeeze
the sides of the tube a little, so it opens at the top.
Pick up the bill with your right hand. Slide its bottom end down
inside the tube and secretly on out through the slit at the back. Pull
that end down with your right hand until the tube is at about the
center of the bill. Put your right thumb on the part of the bill that
is outside at the back to hold it fat against the tube, and take the
right edge of the tube between that thumb and your ffngers. Hold
the tube up with your right hand to show it. From the front it looks
as if the center of the bill is inside the tube, with the two ends
showing top and bottom.
"You've probably seen some magician on television perform
the famous illusion of sawing somebody in half," you say. Use both
hands to fold the tube in half at the slit by bending the top half
down toward you. This folds the dollar with it, bringing both ends
of the bill together at the bottom. Crease the center fold.
Now turn the whole folded paper around, back to front, to
show the other side, and keep it held that way. (This puts it into
position for cutting it, with what is really the empty part of the tube
at the back.) Say, "But I'll bet you've never seen George Washing-
ton sawed in half."
Hold the folded tube with your left thumb and ffngers. Take
the scissors with your right hand. Open them and slide the blade
up under the center of the tube at its right edge, betueen the paper
and the folded bill, so that you will cut only the paper. Slowly cut
right across the top center of the folded tube, cutting it in half.
Keep the cut-apart halves held together with your left hand.
With your right hand, put down the scissors as you say, "Well now
you have . . . the man on the dollar, who did some cutting up himself
when he chopped down those cherry trees!"
 The Money Cutter 27

-- =----.
r!
ir
----'r!
Fold at slit I
I
<rl> I

Front: Bill in Back: Bill comes

flat paper tube. Fold top down and bring
out through slit. both ends together
at bottom-then
turn it around,
back to front.

Slide scissors up
between back fold
and bill; cut tube
in half across center.

Cut-apart tube is opened.

Right hand pulls bill

down and out
to show it whole.

Lift the end of the bill that is toward you with your right
thumb, placing your fingers on the back half of the tube to hold that
and the bill together. Unfold them from bottom to top to open the
cut-apart tube. Keep it held upright with your left hand. Take the
28 With Dollar Bills

bottom end of the bill with your right thumb and ffngers and pull
it down out of the paper.
Drop the cut halves on the table. Turn Washington's picture to
the front and hold up the undamaged bill between both hands.
"There he is, back in one piece," you say, as you give the dollar to
the person who loaned it. "One whole dollar, almost as good as
new."
 + *

*
+
+
*

+
*'The Pen That Writes Any Color *'

HOW IT LOOKS
"Have you seen the new rainbow pens?" you ask someone, as
you take out a black pen and a stack of small blank cards. "With this
one pen, and only one ink cylinder, I can write any color. Would
you like to see me write red?" On the top card of the stack, you
print in black letters, RED. "There, that's 'red,' isn't it?"
Beneath the word red you print the black letters nlur, and
beneath'those, in black, cREEN, and you say, "There's 'blue' and
'green."'At this point, the spectator thinks it is all a joke. But you
ask what his initials are, and you print those at the bottom of the
card, then put the card facedown on the table.
"I'll autograph this for you as a souvenir," you explain, as you
write your name across the back of the card. "You can keep it to
show your friends that you were a witness to magic. Because this
really ds a magic pen. It does write in any color."
You turn the card faceup. His own initials are still printed in
black at the bottom of the card, but the three words have changed
from black and are printed in colors. RED is printed in red ink, trLun
in blue, and the letters GREEN are colored green.

WHAT YOU NEED

Black, red, blue, and green pens; a dozen business cards or
index cards cut that size; a wide, fat rubber band; scissors.

THE SECRET
The words are printed in color on the upper part of the second
card in the stack, which is covered with a short piece of blank card,
held by the rubber band, and the two cards are switched when the
stack is turned facedown.
Stack all the cards together, narrow ends top and bottom. Cut
I inch off the bottom of one of the cards and put that short card
aside. On the ffrst card of the stack, Yz inch down from the top, print

30
 The Pen That Writes Any Color 31

Flat rubber
band
Extra card is
cut short and
covers colored
words.

Bottom part of other card

You print in black and print

his initials at bottom-
then turn stack to show him.

Right hand takes

initialed end and
I draws card from stack.
32 Comedy Tricks

nup with the red pen, beneath that BLUE with the blue pen, and
beneath that cREEN with the green one. Put the short blank card
over it on the face of the stack, with its top corners even with the
others. Wrap the rubber band around the stack, with the bottom
edge of the rubber band lying exactly across the bottom edge of the
short card.
There is now what looks like a single blank card at the face of
the rubber-banded stack. Put the cards in a left pocket and the
black pen in another pocket.

WHAT YOU DO
Take out the cards and pen. Hold the stack in your left palm,
with the rubber-banded end toward you. Talk about the "magic
color pen" and offer to write red with it. Print the letters nno in
black ink near the top of the card, about the same place and size
you printed them in red on the hidden card. Show the person the
printing, and say, "There, that's 'red,'isn't it?" Beneath that, print
BLUE, and under that GREEN, and say, "There's'blue'and'green.'"
Whatever his reaction to the 'joke," go right on and ask what
his initials are. Print those in the space at the bottom, below the
rubber band, really the bottom part of the second card.
With your right hand, turn the stack around in your left hand,
by swinging the rubber-banded end around in a semicircle from
back to front to show him his initials. Keep the stack in your left
hand and put the pen on the table.
Lift the initialed end of the face card between your right
thumb and index finger. Draw that card out of the stack, turning
both hands as you do that so that the stack and card are facedown.
Put the card facedown on the table. Drop the rest of the stack into
your left pocket and pick up the pen from the table.
"I'll autograph this for you as a souvenir," you say, as you write
your name on the back of the card on the table. "You can keep it
to show your friends you were a witness to magic. Because this
really ds a magic pen."
Turn the card over and reveal that the words printed in black
have magically changed to three different colors. He can see that
his initials are still on the card. Hand it to him, pick up the pen, and
say, "It does write in any color."
 The Zero Spel!

HOW IT LOOKS
"This is my voice-controlled number responder," you say, as
you take out a packet of numbered cards and show them. "Each
card has a number from zero to nine, and they're all mixed up." You
turn them facedown, mix them some more, and hold them stacked
together. "I'll show you how it works. It's very simple. AII I do is
spell out a number."
You move cards from the top of the stack to the bottom, one
for each letter, as you spell aloud, "O-N-E." When you show the last
card spelled out, it has the number I on it, and you lay that aside
on the table. In the same way, moving one card from top to bottom
for each letter, you spell aloud, "T-'\ry'-O," and show the 2, then spell
"T-H-R-E-E" and show the 3, putting each of those aside.
Now you hand the remaining packet of cards to someone and
ask him to try spelling out "F-O-U-R." But when he does, he comes
up with the card marked 0!Taking turns, you each continue to spell
out the numbers. Each time he tries, he gets the 0. Each time you
do it, you get the card with the right number. At the end, the only
card left is the 0, and as you hand it to him, you say, "You can't miss
this time, because even if you spell nothing-you still get zero."

WHAT YOU NEED

Ten blank index ffle cards or other small cards; a black marking
pen; a pencil; a rubber band.

THE SECRET
The cards are stacked ahead of time so the trick works automat-
ically if they are spelled out in the way that will be explained. To
set it up, mark big numbers from 0 to I on the faces of the cards,
and then stack them, facedown from top to bottom, in this order:
3, 5, l, 7,9, 2,0, 8, 6, 4. On the back of the top card of the stack,
make a light pencil dot at the topJeft and lower-right corners. Put
33
34 Comedy Tricks

a rubber band around the cards to keep them in order and place
them in one of your pockets.

WHAT YOU DO
Remove the rubber band, hold the cards faceup to show the
numbers, and explain that they are numbered from 0 to 9 and are
all mixed up. As if to mix them more, turn the stack facedown, and
move cards in batches of two or three at a time from the top to the
bottom until the card with the secret pencil dots on it is back on
top again. This leaves them all stacked in their original order. Hold
the facedown cards stacked together in your left hand.
"I'll show you how it works," you say. "It's very simple. All I do
is spell out a number." Take one card off the top, place it at the
bottom under all the rest, and say, "0." Take the next card from the
top, place it at the bottom, and say, "N." Say "E" as you turn the
next card faceup and show the number I on it. Put that aside on
the table. Spell "T-W-O" the same way, moving one card from top
to bottom for each letter, and turning the last one faceup to show
it is the 2.Lay the 2 on the table. Then spell out "T-H-R-E-E," show
the 3, and put that on the table.
Now hand the remaining stack to someone and ask him to spell
out "F-O-U-R." But when he spells it out, the card he turns up will
be the 0 instead of the 4. Turn the 0 facedown and place it back on
top of the stack. (Whenetser he turns up the 0, alwags put it back
on top instead of putting it aside on the table.) Then you take the
cards and spell out "F-O-U-R" and show the 4.
Place the 4 on the table, hand him the remaining stack, and ask
him to spell "F-I-V-E." He again will get the 0. Place it on top, and
you spell "F-I-V-E" and get the 5. Lay the 5 aside, give him the
stack, ask him to spell out "S-I-X," and he gets the 0.
Put the 0 back on top, and you spell out "S-I-X," and show the
6, which you lay aside. But this one time, you keep the stack and
also spell "S-E-V-E-N," turning up the 7 and putting that on the
table. Then give him the remaining stack, ask him to spell
"E-I-G-H-T," and he gets the 0. Put it on top, take the cards, spell
out "E-I-G-H-T," show the 8, and put it aside.
There are now only two cards left in the stack. He takes the
cards, moves them singly from top to bottom as before, and spells
out "N-I-N-E," but as always, he turns up the 0. You put that back
 The Zero Spell 35

on top, take the cards, and spell "N-I-N-E," turning up the card to
show the 9. You lay that on the table, and as you hand him the one
remaining card, you say, "You can't miss this time, because even if
you spell nothing-you still get zero."
 Spooky Tapping Pencil

HOW IT LOOKS
"I've captured aghost," you say, as you show a paper cup. "He's
a baby ghost who lives in this cup. Being a ghost, he's invisible, of
course. But he likes to play games, so I've given him some play-
things-this pencil and some pennies."
You show a pencil and tip ffve pennies out of the cup and count
them aloud as you place them on the table. Then you ask someone
to call out a number from I to 5, and you pick up that number of
pennies and count them back into the cup. You stand the pencil in
the cup. As if speaking to the ghost, you say: "Now tell us, please,
how many pennies are in your cup? If you're there-just tap out the
number."
The pencil lifts itself upright inside the cup and then falls back
against the rim, sounding a tap. It does that several times, tapping
out the number. After the pencil has ffnished tapping, you turn the
cup over. But only the pennies spill out. The pencil hangs sus-
pended inside the mouth-down cup.
"The ghost doesn't want to let go of the pencil," you say, as you
shake the upside-down cup. You ask someone to call out to the ghost
to let go of it. As soon as the person shouts, the pencil drops free!

WHAT YOU NEED

A small (5 ounce) paper cup; a full-length pencil; ffve pennies;
scissors.

THE SECRET
The cup has a small hole in the back that is covered by your
thumb. When you stand the pencil in the cup, the pointed end
comes out beneath your thumb. Secretly pressing that end down
makes the pencil lift and tap, and keeps it from falling out when you
turn the cup upside down.
Cut a small hole, just big enough for the pencil to go through,
36
 Spooky Tapping Pencil 37

in one side of the cup about I inch up from the bottom. Drop the
ffve pennies into the cup and have it on the table, with the hole to
the back, and the pencil lying next to it.

WHAT YOU DO
Pick up the cup with your left hand, by putting your ffngers
around the front of it and the tip of your thumb over the hole at
the back. As you talk about the "ghost," show both sides of the cup.
With your right hand, pick up the pencil, show that, and put it back
on the table. Turn the cup over from left to right to spill the pennies
out into your right hand. Count them aloud as you place them on
the table, one at a time.
Ask someone to call out a number from I to 5. Pick up the
called number of pennies and count aloud again as you drop those
back into the cup, one by one. Hold the cup upright with your left
hand, thumb at the back.
Take the pencil near its top end with your right hand and hold
it point down. Put it into the cup and stir the pennies around in the
bottom. As you do that, secretly push the pointed end out through
the hole, until the entire sharpened part of the pencil is under your
left thumb. Then rest the upper part of the pencil against the front
rim and remove your right hand. Keep the cup held high in front
of you so nobody can look down inside.
As if talking to the ghost, you say: "Now tell us, please, how
many pennies are in your cup? If you're there-just tap out the
number." Secretly press your thumb down on the point, which lifts
the top end of the pencil upright in the cup. Hold it a moment, and
then relax your thumb to let the pencil fall and tap against the front
rim. Say, "One . . ." Secretly press the point to lift the pencil erect
again. Hold it, and then let it drop forward to tap. "Two . . ."
Continue to tap out whatever number of pennies are in the cup.
When the pencil has tapped out the number, tip the cup over
from left to right and spill the pennies out onto the table. But keep
your thumb pressed against the pencil point, so that the pencil stays
inside the cup and doesn't fall out with the pennies. Turn the cup
all the way over, mouth down, and lift it with the pencil still cling-
ing inside it.
GentlE shake the upside-down cup, and say, "The ghost
doesn't want to let go of the pencil. . . . He's hanging on to it." Ask
38 Comedy Tricks

someone to call out to the ghost to let it go. When the person calls
out, relax the pressure of your thumb and let the pencil fall free to
the table.
Scoop up the pennies, drop them back into the cup, rattle them
around, and put the cup and pencil away as you say, "Time for him
to go back to sleep. He's had enough exercise for today."

Pencil lifts upright and

falls back to tap out
number of pennies

Hole in
back of cup

Thumb presses
on pointed end.

"Ghost" hangs on to pencil

when cup is tipped over
upside down!
 The Sneeze Stopper

HOW IT LOOKS
You hold up a paper tube so those watching can look through
it and see that it is empty. "This is a magic sneeze stopper," you say.
"It's a handy gadget to have around in case you feel a sneeze
coming on and want to stop yourself from sneezing."
You pick up a pencil and drop that through the empty tube
several times. "The idea is that if you concentrate on dropping the
pencil, it will distract you and you won't sneeze," you say. "But if
it doesn't work and you sneeze anyhow, this gadget will give you
a tissue to sneeze in-quicker than you can say'Ah . . . choo!'That's
what's magic about it."
As you speak, you quickly unroll the tube and a facial tissue
magically appears inside what was the empty paper.

WHAT YOU NEED

An 8Yz-by-ll-inch sheet of typing paper; two paper clips; a
full-length wooden pencil.

THE SECRET
The paper is rolled up and fastened in a way that makes an
extra tube inside the outer tube. It is wide open at the front end so
the tube can be looked through and seen empty. But it tapers to a
smaller opening at the back end, which leaves a space in which the
tissue can be hidden.
To make the tube, start with the narrow edges of the paper at
the top andbottom. Roll the top edge down one turn to form a tube
about I inch in diameter. Hold it in place with your thumb inside.
Then bring the bottom edge of the paper looselE up and over the
top of the small tube, until that bottom edge is outside directly
above the inner edge.
Fasten a paper clip over those edges to hold them together. At
that end, there should now be a space of about Yz inchbetween the
inner and outer tube.
40 Comedy Tricks

Turn the tube upright to bring the other end to the top. With
your ffngers inside, open that end until its edges are together and
there is only a single wide opening. Fasten those edges with the
other paper clip. That will be the front end of the tube when you
do the trick.
Fold the facial tissue diagonally in half. Starting with one cor-
ner, tuck it down into what will be the back end of the tube, into
the space between the inner and outer sides. Smooth the inside of
the tube with the eraser end of the pencil, making sure there is no
gap between the edges at the front end.
At the start of the trick, have the tube on the table, with its
front end toward those watching, and the pencil lying beside it.

WHAT YOU DO
Pick up the tube at its center with your palm-down left hand.
Keep its back end toward you and rotate your wrist to the left-so
as to turn that hand over, palm upward. Hold the tube in front of
you at the eye level of those watching, tilting its front end toward
them and slowly moving it across so they can look through it and
see that it is empty.
As you talk about the "sneeze stopper," tilt the tube upright
with your left hand to bring its back end to the bottom, and hold
it about 6 inches above the tabletop. Pick up the pencil with your
right hand and drop it into the top of the tube, so that it falls down
through it to the table.
Dropping the pencil through the tube helps persuade viewers
that there is nothing inside. Do that several times, as you explain,
"The idea is that if you concentrate on dropping the pencil, it will
distract you and you won't sneeze. . . . But if it doesn't work and
you still sneeze anyhow, this gadget will give you a tissue to sneeze
in-quicker than you can say'Ah . . . choo!"'
Tilt your left hand over to the left, palm upward, so the side
of the tube is toward those watching. With your right hand, remove
the two paper clips, one from each end, and drop them on the table.
Take the top edge of the paper with your right thumb and ffngers
and quickly pull it straight up, so that the tube unrolls in your left
ffngers and the tissue suddenly appears. Hold up the tissue to show
it and say, "That's what's magic about it."
At the end there is just the plain sheet of paper, with no secret
 The Sneeze Stopper 41

for anybody to discover. (With a different magical story, you can use
the same sort of a tube for other tricks-to produce a ribbon, a small
silk handkerchief, or several dollar bills.)
Paper clip
over these
edges

Extra tube is
inside outer tube.
BACK END

Top edge is rolled into

smal! tube- Paper clip
then bottom edge is over these
brought up around it. edges

Tissue
in here

stDE vtEw

You quickly unroll tube

and tissue suddenly
appears!
 The Strongman Flea

HOW IT LOOKS
You take a small envelope from your pocket, open it, and dump
some nails on the table. "Carpenter's nails," you say, as you spread
them out. You ask someone to point to one of them. "We'll use the
one you choose."
Dropping the chosen nail into your empty hand, you close your
ffngers and rest your ffst on the table. "I brought along my trained
fea to show you." With your other hand, you pretend to pluck a fea
from your shoulder, holding up your pinched-together thumb and
index ffnger as if to show it.
"He used to belong to a circus tiger. He lived on the tiger's
back," you say. "Every day the fea would watch the circus strong-
man perform, and he decided to become a strongman, too." You
pretend to push the fea into the side of the ffst that is resting on
the table. "He's pretty good at it-when you consider his size. He
can bend solid steel bars, just like the strongman in the circus."
You slowly open your ffst and show that the chosen straight nail
has become bent in half!Handing it to the person who chose it, you
tell him, "Try to unbend it and you'll see it doesn't bend easily.
. . . But if you feel something bite you, don't slap it!That's my fea!"

WHAT YOU NEED

Any ordinary small envelope, sealed and then cut in half hori-
zontally; a dozen small (lYe inch) Iook-alike nails, one of them bent
to a right,angle with hammer or pliers.

THE SECRET
You get the bent nail hidden in your ffngers when you take the
envelope from your pocket, and switch the bent one for the chosen
straight nail when you drop it into your other hand. Then you get
rid of the straight one by leaving it with the other nails you push
aside on the table.
42
 The Strongman Flea 43

To set it up, put the bent nail into your right-hand jacket
pocket. Put the straight nails into the half-envelope, fold down the
top of it, and put that in the same pocket.

WHAT YOU DO
Reach into your pocket and get the bent nail hidden in your
right hand by closing your pinkie and ring ffnger around the nail.
With your thumb and other ffngers, take out the envelope. Transfer
it to your left hand and open the top of it. Turn your left hand over
to spill out the nails. Discard the envelope.
Point your right index ffnger down at the nails and spread them
out a little. Ask someone to point to one of them. Pick up the one
he chooses with your right thumb and index and middle ffngers and
with your thumb, hold it pressed against the inside of those ffnger-
tips. Show your empty left hand, and hold it cupped a few inches
below the right hand.
You now pretend to drop the chosen nail into your left hand.
But you really keep that one where it is, pressed to the inside of
your ffngers with your thumb, and open your other ffngers to drop
the hidden bent nail. Instantly close your left ffngers around it and

\ Bent nail
a,
is hidden in
closed fingers.
Thumb presses
chosen nail
against inside of
index and middle fingers.

Thumb keeps
chosen nail, and
fingers open
to drop bent one.
44 Comedy Tricks

lift that hand up and away. At thesame time, bring your right hand
down to the table and brush the remaining nails aside, as if to clear
a space. Secretly leave the chosen nail with the others as you push
them aside. Turn your left ffst over, knuckles down, and rest it in
the cleared space on the table.
"I brought along my trained fea to show you," you say. Reach
up with your right hand, as if plucking an imaginary fea from your
left shoulder. Pinch your thumb and index finger together and hold
them up to show it. Bring that hand down to the left ffst resting on
the table and pretend to put the fea into the side of the left ffst.
"He's pretty good at it-when you consider his size," you say.
"He can bend solid steel bars, just like the strongman in the circus."
Turn your left hand over and slowly open your ffngers to show the
bent nail. Pick up one of the straight nails from the table and hold
it up beside the bent one, so those watching can see what the "flea"
has done.
Then hand the nail to the person who chose it and tell him,
"Try to unbend it and you'll see it doesn't bend easily. . . . But if
something bites you, don't slap it! That's my fea!"

Hand clears space and

leaves chosen nail with others.

H
W

You pretend to put flea

into side of fist.

Then turn hand over to show

flea has bent the nail!
 Aunty Gravity's Ruler

HOW IT LOOKS
You show a ruler and an empty paper bag, then put the ruler
into the bag so that the ruler's top end sticks up out of it, and close
the mouth of the bag around it. Holding the bag with one hand
around the mouth, you tip it over, mouth downward. The ruler
slides a few inches down out of the bag and you say, "When the
ruler falls dousn-that's gravity."
You push the ruler back into the bag and turn the bag upright,
mouth toward the ceiling. "But when it falls up," you say, "that's
magic!"
Slowly and mysteriously the ruler begins to rise, inching itself
up until it has almost climbed out of the bag. You remove it, drop
it on the table, and again show the bag empty. "That's one I learned
from my aunt," you say. "We used to call her . . . Aunty Gravity."

WHAT YOU NEED

A fat-bottomed brown paper bag about 10 inches high; a foot-
long wooden or plastic ruler; a rubber band; a l/z-inch square of
thin cardboard; transparent tape; scissors.

THE SECRET
The ruler is pushed up by the rubber band. This is attached to
the little square of cardboard, fastened just inside the top of the bag,
where it is hidden under your ffngers when you hold the bag open
to show it empty.
Make two vertical cuts in the top edge of the cardboard, about
Yz inch apart and each about /z inch deep. Hook one end of the
rubber band through the two slits, so the rest of the band hangs
down loose in front. Tape the cardboard to the inside front of the
bag, centered about I inch down from the top. Use three strips of
tape to hold the cardboard tightly in place, one down the center
and the others across its top and bottom edges.
46 Comedy Tricks

Fold the bag fat and then fold it in thirds from bottom to top,
and put it in one of your pockets. You can have the ruler on the
table or carry it in an inside jacket pocket.

WHAT YOU DO
Show the ruler and drop it on the table. Take out the bag, open
it, and hold it upright. Turn it so you can hold it with your left hand
at the front, thumb at the outside and ffngers down fat inside the
bag, covering the little cardboard square and rubber band.
Take the opposite side of the bag the same way with your right
hand, ffngers down fat inside and thumb outside. Holding the
mouth open between your hands, tip the bag upside down and
shake it, and then lift it up to hold the mouth of it toward the front
and show the inside empty.
Tip the bag upright again and remove your left hand for a
moment. Turn the bag to bring the side with the rubber band to
the front. Take the front with your left hand, thurnb doun inside
and fingers outside. Hold the bag with your left hand and pick up
the ruler with your right hand.
Put the ruler vertically down inside the front of the bag until
its bottom end is on the loop of the rubber band. Push the ruler
down just enough to stretch the rubber band a little. Move your left
thumb over to hold the ruler ffrmly in place against the inside top
of the bag, and remove your right hand. With your right hand,
crush the mouth of the bag shut around the ruler. Hold it ffrmly and
take away your left hand. (Your right hand holds the mouth of the
bag that way through the rest of the trick.)
Bring your left hand to the top of the ruler and slouslE push it
down into the bag as far as it will go. With your right hand, turn the
bag over, mouth downward. Ease the pressure of your right ffngers
slightly, so that the hidden rubber band pushes the ruler out a few
inches, and say, "When the ruler falls dousn-that's gravity." With
your left hand, slowly push the ruler back up into the bag, and
squeeze your right ftngers around the mouth of the bag to keep it
held there.
Now turn the bag mouth upward again. Hold it out in front of
you and say, "But when it falls up-that's magic!" Gently release
the pressure of your right ffngers around the mouth of the bag so
that the ruler oery slowlE begins to rise up out of the top. Allow it
 Aunty Gravity's Ruler 47

to inch its way up out of the bag until the band has pushed it as far
as it will go.
Finally remove the ruler with your left hand. Show it, drop it
on the table, and open the bag. Put the ffngers of both hands down
inside the top of the bag, covering the rubber band as you did at
the start of the trick, and hold the mouth of the bag open to the
front to show it empty. "That's one I learned from my aunt," you
say, as you fold up the bag and put it away in your pocket. "We used
to call her . . . Aunty Gravity."

Taped inside
top of bag

Bottom end goes

into loop of rubber band.

"When it falls down-

that's gravaty."
"But when it falls up-
that's magic!"
 Rap Wrap Ribbon

HOW IT LOOKS
"Here's a quick way to wrap a gift for someone," you say, as you
show a little cardboard box. You open both ends and hold it up so
those watching can look right through it and see that there is noth-
ing inside. As added proof that it is empty, you squeeze it fat, then
straighten it and close it up again.
"All you do is rap it like this." You tap the box three times on
the table, and say, "Rap . . . rap . . . rap! . . . Well, I rapped it, didn't
I? What did you expect, bright red ribbon? For that, I'd need
magic."
You snap your fingers, open the box, and magically pull out a
long red ribbon!

WHAT YOU NEED

A little cardboard box only a few inches high, with fap open-
ings at both ends; 2 yards of Yc-inch-wide red satin ribbon; a wire
sandwich-bag twist-tie; transparent tape.

THE SECRET
The wound-up ribbon is hidden on the inside of the bottom fap
when you hold up the box to show it empty.
To prepare the box, remove any little side flaps at the top and
bottom. If both end flaps are not attached to the same side of the
box, carefully cut one fap off. Reattach it with tape, on the inside
of the fap, to the opposite side of the box. Crease faps against the
sides of the box so they will hang down when opened. Fasten the
wire twist-tie vertically to the inside center of the bottom fap by
running a long strip of tape across it.
Wind the ribbon by coiling it around the index and middle
ffngers of your left hand in even overlapping turns. Remove the coil
from your ffngers and squeeze it fat. Fold the loose end of the
ribbon from the center back against the fattened coil. Place the
48
 Rap Wrap Ribbon 49

ribbon horizontally on the twist-tie and bend the wires to hold it

tight. Close both faps of the box and stand it on its bottom on the
table, turned so the hinged part of the faps is toward the front.

WHAT YOU DO
Pick up the box with your right hand, sliding your pinkie under
it to keep the bottom fap in place. Hold it up to show all sides and
say, "Here's a quick way to wrap a gift for someone."
Turn your left palm toward you, thumb pointing to the ceiling

Top flap

stDE vrEw

Twist-tie is taped inside bottom flap.

Bottom flap

Bottom flap opens

down into hand.

BACK VI

Box is tipped over

forward so they can
look right through.
Squeezed flat
50 Comedy Tricks

and ffngertips to the right. Place the box in that hand, holding it
with its bottomJeft front corner at the crotch of your thumb, so the
bottom front edge lies along the inside of your index ffnger. With
your right hand, open the bottom fap and let it fall down against
your left palm. Close your left ffngertips around the right edge of
the fap to hold it in your palm.
Open the top fap wide and tip the box over forward until the
open top end is toward the front. (Your left hand doesn't move; it
stays as it was, keeping the bottom fap down in its palm.) Hold up
the box so those watching can look right through it. Collapse it by
pushing it over to the right until it is squeezed fat, and then square
it up again. Now tip it back toward you to bring its bottom down
into your left palm, over the bottom fap. With your right hand, tuck
in that fap, then close the top flap.
Take the box with your right hand again, sliding your pinkie
under the bottom to keep it shut. "All you do is rap it like this," you
say. Tap it three times on the table, really striking the knuckle of
your little ffnger against the tabletop. "Rap . . . rap . . . rap!" Rest
the box on your left hand. "Well, I rapped it, didn't I? What did you
expect, bright red ribbonP For that, I'd need magic."
Snap your right ffngers over the box, open the top fap, and
reach into it. Grip the loose end of ribbon between your ffrst two
ffngers and pull it up, which opens the twist-tie. Let the coil unroll
inside the box as you slowly draw the ribbon out to its full length.

You open empty box and

pull out long red ribbon!
 *l
+ *
 Crisscross

HOW IT LOOKS
"These circles and crosses play their own magical game of
Follow the Leader," you say, as you show twelve small cards, six
marked with circles and six with crosses. "Twelve is a mystical
number-twelve hours on the clock, twelve months of the year,
twelve signs of the zodiac, and exactly twelve of these."
You count them, deal them into separate piles of circles and
crosses, and put one circle and one cross faceup above the piles to
act as markers. "Those are the leaders," you explain. "Wherever
they are moved, the crosses and circles will follow."
You move the two marker cards, switching them right and left
to put the cross where the circle was and the circle where the cross
was. The two piles are left where they were, but when you turn the
top card of each pile faceup, they match the two switched-around
markers!
You continue to do that, switching around either the markers
or the piles below them four more times, and ffnally crisscrossing
them all diagonally. Every time, the circles and crosses magically
seem to follow the leaders, changing places so they always match!

WHAT YOU NEED

Six 3-by-S-inch index ffle cards, each cut in half to make twelve
cards 272 inches by 3 inches; a black marking pen.

THE SECRET
The way you count the twelve cards at the start of the trick
secretly stacks them in order for all the mixing and matching.
On the faces of six, draw a large circle; on the other six, an X.
Stack the two sets together faceup with the crosses on top, and put
them in one of your pockets.

52
 Crisscross 53

WHAT YOU DO
Take out the cards and hold them faceup. Deal the crosses, one
at a time, into a faceup pile at the left of the table, counting aloud
as you deal. "Six crosses." Deal the circles into a faceup pile at the
right, again counting aloud. "And six circles."
Pick up the crosses, drop them on top of the circles, turn them
all facedown, and hold the packet in your Ieft hand. "Six and six
make twelve," you say. "Twelve is a mystical number-twelve
hours on the clock, twelve months of the year, twelve signs of the
zodiac, and exactly twelve of these."
Start counting them aloud, pulling them off the packet one at
a time with your right thumb, so that they are counted into your
right hand one on top of another. (This reverses their original
order.)
"One, two, three, four, ffve, six, seven, eight . . ." you count.
Then, as if to save time, you spread out the four cards that remain
in your left hand, show them, and say, ". . . and four make twelve."
Add those four to the bottom of the cards in your right hand and
square up the packet
(The counting should seem casual, as if you are simply showing
that the crosses and circles do add up to the "mystical number."
Actually counting them that way rearranges them so that the rest
of the trick works out almost automatically.)
Now, with the packet still facedown, count six cards off the top
into your right hand uithout reoersing their order. Do that by
pushing them off with your left thumb, one at a time, and taking
them between your right thumb and ffngers, one card under an-
other.
Square the six, turn them faceup, put them at the right of the
table, and say, "The circles go here." Square up the six that remain
in your left hand, turn those faceup, put them at the left of the table,
and say, "The crosses go here."
Remove the top card of each pile to serve as a marker. Put it
faceup on the table a few inches above its pile. "These are the
Ieaders," you explain. "Wherever they are moved, the crosses and
circles will follow."
Turn the two piles facedown. Switch the positions of the two
markers above them, by moving the cross to the right and circle to
the left. Then remove the top card of each pile, turn those faceup,
54 Here To There

Eight counted off, one

on top of another-
reverses original order.

Last four spread and

shown-then put on
bottom of eight in
right hand.

First match: Top cards turned

faceup match switched markers.

8@
 Crisscross 55

and show that they have followed their leaders. A cross is beneath
the cross and a circle is beneath the circle. Place those two cards
faceup on top of their markers.
Start the second match the same way,by switching the left and
right positions of the markers. Then turn the two entire piles faceup
to show that thepce card of each pile matches the marker that was
moved above it. Remove those two cards from their piles, put them
on their markers, and turn both piles facedown again.
Next time, instead of switching the positions of the markers,
switch the two piles, right to the left and left to the right. Remove
the top cards of both piles, turn them faceup, and show that they
match the unmoved markers.
Continue switching around either the piles or the markers
several times and showing that they match each time, until ffnally
there are only two cards left facedown. "This time," you say, "we'll
really crisscross them all."
Switch their positions by moving them all diagonally, inter-
changing the markers at the top left with the card at the bottom
right, and the markers at the top right with the card at the bottom
left. Turn the two single cards faceup and show that they still have
followed their leaders. The cross is above the crosses and the circle
above the circles!

Final match: Markers and cards

match after all have been
switched diagonally.
 The Name That Walks
Through a Plate

HOW IT LOOKS
"I'd like to borrow something of yours," you say to someone in
your audience, as you hand him a small plate with a pen and paper
on it. "What I want to borrow is your name. Would you please write
your autograph on that paper?"
When he has done that, you ask him to crumple the paper with
his name on it into a ball and to put it on the plate, which y.ou carry
back to your table.
You show two empty paper cups, stack them together, and tip
the paper ball from the plate into the top cup. Then you lift that
cup away, put the plate over the other cup, and stand the cup with
the paper ball in it on top of the plate, so that the plate is between
the two cups.
"Houdini had a famous illusion in which he seemed to walk
through abrick wall," you say. "Your name is about to play Houdini
and walk right through this solid plate. To make the magic happen,
just call your name aloud."
He calls out his name. You lift the top cup and shake it upside
down. The ball of paper with his name on it has vanished from that
cup. Then you lift the plate and pour the paper ball out of the
bottom cup. It has magically passed right through the plate from
the top cup to the bottom one!
You carry the paper ball to the person, so he can open it and
check his signature. "Keep it and show it to your friends," you say,
"when you tell them how your name played Houdini."

WHAT YOU NEED

Two small (5 ounce) paper cups; a small plate or saucer;
4-by-6-inch slip of paper; pen or pencil; scissors.

THE SECRET
One cup has no bottom. When the two cups are stacked to-
gether, one inside the other, and the paper ball is dropped into the
56
 The Name That Walks Through a Plate 57

top one, it falls right through into the bottom one.

With scissors, cut the entire bottom from one of the cups, and
trim the edges clean. Stack the bottomless cup inside the other cup
and stand them upright on the table. Have the plate with the pen
and paper on it beside them.

WHAT YOU DO
Take the plate, with pen and paper, to someone in the audi-
ence and have him write his name. Ask him to crumple the paper
into a small ball and to put it on the plate. Don't touch the paper
yourself. Put the pen away in your pocket and carry the plate back
to your table, holding it high so everyone can see the ball of paper
on it.
Pick up the stacked-together cups with your Ieft hand. Lift out
the top cup with your right hand and move your hands apart,
holding one cup in each hand. Be careful to keep the sides of the
cups toward the audience, so as not to reveal that the right-hand
cup has no bottom. Turn them over sidewise, tipping the mouths
of both down toward the center, and shake them upside down to
show they are empty. Drop the right-hand cup back into the other
to stack them together again, and stand them on the table.
Take the plate with your right hand, hold it a few inches above
the cups, and tip the plate so that everyone can see the paper ball
fall down into the top cup. Put the plate on the table. Steady the
cups with your left hand, lift out the top cup with your right hand,
and stand that cup at the right side of the table. (Everyone thinks
the paper ball is in that cup, but since the cup has no bottom the
paper ball really was left behind in the other cup.)
Now put the plate on top of the other cup and stand the right-
hand cup on top of the plate, so the plate is between the two. Talk
about Houdini's illusion of walking through a brick wall and ask the
person who wrote on the paper to call out his name. Then pick up
the top cup, turn it over, and shake it upside down, keeping its side
toward the audience so nobody cdn see it has no bottom. "It's gone!"
you say. "Just like Houdini-the paper with your name has vanished
from here."
Stand that cup upright on the table. With your right hand, lift
the plate away and hold it. Quickly take up the bottom cup with
your left hand, tip it over, and spill the ball of paper out on the plate,
as you say, "It walked right through the solid plate!"
58 Here To There

Drop the cup from your left hand into the bottomless cup on
the table and turn the two stacked-together cups bottom up. (The
inner cup now serves as a bottom for both, hiding the secret that
the outer one was bottomless.) Pick up the paper ball and rest it on
the bottom of the cups.
Display the plate and rap your knuckles against its center.
Then tip the paper ball from the bottom of the cups onto the plate
and take it to the person in the audience so he can open the paper
and check his signature.

Paper with his

name on it is
dropped in
top cup.

lnner cup
has no Top cup is
bottom. Iifted out-
leaving paper
ball in
other cup.

From top
cup to
bottom...

... through the plate!

 The Jumping Circles

HOW IT LOOKS
You take some blank cards and a red pen from your pocket,
draw a red circle on one of the cards, turn it over and print the word
RED on its back. Putting that card facedown at one side of the table,
you place the red pen on top of it.
Then you take out a green pen, draw a green circle on another
card, print the word cREEN on its back, and put that at the other
side of the table with the green pen lying on it.
"If I move these two pens, something very strange will hap-
p€r," you say. You move the red pen over on top of the cREEN card,
and then put the green pen on top of the nnp card. "I haven't
moved the two cards at all, but the two little circles I drew on them
have jumped through the air across the table to follow the colors
of the pens."
You turn the two cards faceup. Magically the green circle is
now on the face of the card that says RED and the red circle is on
the face of the card that says cREEN.

WHAT YOU NEED

Four S-by-S-inch index ffle cards, blank both sides; a red and a
green pen; scissors; a ruler; a pencil; a rubber band.

THE SECRET
The cards you draw circles on are secretly switched at the start
for others with different circles already drawn on them. Two of the
cards are longer than the rest, which makes the switching easy.
To prepare for the trick, ffrst cut each of the index cards in half,
so you have eight blank cards, ZYz inches by 3 inches. Draw a red
circle the size of a penny at the center of one card and a green circle
that size at the center of another card. Trim about Ya inch off the
bottom edge of each of the remaining six cards, leaving the two
"circle" cards longer than all the others.
60 Here To There

Stack the eight cards, from bottom to top, in this order: blank,
facedousn red circle, blank, blank, blank, blank, faceup green cir-
cle, blank. Put the rubber band around them, turn the top of the
stack toward you, and put them in a pocket with the two pens.

WHAT YOU DO
Take out the cards and remove the rubber band. Hold them in
your left hand, with the thumb at the topJeft corner, index finger
on the top edge, other ffngers around the right edge, to keep them
squarely stacked.
Bring out the red pen and explain that you are going to draw
a small circle. Hold your left hand down low so those watching can
see as you draw a penny-sized circle at the center of the top card.
Rest the pen on the table, lift your left hand to show everyone the
circle, then turn that hand toward you.
What you seem to do now is simply to turn over the top card
of the stack so you can print on the back of it. But what you really
do is turn over the tuo top cards together, as if they were one. Do
that by bringing the tip of your right thumb up under the bottom
edge of the stack. Lift your thumb up against the long edge of the
second card, grip it and the top card between thumb and index
ffnger, draw the cards down together, and turn them over, bottom
to top, to put them back on the stack.
Pick up the red pen and print the word RED on the top card
of the stack. (This is now the back of the second card, which has a
green circle hidden on its other side.) Hold up the stack to show the
word, then bring your hand down close to the table so nobody can
see the underside, and deal that REo card to the right side of the
table. Lay the red pen on the card.
Turn your left hand over, palm down, and drop the stacked
cards on the table to leave them there for a moment. (This turns
that stack over so that the other long card, with the hidden red
circle, will now be second from the top.)
"I also have a green p€[," you say, as y u take that from your
pocket, show it, and rest it on the table. Now pick up the stacked
cards with your palm-down right hand, put them into your left
hand, and hold them as you did at the start. Tap your index ffnger
on the top edges to even them.
Repeat the same moves: draw a green circle on the top card,
 The Jumping Circles 61

turn over two cards as one, and print the word cREEN on the back
of what really is the second one. Deal that to the left of the table,
put the green pen on it, and put the rest of the cards away in your
pocket.
"If I move these two pens, something very strange will hap-
p€[," you say, as you move the red pen over on top of the GREEN
card and then the green pen over on top of the nro card. Explain
that you haven't moved the two cards at all, but that the two circles
you drew on them have jumped across through space. Turn each
card faceup to show that the circles have changed places to match
the colors of the pens.

Right thumb lifts long

edge of second card.

Thumb and index finger grip both together

and turn them over on stack as one.
 Sealed Color Flight

HOW IT LOOKS
You open an envelope and slide two metal-rimmed cardboard
discs out on the table, one red and one black.After someone exam-
ines the envelope, you put both discs back into it. "Please choose
a color," you say. "Red or black?"
Suppose red is chosen. You remove the black disc and seal the
red one in the envelope. Then you place the black one outside and
fold the envelope around it. "I'm about to show you something that
happens so fast that if you blink your eyes you'll miss it," you say.
"Remember that the red one is inside and the black one is outside.
Now watch. One, two, two and a half . . ."
You shake the folded envelope and the red one drops into your
hand instead of the black one! Then you take a pair of scissors, snip
the end off the sealed envelope, and the black disc is found inside!

WHAT YOU NEED

Three metal-rimmed cardboard key tags (sold in stationery
stores); black and red marking pens; an envelope; scissors small
enough to fit in ajacket pocket.

THE SECRET
One disc is red on the front and black on the back so it can be
shown as either color. You secretly switch it for an all-red one when
you take the scissors from your pocket, and at the end of the trick
everything can be examined.
Key tags are made with little wire key rings attached. Remove
those so you have three flat metal-rimmed discs. Color both sides
of one black, both sides of another red, and the third one black on
the front and red on the back.
Hold the envelope facedown and put the black disc and the
two-color disc, red side up, into it. Put the all-red disc, the scissors,
and the envelope, on end, into your left jacket pocket.
62
 Sealed Color Flight 63

WHAT YOU DO
Take out the envelope and hold it facedown close to the table.
Open the fap and slide out the two discs. Spread them on the table
to show them, red and black. Give someone the envelope and ask
him to make sure there is nothing else in it.
Take it back, hold it facedown, and put the two discs into it,
side by side. Lift it upright with its back toward you and its face
toward the front. (This puts the two-color disc in position to remove
it with its black side showing.) Hold the envelope with your left
hand, thumb at the back, ffngers in front.
"Please choose a color," you say to the person who examined
the envelope. "Red or black?" If the choice is red, you tell him, "I'll
seal the red one in the envelope." But if the choice is black, you say,
"I'll remove the black one from the envelope." Either way, it
amounts to the same thing. You simply word your answer to fft the
color he names. Whichever he says, you appear to remove the black
one and leave the red one in the envelope.
What you really do is lift the fap and take out the black-red disc
with its black side showing. Place it fat against the face of the
upright envelope and hold it in view there with your left ffngers.
Lick the fap, seal the envelope, and lay it faceup on the table with
what appears to be the black disc on top of it. (The real black disc
has been sealed inside.)
Slide the black-red one to near the right end of the face of the
envelope. Fold that end over to the center, turning the disc over
with the fold, which secretly turns it red side up. Now fold the
opposite end of the envelope over the top of the ffrst fold. Do not
crease the folds fat. Hold the envelope loosely folded, with your
right thumb on top and ffngers underneath.
Announce that you are about to do something that happens so
fast that "if you blink your eyes you'll miss it." Lift the folded
envelope with your right hand. Count, "One, two, two and a half
. . ." Bring your left hand over beneath it. Tilt the end down, shake
it gently, and let the disc slide out fat on your left palm. It seems
to have changed instantly from black to red!
Reach into your left pocket with that disc still in your hand.
Drop it, take the all-red disc instead, and imrnediatelE bringout the
scissors with it. Put that disc and the scissors on the table while you
64 Here To There

unfold the envelope with both hands. Snip one end offthe envelope
and dump out the black disc that was sealed inside.

Black
I

Red

\ other side is black

Slide them out
flat on table.

7
Holding envelope upright
turns black side of \
black-red to front. Black-red

ts

O
Black side is up First fold turns it
on face of envelope. over, red side up.

It drops out into

other hand,
red side up.
5
a +
+ *

*
+
+
*

+ t

*
* Reading with Your Fingertips *

HOW IT LOOKS
You ask someone to deal cards offa pack until he wishes to stop
and then to divide his cards into two piles. "There's no way I can
guess which cards you ffnally brought to the top," you say. "But if
my magician's sense of touch is as good as it should be, I may be able
to read them with my ffngertips."
Taking the top card from one pile and keeping it held face-
down, you rub the hidden face of it with your fingertips. "This one
is a black card . . . one of the spades . . . the four of spades." In the
same way, you then pretend to read the top card of the other pile
with your fingertips. "This one is red. . . . It's a heart . . . the three
of hearts."
You hold up the two cards. "A four and a three," you say.
"Forty-three." You hand the person a book that has been on the
table and ask him to open it to page 43 and to read the ffrst few
words on that page to himself. "Now keep the book held open and
turn it over facedown."
You bring your ffngertips up under the held-out book and
touch them beneath the page. Slowly you read aloud the printed
words you cannot see-reading them with your ffngertips!

WHAT YOU NEED

Any paperback or hardcover book; a pack of playing cards; a
pencil.

THE SECRET
On top of the pack at the start are two known cards with
numbers that match the book page, from which you have memo-
rized the first few words. The way the person deals out the cards
automatically puts one of the known cards on top of each pile. One
of those cards also is secretly marked on the back so you can tell at
a glance which one it is.
Ahead of time, open the book to page 43 and memorize the
66
 Reading with Your Fingertips 67

first few words at the top of the page. Remove the four of spades
and three of hearts from the pack (or any two cards whose numbers
match whatever book page you decide to use.) On the back of the
four of spades, make a pencil dot at the upper-left and lower-right
corners. Put the marked four on top of the pack and the three on
top of that. Have the pack and book on the table.

WHAT YOU DO
Hand the pack to the person you have chosen to help with the
trick. Tell him to follow your directions carefully and to deal the
cards one at a time into a pile on the table and to stop dealing
whenever he wishes. When he decides to stop, take the rest of the
pack from him and put it aside. Ask him to pick up his cards and
to deal those out, one at a time, into two piles.
(This leaves the four of spades on top of one pile and the three
of hearts on top of the other. You can tell which pile is topped by
the four of spades by the pencil dots at its corners.)
"There's no way I can guess which cards you ffnally brought to
the top," you say. "But if my magician's sense of touch is as good
as it should be, I may be able to read them with my ffngertips."
Take the card you know is the four of spades off the top of its
pile with your left hand. Keep it facedown and close to the table.
Bring your right fingertips up under the hidden face of it and rub
them across, as you slowly call out its color, suit, and number. Turn
it faceup to show it, and drop it on the table.
Rub your ffngers on your sleeve as if "tuning" them. Then take
the top card from the other pile, keep it facedown, and in the same
way pretend to read it with your fingertips, as you reveal that it is
the three of hearts.
Show both cards again by holding up the four in your right
hand and three in your left hand. "A four and a three," you say.
"Forty-three."
Place the two cards aside. Pick up the book and hand it to the
person. "Please open this book to page forty-three and read the ffrst
few words on that page to yourself," you say. "Don't read them
aloud, and be careful not to let me see them." When he has read
the words to himself, tell him, "Now keep the book held open to
that page and turn it over, facedown. Hold it out with the printing
toward the foor."
Bring your ffngertips up under the opened book and move
68 Mind Benders

them slowly across the page as you say the words you memorized,
as though reading them aloud. "Is that right?" you ffnally ask the
person holding the book. "Does it say what my ftngertips tell me it
says?"

Known card tops each pile-

pencil dots indicate location.

Reading the cards

with you r fingertips.

Reading the words

you cannot see.
 Magical Chairs

HOW IT LOOKS
You place three small chairs in a spaced-apart row at the front
of the room. "This is a game of magical chairs," you say, and you
point to each in turn. "Chair number-one, chair number-two, chair
number-three."
You ask someone to play the game with you. "I want you to
walk once all the way around these chairs," you explain. "Then
make up your mind and sit down in one of them-any chair you
choose."
The person walks once around the chairs and then sits in one
of them, for example, number-two. "In my pocket, there's a sealed
envelope," you say, as you tap your jacket pocket and hold it open
toward him. "Will you please reach into my pocket and take out the
envelope-and satisfy yourself that there is nothing else in my
pocket?"
You ask him to tear open the envelope and to read aloud the
note that he will ffnd inside it. He reads: "Somehow I knew which
chair you would choose. You are now seated in chair number-two!"

WHAT YOU NEED

Three small envelopes; three slips of paper; a pen. (You can
borrow whatever chairs are available where you do the trick. You
should be wearing a jacket; pants pockets are too difficult to use for
this.)

THE SECRET
There are three different notes, each in its own envelope in a
separate pocket of your jacket. The note the person gets to read
depends on which chair he decides to sit in.
Ahead of time, print one note with the wording as explained,
ending it with "you are now seated in chair number-one!" Seal it
in an envelope and put it in your left pocket. Write a second note
69
70 Mind Benders

for chair two, seal that in an envelope, fold the entselope in half,
and tuck it down out of sight in your outer breast pocket. Then seal
a note for chair three in its envelope and put that in your right
pocket.
(You may wish to number the envelopes lightly with a pencil
you don't get them mixed up before you are ready to
-1,2,3-so
put them into your pockets.)

WHAT YOU DO
Place the three chairs in a spaced-apart row, facing those who
are watching, and explain that this is a "game of magical chairs."
Stand behind the chairs and touch each one in turn, from your right
to your left, as you say, "Chair number-one, chair number-two,
chair number-three." It is important to identify each chair by num-
ber, so there will be no question later about which chair was chosen.
Invite someone from the group to play the game with you. "I
want you to walk once all the way around these chairs," you say.
"Then make up your mind and sit down in one of them-any chair
you choose."
As he starts around the chairs, stand out of the way at the right
of the row, facing front with the chairs to your left. The moment he
sits in one of the chairs, pat the proper pocket of your jacket with
your hand and say, "In my pocket, there's a sealed envelope."
If he sits on chair one, pat your left pocket with your left hand;
chair two, pat your breast pocket with your right hand; chair three,
pat your right pocket with your right hand. Immediately turn to-
ward him, point again to that pocket, spread it open with your
thumb down inside the top edge, and stand so he can reach into it.
"Wiil you please reach into my pocket and take out the enve-
lope," you say, "and satisfy yourself that there is nothing else in my
pocket?"
When he has removed the envelope, ask him to tear it open
and read aloud the note he will ffnd inside. He reads your predic-
tion that he will be seated in the chair you somehow knew he would
choose.
 Magical Chairs 71

Someone walks around the chairs

and chooses one to sit in.

He tears open sealed envelope

and finds your note predicting
where he will sit.

Three envelopes-
one in each pocket-
the note he gets depends
on which chair he sits in.
 It's Magic Time

HOW IT LOOKS
"On each of these I've written one of the hours of the day," you
say, as you show some small white cards. Each has a number on it,
from,l to 12. You ask someone to mix the cards and you drop them
into a big envelope.
"I will now set my watch to one of the hours." You turn your
back, twist the stem of your wristwatch, and reset the watch, with-
out showing him the hour. Then you ask him to reach into the
envelope and take out any one of the numbers.
"What time have you got?" you ask. His number may be 3. You
hold out your arm and ask him to read aloud the hour you have set
on your watch. It matches the hour on the card he chose! "Three
o'clock," you say. "My time is your time-and that's a good time for
magic."

WHAT YOU NEED

Two 9-by-l2-inch brown clasp-type envelopes; twelve 3-by-5-
inch blank white file cards, each cut in half so you have twenty-four
2Yz-by-3-inch cards; a black marking pen; scissors; a wristwatch.

THE SECRET
There are two sets of cards, twelve with all different numbers
and another twelve all with the number 3. The large envelope is
divided inside into two sections, and the duplicate 3s are in one of
them. Tucking the fap down into the top of the envelope closes off
the other section with the mixed numbers in it, "forcing" him to
choose one of the 3s.
Cut the fap offone of the large envelopes and cut the envelope
apart along both side edges and the bottom. Use only the face of
that envelope, discarding the rest. Trim about Ye inch off the top
alrtd Ya inch off each side. Slide that extra piece down inside the
other envelope. From the outside it now looks like a single ordinary
72
 It's Magic Time 73

envelope, but inside it is divided into two separate sections.

On each of twelve cards, print a large number, from I to 12.
Stack those in order and put them into the.,fronf section (the side
with the fap attached to the top). Print a 3 on each of the other
twelve cards, stack those together, and put them into the back
section.
Wear the watch on your wrist as usual. At the start of the trick,
put the envelope faceup on your table, with its fap end toward you
at the back.

WHAT YOU DO
Pick up the envelope and hold it upright with its face toward
the front. Press the divider against the inside back of the envelope.
Reach into the front section, take out cards I to 12, and put them
on the table. Drop the envelope faceup on the table. Invite some-
one to come up and help you with the trick. Stand to his left.
"On each of these I've written one of the hours of the day," you
say. Hold the cards faceup in your left hand and take them off, one
at a time, with your right hand. Call out each number as you hold
it up to show it and drop it on the table. Gather the cards, hand
them to him, and ask him to mix them all up.
While he is mixing them, pick up the envelope. Put your left
fingers inside the top, press the divider against the back, and keep
the envelope held open. Take the cards from him with your right
hand and drop them into the front section. Now tuck the fap down
into the top, otser the dit:ide4 so that the fap closes off the front
section, and put the envelope on the table.
"I will now set my watch to one of the hours," you explain.
Turn away from him and hold your left arm close to you so the dial
of the watch cannot be seen. Pull the stem and reset your watch to
three o'clock. (Turn it foru:ard to set the hour, to avoid damaging
the watch.)
Pick up the envelope, Iift it high, and hold the top wide open
so he can reach down into it. "Please reach in and take out one of
them, sight unseen," you say. "Any one you wish. But choose just
one." When he has removed one of the cards ask, "What time have
you got?"
Let him say what it is and hold up the card to show everybody
the number. Put the card and envelope back on the table. Hold out
74 Mind Benders

your arm to him, point to your watch, and ask him to read aloud the
hour you have set. "Three o'clock," you repeat. "We both chose the
same hour. My time is your time-and that's a good time for
magic."
(The envelope can be used for other tricks: to "force" the
choice of one of several different names, dates, colors, newspaper
clippings, small pictures or designs, poker chips, colored drinking
straws, or sticks of chewing gum. All you need is one set of things
all different and another set all alike.)

Mixed numbers in front

<lra>

Duplicate 3s in back

Tuck flap into top-

he has to choose a 3.

Extra piece divides

inside of envelope.

The time set on your watch

matches the hour he chooses!
 The Spel! of the Cat

HOW IT LOOKS
"This is a trick I learned from my cat," you say, as you place
three envelopes on the table. There is a big letter C printed on the
ffrst envelope, an A on the second, and a 7 on the third. "He's a
magic cat and he has put these letters of the alphabet under his
spell."
You hand someone three small cards, each with a letter on it,
C,A,T,andyou keep a set of three with the same letters on them
for yourself. While your back is turned so you can't see his cards,
he puts one of them into each envelope. Then you turn around and
put one of your cards into each envelope with his.
"There is no way I could guess which card you put into which
envelope," you say. "But because of the spell of the cat, something
very strange has happened."
You remove his card and your card from each envelope and
show that magically you have matched each of his cards with one
of yours!

WHAT YOU NEED

Three small envelopes; six 2-inch squares of thin cardboard; a
pen.

THE SECRET
The trick depends on the instructions you give the person
helping you, and on the fact that those watching don't know in
advance how it is supposed to end. It works out by itself, but there
are two possible endings. You end it according to the way the cards
happen to be paired together. Either way, you seem to have
matched each o] yo,rr with each of his.
Print a big letter C""idr
on the front and back of the center of one
envelope,A the same way on a second, 7 the same way on the third.
On two of the cards, print a C front and back, anA on the next two,
75
76 Mind Benders

a T on the third pair. Put each matching pair of cards into the
envelope with that letter printed on it.

WHAT YOU DO
Talk about your "magic cat" and lay out the envelopes in a
C-A-T row across the table. Take each pair of cards from its enve-
lope, and place one card in front of the person and the other in front
of you, as you say, "C for you and C for me, A for you and A for
rne, T for you and 7 for me."
Explain that you want him to put each of his cards into a
separate envelope while you turn your back so you can't see where
he puts them. "But don't put them back into the same envelopes
they came from because that would make it too easy," you say. "Be
sure to put each of your cards into an envelope that does not have
the same letter on it as the letter that is on that card."
When he has done that, tell him to mix up the envelopes and
to put them on the table. Face him and pick up one of the en-
velopes. Notice what letter is printed on it. Take one of your cards
that does not match that letter. Without looking into the envelope,
put the card into it. Do the same with the second and third enve-
lope, making sure each time that the card you put into it does not
match the letter on the envelope.
Again lay out the envelopes in a C-A-T row across the table.
"There is no way I could guess which card you put into which
envelope," you say. "But because of the spell of the cat, something
very strange has happened."
(At this point, you are about to discover that one of two things
has happened. Either your card will match his in each of the en-
velopes, or the two cards in each envelope can be combined with
the letter that is on the envelope itself to spell out the word CAT.)
Open the ffrst envelope and take out the two cards you and he
have put into it. If you ffnd they are a matched pair, that both cards
have the letterA on them for example, what you say is: "Your card
was an A and so is mine." Put those aside and take the two cards
from each of the other envelopes in turn, pointing out each time
that your card exactly matches his. End the trick by touching each
matched pair ofcards, and saying: "C. . . A. . . 7.. . That's the spell
of the cat!"
But if you ffnd when you open the ffrst envelope that the two
 The Spel! of the Cat 77

cards init are not amatching pair, then you end the trick a different
way. Place each of those two cards on top of the envelope you took
them from, spaced out so that uith the letter printed on the enoe-
lope they spell CAT. Point to each letter as you spell the word
aloud. Then do the same thing with the cards from the second and
the third envelopes, and ffnally say, "Each time I combined your
letter with mine and with the letter on each envelope to spell the
word cat . .. and that's the spell of the cat!"

When cards are taken from envelopes each of yours

exactly matches each of his. . .

or...

each of yours combines with his and the letter

on the envelope to spell C-A-T.

dA T ET
Cards are put on
top of each envelope.
CE
 The lnvisible Computer

HOW IT LOOKS
"Would you like to play a magic computer gameP" you ask
someone. "What's magic about it is that the computer is invisible.
All we use is an old-fashioned pad and pencil."
You place a small pad and pencil on the table. "The idea of the
game is that I want you to choose some numbers entirely by
chance." You tear six sheets from the pad and lay them out in a row
on the table. "I'll number these, front and back, from one to
twelve." You number the faces of the sheets from ,l to 6, then turn
them over and number the backs from 7 to 12. Scooping them up,
you mix them faceup and facedown, and deal them out on the table
again.
"Please pick up any one of those with your Ieft hand and then
pick up another with your right hand," you say. "You can change
your mind if you wish. . . . Are you sure those are the two you want?"
When he has chosen two, you discard the rest. "All right, now let's
add up the numbers that you happened to choose and ffnd out if the
invisible computer is working."
You ask him to call out each of the numbers on both the front
and back sides of the slips he has chosen. As he calls them, you write
his numbers on the pad, and then add them aloud. "The total of
your chosen numbers seems to be twenty-six," you say. "But the
computer had the answer before we started!"
You turn over the pad and hold it up to show it. Printed in big
letters on the back of it is: ropAY's MAGIC NUMBER WILL nn 26!

WHAT YOU NEED

A small scratch pad (about 3 inches by 5 inches); a black pencil.

THE SECRET
The trick is automatic. The slips are numbered front and back
so that the four numbers on any two chosen slips always add up to
26.

78
 The lnvisible Computer 79

Fix the pad ahead of time by printing on the back, in big letters:
ToDAy's MAGrc NUMBER wILL nr 26!Turn it with its back toward
your body and put it in a right-hand pocket with the pencil.

WHAT YOU DO
Invite someone to play a "magic computer game" and explain
that the computer is invisible and that all you use is a pad and
pencil. Take the pad and pencil from your pocket, being careful to
keep the back of the pad toward you, and put them on the table.
Explain to the person that you want him to choose some numbers
"entirely by chance." Tear six sheets off the pad, one at a time, and
put them down in a spaced-apart row across the table.
Say that you will number them, front and back, from 1 to 12.
Start at the left and quickly number the sheets from ,l to 6. When
you have numbered the sixth one at the right end of the row,
immediately turn that over and write a 7 on the back of it. Turn
over the next one to the left, write an 8 on the back of that, and
so on, until you have numbered all the backs through to 12 at the
left end of the row.
FRONTS

BACKS

Six sheets are torn from pad-numbered front and back from 1 lo 12.
80 Mind Benders

Scoop them up and mix them in your hands, turning some

faceup and others facedown, and then deal them out in a row across
the table again. Ask the person to pick up any one of them with his
left hand, and to pick up another one with his right hand. Tell him
he can change his mind if he wishes. When he has chosen two, clear
the table by gathering up the others and putting them away in your
pocket to discard them.
"All right, now let's add up the numbers you happened to
choose and ffnd out if the invisible computer is working," you say.
Ask him to call out each of the numbers on both sides of the slips
he has chosen. As he calls his numbers, write them down in a
column on the pad. Draw a line under them, add them up aloud,
and write the total at the bottom. "The total of your chosen num-
bers seems to be twenty-six." Point to it with the pencil and pause
a moment. "But the computer had the answer before we started!"
Flip the pad over and hold it up to show what is printed on the
back. Read it aloud: "Today's magic number will be twenty-six!"

4
6
?
7
--'-
26 He chooses any two slips and you add up his numbers.

TODAYS
l4AOlC
NI//VBER
l,y/l/
Then turn pad over and show "computer" had answer
before numbers were chosen.
 Liquid Thoughts

HOW IT LOOKS
You show ffve small white cards. On the face of each there is
a big X of a different color. "Red, brown, purple, green, and blue,"
you say. "I'll mix them all up so you can choose one of the colors
entirely by chance."
You mix the cards, hold them with their backs toward those
watching, and ask someone to call out any number from / to 5.
Counting offthe cards to whatever number is called, you show the
chosen color. "By chance, you happened to choose-brown. Every-
body, please think of that color."
On your table there is a glass of water and a paper cup. You
shake the cup upside down to show that it is empty. Taking the cup
in one hand, you hold the glass above it, and pour the clear water
into the cup. "I'm going to try to capture a refection of your
thoughts in the water. Think-brown."
Then you pour the water from the cup back into the glass, and
it magically changes color to brown! "And brown it is," you say.
"Liquid thoughts!"

WHAT YOU NEED

Five 2Yz-inch squares cut from blank white posterboard; red,
green, blue, purple, and brown marking pens; a clear drinking
glass; a paper cup about 3/z inches high; a glue stick; water; instant
coffee.

THE SECRET
The "chosen" color always is brown, because of the way the
cards are held and counted, and the instant coffee changes the
water to brown. The inside bottom of the cup is coated with glue
stick, and the coffee powder is stuck to that, so you can shake
the cup upside down to show it empty before pouring the water
into it.
81
82 Mind Benders

To make up the set of cards, use a different colored marking

pen for each. Draw a big X across the face, from the top to the
bottom diagonal corners. Then broaden them until each line is
about Yz-inch wide. Stack the cards together faceup: red, brown,
purple, green, blue. Put them in one of your pockets.
Apply a thick coat of glue stick to the entire inside bottom of
the cup. Put a teaspoon of instant coffee in the bottom. Spread it
out and press it down with your thumb. Turn the cup upside down
over a sink to shake out any loose coffee.
At the start of the trick, the cup should be mouth down at the
left of your table. Put the glass, half-filled with water, to the right
of the cup.

WHAT YOU DO
Take out the cards and show each of the colors as you name
them. "Red, brown, purple, green, blue," you say. "I'll mix them all
up so you can choose one of the colors entirely by chance."
Hold the cards upright, with their faces toward you. Mix them
from hand to hand by moving one or two at a time from top to
bottom. Finish mixing them by bringing the brown one to the top
of the packet.
Square them together and hold them upright in your left hand,
with the back of that hand toward those watching and the brown
X toward your body. Take them together at the top with your right
thumb and ffngers and pull them up, so their upper half can be seen
above the top of your left hand. But as you do that, slide the brown
card down about 1 inch with your right thumb. Just push it down
behind the others in your left hand.
Ask someone to call out any number from I to 5. Bring your
right hand to the top of the packet. Start to count them aloud by
pulling out the card that is second from the top, and drop that
facedown on the table. This is easy to do without fumbling because
the upper end of the packet is well above the pushed-down brown
card.
Continue to count them aloud, always taking the second one
from the top. When you have counted to the number that was
called, pull out the pushed-down brown card. Turn it around and
hold it up for everyone to see. "By chance, you happened to choose
you say. "Everybody, please think of that color."
-|1s1y11,"
 Liquid Thoughts 83

Right hand pulls them

all up higher.

Then thumb pushes top one

down behind others.

Put aside the cards and pick up the paper cup. Shake it upside
down to show that it is apparently empty. Turn the cup mouth up
and hold it in your left hand. Pick up the glass of water with your
right hand and hold it a few inches above the cup. "I'm going to try
to capture a refection of your thoughts in the water," you say.
"Think-brown."
Pour the water into the cup. Then hold the cup high and pour
the water back into the glass. Pour it back and forth again, and the
84 Mind Benders

liquid will turn a darker brown as you pour. "And brown it is," you
say. "Liquid thoughts!"
(You may prefer to use red or green, instead of brown, as the
"chosen" color. For those, replace the coffee with cherry or lime
instant gelatin powder or a few drops of food coloring.)

Clear water poured

rom glass into cup.
f . .

. . . turns chosen color

when poured back into glass.
 The Haunted Book

HOW IT LOOKS
You show a book, wrapped in a clear plastic bag, and say: "This
is the home of a happy ghost named Koops-that's 'Spook' spelled
backward. He loves to read, so instead of haunting houses, he
haunts books."
You take the book from the bag, crumple the bag and put it
away in your pocket, and place the book fat on top of a drinking
glass on the table. "Are you there, Koops?" you ask. "Wi[ you give
us a sign?"
Spookily the book starts to move by itself. Very slowly, it turns
on the glass, creeping around in a circle until it has made a full turn.
You pick it up, open the pages a little, and stand it upright by itself
on the table. Pointing to someone in the audience, you say, "Maybe
Koops will do his thing for you. Just call out to him. Ask him, 'Are
you there?' " When the person calls out, the book slowly shuts itself
and falls fat on the table.
You take the bag from your pocket, put the book back into it,
and put it aside. "Thank you, Koops," you say. "You can go back to
sleep again now-until midnight."

WHAT YOU NEED

Any small hardcooer book, not thick and heavy; a plastic drink-
ing glass; a large clear plastic food bag; transparent tape; colorless
nylon thread (available at sewing counters.)

THE SECRET
This is a "stand-up" trick, to be shown to an audience seated
a short distance from you, so the thread won't be seen.
One end of the thread is attached to the plastic bag you put
away in your pocket and the other end is attached to the book. By
slightly moving your body as you stand behind the table, you se-
cretly pull the thread and move the book.
86 Mind Benders

Take a 3Yz-foot length of thread. Wind one end fatly a half-

dozen times around a short strip of tape. Fasten the tape to the
outside bottom edge of the plastic bag. Take another short strip of
tape, wind the other end of the thread around it, and roll the tape
into a small "bead."
Open the book near its center. Put the "bead" inside at the
bottom edge, against the spine, and run it up the inside and out over
the top, so it lies in the gutter between pages. Close the book, slide
it into the bag, and fold the bag around it. Put it on the table with
the plastic glass.

WHAT YOU DO
Stand behind the table. Pick up the wrapped book, show it,
unfold the bag and remove the book with your right hand. As you
drop the book to the table, crumple the bag with your left hand, and
stuff it down into your left pants pocket, as if to get rid of it. Push
it well down to the pocket bottom. (Because it is attached to the
bag, the thread is now "anchored" in your pocket. This method
leaves you free of any visible thread attachment both before and
after the trick.)
Show the glass and stand it mouth up near the center of the
table. Pick up the book, hold it fat with its spine toward the audi-
ence, and place the center of it on top of the glass. Move back a
little, until the thread is taut. By bending forward a little and
slightly shifting the position of your body, without noticeably mov-
ing your hands or feet, you will ffnd you can secretly pull the thread
so the book turns. This should be done oery slowly. (Try it in front
of a mirror and you will see how spooky you can make it look.)
Now put the glass aside and take up the book with both hands.
Open its pages toward the audience, far enough so you can stand
it upright on the table by itself, spine toward you. Have someone
call out to Koops to see if he is there. Secretly move your body to
pull the thread slowly, tipping the book back so it closes and falls
fat.
Take the crumpled plastic bag from your pocket, quickly open
it, slide the book into it, and put it aside, as you tell your performing
ghost, "You can go back to sleep again-until midnight."
 The Haunted Book 87

Large plastic bag

31/z-toot
thread

End rolled
into bead

Book turns
on top of glass.

Thread to pocket

Stood upright,
it shuts itself
and falls flat!
 +
+*
+
+
*l
+ *

*
 The Royal Joggers

HOW IT LOOKS
"Did you know that the family of cards has taken up jogging?"
you ask, as you look through a borrowed pack of cards and remove
the jack, queen, and king of hearts. "These are the royal joggers.
They can't run out of the pack and jog around the roads like every-
body else, so they jog up and down on their private indoor track
from the cellar to the roof and back. I'll show you how they do it."
You show each of the cards, one at a time, as you turn them
facedown. Then you drop the jack, queen, and king back on the
pack and deal them out in a row across the table. "Now let's start
with the king in the cellar." You place the pack on top of the king
so it is at the bottom. "There he goes . . . jogging right up through
the pack to the roof!"
The king magically passes up through the pack from the bot-
tom to the top. Next you place the queen on top and it goes down
through the pack to the bottom. Finally the jack invisibly jogs its
way up from the bottom of the pack to the top. "They don't get
much fresh air," you say, "but they do get plenty of exercise."

WHAT YOU NEED

, A borrowed pack of cards. There is nothing to set up in ad-
vance.

WHAT YOU DO
As you talk about the 'Joggers," look through the pack and
remove and place faceup on the table the jack, queen, and king of
hearts. Turn the rest of the pack facedown and hold it in your left
hand. Pick up each of the cards from the table, starting with the
king, then the queen, and the jack, and put them in that order
faceup on the facedown pack. Spread them out to show them, and
90
 The Royal Joggers 91

say, "These are the royal joggers, the jack, queen, and king of
hearts."
As you spread them, secretly insert the tip of your left pinkie
under t}ne fourth card from the top, the facedown card that is just
beneath the three that are faceup. Keep that "break" with your
pinkie and push the cards back to square them on the pack. Then
lift off all four cards together, including the extra facedown card.
Hold those fat so nobody sees the extra one on the bottom and put
the rest of the pack aside on the table.
Place the four squared-up cards in your left hand. Take the
faceup jack off the top, hold it up to show it, and say, "The jack."
Turn it facedown and put it under the bottom of the others. Next
take the faceup queen off the top, show it, say, "The queen," turn
it facedown, and put it under the others. Finally take the faceup
king off the top, show it, say what it is, turn it facedown and put it
under the rest. (This leaves the extra fourth card facedown on top
of the stack, but everybody thinks you have only three, each of
which you have shown separately.)
Drop the cards together back on top of the pack. Then pick up
the pack and deal the three top cards out in a row across the table,
from right to left, as you say, "We'll put the jack to the right, the
queen in the center, and the king to my left." (This really puts the
extra card to the right, the jack in the center, the queen to the left,
and leaves the king on top of the pack.)
Now you just act out the rest of the trick. "I'll put the pack on
the king so he's at the bottom, down in the cellar," you say, as you
place the pack on top of the card to your left. Hold your hand above
the pack and snap your ffngers. "There he goes . . . jogging right up
through the pack to the roofl" Take the top card off the pack, turn
it over to show that it is the king, and put it faceup on the table.
"Now let's see how the queen can do. We'll put her up on the
roof." Pick up the center card from the row, keep it fat, and place
it on top of the pack. Snap your ffngers, and say, "Down the track,
right through the pack to the cellar!" Turn the pack over, faceup,
and show the queen at the bottom of it. Remove the queen, place
it faceup on the table, and turn the pack facedown again.
"That leaves the jack. We'll start with him at the bottom."
Place the pack on top of the last card at the right end of the row
and snap your ffngers. "Come on, jack . . . jog to the top!" Take the
card off the top of the pack, show it is the jack, and put it faceup
92 Card Magic

on the table. Turn the pack faceup and drop it on the table. "They
don't get much fresh air," you say, "but they do get plenty of
exercise."

Showing jack, queen, king faceup on facedown pack.

Left pinkie goes under facedown fourth card

so you can close them up and
take all four together.
* The Double-Guess Countdown *

HOW IT LOOKS
You ask someone to shufle a pack of cards and then to lift a
batch off the top and to put the rest of the pack aside. "You have
no idea how many cards you took," you say, "and neither have I.
But just for fun, I'll make a guess."
After weighing the stack of cards in your hand for a moment,
you pick up a small pad and pencil. "I'll write what I guess was the
number." You write on the pad, tear off the sheet, fold it, and put
it into a glass. "All right. I've made my guess. Let's count the cards
and see how many you took."
You count them aloud. Whatever the number, you place the
last card to one side, still facedown. "Now I'll make a second guess,"
you say. "I'll try to guess the name of that card-the last card you
took from the pack." Again you write on the pad, tear the sheet off,
fold it, and put it into the glass. "All right. Let's see what that card
happens to be." You turn it faceup and show what card it is.
You shake the two slips of paper from the glass and ask the
person to unfold them and to read aloud what you have written.
Magically, both your guesses are right. You have guessed the exact
number of cards he took from the pack and the name of the card
at that number!

WHAT YOU NEED

A pack of cards; a glass; a small scratch pad and a pencil.

THE SECRET
You secretly glance at what will be the last card counted and
then switch around what you write on the two slips of paper. On
the ffrst slip, when you say you're guessing at the number of cards,
you really write the name of the card you saw. On the second slip,
instead of guessing the name of the card, you write the number of
cards you have just counted aloud. Both slips are folded alike so that

93
94 Card Magic

when you shake them from the glass nobody can tell which one was
written ftrst.

WHAT YOU DO
Ask someone to shufle the cards and then to lift a batch off the
top and place those facedown on the table. Tell him to put the rest
of the pack aside. "You have no idea how many cards you took off
the top of the pack," you say, "and neither have I. But just for fun,
I'll make a guess."
Pick up his cards with your palm-down right hand, thumb at
their left side edge and ffngers scooped under their right side edge.
As you lift them, turn your palm toward you so you can secretly look
at and remember the bottom card. Hold them out and shake your
hand a little, as if weighing them to guess how many there are.
Immediately drop them back facedown on the table, and say, "I'll
write what I guess is the number of cards you took."
Take the pad and pencil. Hold the pad up toward you so that
nobody can see what you are writing. Print the name of the card
you just saw, for example: 3 or nBanrs. Fold the sheet in half from
bottom to top to cover what you wrote, tear it off the pad, and fold
it in half again, left to right. Put the fiolded slip in the glass.
"All right. I've made my guess," you say. "Let's count the cards
and see how many there are." Pick them up, hold them facedown,
and count aloud as you deal them offthe top into a pile oq the table.
(This reverses their order and leaves your known card oniop of the
pile.) "Seventeen cards," you say, or whatever the number is. "Re-
member that number."
Slide the top card off the pile to the center of the table. Leave
it there, facedown, and pick up the pad and pencil. "Now I'll make
a second guess. I'll try to guess the name of that seventeenth card
last one you took from the pack."
-theHold the pad up so nobody can see what you write. Write the
number you just counted: 17 cenps. Fold the paper the same way
as before and put that slip into the glass with the ffrst one. "All right.
I've made my guess. Let's see what that card happens to be." Turn
the card faceup, and say whatever it is, "The three of hearts."
Pick up the glass, turn it over above the table, and shake out
the two slips together. Ask the person to unfold them and read
them aloud. It doesn't matter which he reads ffrst. If it happens to
 The Double-Guess Countdown 95

be the number of cards, point to them and repeat the number. But
if he ffrst reads the name of the card, point to that and repeat the
name. Then point to whichever is left as he reads out your other
guess.
You glance at bottom
card as you pretend
to weigh them.

You write name of card instead of

guessing how many there are.

You say you'l! try to

guess what card came
to the top.

But this time you write the

number of cards just counted.

Both guesses are right-

the number of cards he took
and which card was at that number.
 The See-Through Cards

HOW IT LOOKS
You borrow a pack of cards and as you shufle them, you joke,
"Did you know that these cards of yours are marked?" You point
to thefaces of some of them. "This one is marked the four of hearts,
and this one is marked the three of diamonds." You turn the pack
facedown. "Of course, they're not marked on the backs. The backs
are all the same. That's what makes it harder for card players and
magicians."
You hand someone the pack and ask him to deal cards off the
top into a pile on the table. He stops dealing whenever he wishes.
You count aloud the number of cards he dealt and then you deal
a second pile, stopping at the same number.
"Neither of us can guess which cards have come to the top of
each pile entirely by chance," you say, "and since they are not
marked on the backs-I'il have to look right through the backs and
read the marks on their faces."
You point to the facedown card on top of one pile. "This is the
six of clubs." Picking it up, you point to the top card of the second
pile. "And this is the eight of spades." You toss them faceup on the
table to show that they are the two cards you named by magically
looking right through them.

WHAT YOU NEED

A borrowed pack of cards.

WHAT YOU DO
Shufle-the pack and hold it in your left hand. Joke about the
cards being "marked." That gives you an excuse to turn the pack
faceup. Spread the cards and point to a couple ofthem on the face
of the pack. "This one is marked the four of hearts (or whatever it
is), and this one is marked the three of diamonds."
Secretly glance at the index corner of the card at the far left
96
 The See-Through Cards 97

end of the pack, the one that will be on top when the pack is turned
facedown. Remember that card (for example, the six of clubs). Turn
the pack facedown and spread it out again to show the backs. "Of
course, they're not marked on the backs. . . ." Close up the pack and
hand it to someone.
"Please deal the cards one at a time into a neat pile on the
table," you say. "Stop dealing them whenever you wish." When he
stops dealing, you pick up his cards and ask, "How many did you
takeP"
Count his cards aloud, dealing them offthe top into a pile again,
one on top of another. This reverses their order and leaves the card
you know (six of clubs) on top of that pile.
"I'll deal a second pile with the same number of cards," you
explain, as you take the pack from him. Count aloud as you deal that
number of cards into a pile to the right of his pile. Put the rest of
the pack aside.
Point out that neither of you could guess which cards have
come to the top of each pile. "Since they are not marked on the
backs," you say, "I'll have to look right through the backs and read
the marks on their faces."
You know which card is on top of the left-hand pile. It is the
one you secretly glanced at when the trick began (six of clubs). But
you don't know what card is on top of the right-hand pile. What you
do is miscall the two cards.
Point to the one on top of the right-hand pile, but call out the
name of the card that you know is on top of the left-hand pile. "This
is the six of clubs (or whatever your known card is)," you say. Pick
up the top card of the right-hand pile without showing it, keeping
its face toward you, and hold it in your left hand.
Glance at it to see what card it is (for example, the eight of
spades). Immediately point to the top card of the left-hand pile, and
name the card you just picked up from the right-hand pile. "And
this is the eight of spades."
Pick up the top card of the left-hand pile without showing its
face, and put it behind the one already in your left hand. Turn them
over together and toss them faceup on the table to show they are
the two cards you named.
 Bringing a Card to the Top

Many good card tricks depend on secretly bringing a chosen card

to the top of the pack. Here is a way to do that without difficult
sleight of hand.
Have someone shufle the pack. Take it back and spread the
cards facedown between your hands. Ask him to remove any card
and to look at it without letting you see it. While he is doing that,
close up the pack and hold it in your left hand, with your thumb
at the left side edge and ffngers up around the opposite side edge.
Lift off about half the pack with your right hand and hold out
the remainder with your left hand, so that he can put his card back
on top of those. Bring your right hand down over the left one to
replace that half of the pack. But just as Aour hands cotne together,
secretly bend in the tip of your left pinkie so that the cards from
the right hand go down on top of the ffngertip. Press your left
thumb lightly on top of the pack to keep its front edges closed.
This looks as though you simply put the two halves of the pack
back together, with the chosen card buried in the middle. But your
little ffnger acts as a place mark, holding a "break" at the rear edge
that cannot be seen from the front. The chosen card is right be-
neath the space held open by your little ffnger.

Fingertip bends in
as pack is put together.

98
 Bringing a Card to the Top 99

Pinkie holds "break"

between halves.

What you seem to do now is to cut the pack several times so

the chosen card is well lost {rmong the others.
With your right hand,lift offabout half the cards that are above
the "break" and put them down on the table. Then lift off all the
remaining cards above the "break" and put those down on top of
the ffrst batch on the table. Finally put the rest of the pack down
on top of the others. This leaves the chosen card on top of the pack.
Magicians have invented hundreds of tricks that start with
getting the card in that position. Here's one of them:

The Pocket Dip

With the chosen card on top, put the facedown pack in your
left jacket pocket, on its side edge but tilted up toward your body.
Turn your left side to the person who chose the card and ask him
to call out the name of it. Hold the pocket open wide and tell him
to reach in and take out the ffrst card he touches. He usually will
take the top one, his chosen card!
But if he doesn't take it, just say, "I didn't think you'd ffnd it
that easily." Then reach into the pocket yourself. Take out the top
card, show it, and say, "You need a magic touch!"
 Computer Card Trick

HOW IT LOOKS
You shufle a pack ofcards, have one chosen and returned, and
cut the pack several times so that the card is lost among the others.
"There was a time when a magician had to hunt through the
whole pack to ffnd a chosen card," you say. "But these days we use
computers like everybody else-except that a magic computer is
invisible. I just program the pack itself and feed in the needed
information."
As you explain, you deal a number of cards off the pack, and
each time gather them up and put them back on top. "Cards are
red and black. That's two colors. One, two . . ." You count off two,
and put them back. "There are fffty-two cards in the pack. That's
ffve and two." You count off ffve and two more.
"Twelve court cards." You count off twelve. "Four suits-
spades, hearts, diamonds, clubs." You deal off four. "And three
kinds of court cards-jacks, queens, kings." You count off three
more cards, and again put them back on the pack.
You riffie the pack with a snap. "I haven't the slightest idea
what card you chose," you say. "Let's see if the computer is work-
ing. What card did you choose?"
He may answer that it was the seven of diamonds. You turn
over the top card and show that it is the chosen one! "That must
be right. There's the printout-seven of diamonds!"

THE SECRET
You bring the chosen card to the top by the method previously
explained on page 98, and the rest of the trick works out automati-
cally.

WHAT YOU DO
Shufle the pack, have a card chosen and returned, and secretly
bring it to the top. Explain about using the pack as a computer. "I
100
 Computer Card Trick 101

just program the pack itself and feed in the needed information,"
"Cards are red and black. That's two colors. One, two
:::,,or.
Deal one card off the pack, another on top of it, and put those
back on the pack. "There are fifty-two cards. That's a ffve and a
two." Counting aloud, deal five cards one on top of another. Then
deal two more in a separate pile to the right of the five. Pick up the
two, drop them on the ffve, and put them all back on the pack.
"There are twelve court cards in the pack." Count aloud and
deal twelve, one on top of another. Pick them up and drop them
back on the pack. "There are four suits-spades, hearts, diamonds,
clubs." Deal four into a pile as you count them aloud, and leaoe that
pile on the table. "And there are three kinds of court cards-jacks,
queens, kings." Deal three more cards into a separate pile. Pick up
the three, drop them on the pile of four, and put them all back on
the pack.
At the end of all the counting, the chosen card will be on top.
Riffie the pack twice. (Hold the pack ffrmly in your left hand and
bring the tips of your right ffngers down over it to the bottom front
edge. Bend the cards up toward you and release them suddenly, so
they spring down with a snap.)
"I haven't the slightest idea what card you chose," you say
(which is the truth). "Let's see if the computer is working. What
card did you choose?"
Whatever he answers, turn over the top card and show it is the
chosen one. "That must be right," you say. "There's the printout!"
 Find Me My Card

HOW IT LOOKS
"This time, you are going to be the magician," you say, as you
hand someone a pack of cards. "You are going to perform a wonder-
ful card trick. Out of all the cards in the pack, I have one favorite
card. But I'm not going to tell you which card it is, because you are
about to ffnd it by magic-under test conditions."
You ask him to shufle the cards, then to hold them facedown,
and to slowly start dealing cards off the top of the pack, one at a
time, into a pile on the table. "Keep dealing them until yoz wish
to stop," you say. "Stop whenever Eou decide. . . and don't let me
infuence you. You're the magician and the cards are in your
hands."
When he decides to stop dealing out the cards, you ask him to
put the rest of the pack aside. "I've written you a little note," you
explain, as you reach into your shirt pocket, bring out an envelope,
and put it on the table. "Please open it and read it aloud."
He opens the envelope and reads aloud the note inside it,
which says: "Congratulations! You had no idea what my card was,
or where it was in the pack, but by some magic you stopped dealing
the cards exactly at my favorite card . . . the four of spades!"
You ask him to pick up the last card he dealt on the table and
to hold it up for everyone to see. That card is the four of spades!

WHAT YOU NEED

A pack of cards; an ordin ary personal letter-sized envelope
that will fit easily on end into your shirt pocket; writing paper and
a pen.

THE SECRET
Ahead of time, remove the four of spades from the pack. Print
a note, worded as explained, fold it, and put it into the envelope,
which is left unsealed. Turn the face of the card toward you and
102
 Find Me My Card 103

slide it into your shirt pocket, so the card stands upright, on end.
Slide the envelope into the same pocket, standing upright on end
in front of the card. Have the rest of the pack in another pocket.

WHAT YOU DO
Hand someone the pack, have him shufle the cards, and tell
him to hold them facedown. Explain that he is to deal cards slowlE
off the pack, one at a time, into a pile on the table until he decides
to stop. When he stops dealing them, ask him to put the rest of the
pack aside.
As you say, "I've written you a little note," bring your right
hand, with its palm toward you, to your shirt pocket. Keep your
ffngers in front of the pocket and slide your thumb down inside it,
behind the envelope and hidden four of spades. Secretly slide the
card up a little with your thumb to center it in back of the envelope.
Then grip the envelope and hidden card together, between your
thumb at the back and four ftngers at the front, and lift them out
of your pocket.
Quickly bring the envelope down to the table, keeping its back
toward you. Turn it fat, with the card still hidden underneath, and
drop it on top of the pile of cards the person has dealt. (This secretly

You take envelope and

hidden card together
from shirt pocket. . .

... and put down on cards

that have been dealt on table,
leaving four of spades on top.
104 Card Magic

adds the four of spades to the top.) Lift your hand away, immedi-
ately point to the envelope, and say, "Please open it and read it
aloud."
When he has finished reading it aloud, point to the top card of
the pile, which he believes is the last card he dealt. Have him hold
it up to show that it is the four of spades.
 Meet My Assistants

HOW IT LOOKS
You take out a pack of cards, and say, "Sometimes people are
suspicious when a magician shufles a pack of cards. So this time I'll
spread out the whole pack and mix them thoroughly." You cut the
cards into four piles on the table, then take up each pile in turn, mix
the cards from top to bottom, and deal a few out on the other piles.
"Even a magician would need help now to keep track of which card
is where. . . . That's why I brought along my assistants. I'd like you
to meet them."
Quickly you turn over the top card of each pile. All four queens
have come to the top! "My assistants-the queens of magic," you
say. "As long as they're standing by to help me, I'll mix the cards
again." You pick up each pile in turn as before, mix and deal the
cards, and place the piles back in a row on the table beneath the
row of faceup queens.
"As you know, these ladies are all married," you say. "They'd
Iike to introduce you to their husbands." You turn over the top card
of each pile. All four kings have come to the top! Each king is the
same suit as the queen above it. Pointing to the matched pairs, you
say, "Mr. and Mrs. Spades, Mr. and Mrs. Hearts, Mr. and Mrs. Dia-
monds, and Mr. and Mrs. Clubs!"

WHAT YOU NEED

A pack of cards.

THE SECRET
The queens and kings are on top of the pack at the start, which
leaves them stacked on top of the ffrst pile that is cut off the pack.
They are simply dealt out to the rest of the piles during the mixing
around of the cards.
To set it up, put the king of clubs facedown on top of the pack
with the other kings in order on top of that: diamonds, hearts,
105
106 Card Magic

spades. Put the queen of clubs on top of the kings, and then the
queens of diamonds, hearts, spades. Slide the pack into its case or
put a rubber band around it to keep the cards in order.

WHAT YOU DO
Explain that you are going to spread the cards out to mix them
thoroughly. Cut the pack into four nearly equal piles by lifting
batches off the top and putting them down on the table in a row
from right to left. This leaves the kings and queens stacked on top
of the pile at the right end of the row.
Pick up the ffrst pile from the left end of the row. Move three
cards, one at a time, from the top to the bottom of that pile in your
hand. Then deal one card from the top of that pile on top of each
of the three piles that remain on the table. Put the pile in your hand
back where it was on the table, and repeat the same thing with each
of the other piles, picking them up in turn.
Each time, just move three cards singly from the top to the
bottom of the pile you are holding and then deal a card on top of
each of the piles still on the table, dealing from left to right. This
should all be done quickly and openly, as if you were simply mixing
the cards of each pile and dealing some out to spread them over the
piles. It leaves a queen facedown on top of each of the four piles and
the kings are still stacked in order beneath the queen at the right
end of the row.
"Even a magician would need help now to keep track of which
card is where," you say. "That's why I brought along my assistants."
You quickly turn over the top card of each pile and show the four
queens. Then place one faceup queen on the table above each of
the four piles. "As long as they're standing by to help me, I'll mix
the cards again."
You repeat exactly what you did before. Pick up the ffrst pile
from the left end of the row, move three cards singly from top to
bottom, and deal a card on each of the piles on the table before
putting that ffrst pile back where it was in the row. Continue with
the second, third, and fourth pile the same way.
Finally turn over the top card of each pile and reveal that the
four "husbands" have appeared. Point to each matching pair of
king and queen, and say, "Mr. and Mrs. Spades, Mr. and Mrs.
Hearts, Mr. and Mrs. Diamonds, and Mr. and Mrs. Clubs!"
 The Whole Roya! Family

HOW IT LOOKS
"Please shufle the cards," you say, as you hand someone a pack.
"Shuffie them thoroughly." When he has done that, you put the
pack in your pocket. "Without looking at any of the cards, I'm going
to try to ffnd one of the members of the royal family." You reach
into your pocket. "I think I've found a king."
You immediately bring out one of the kings and toss it faceup
on the table. Taking the pack from your pocket, you ask to have it
shufled again. Then you put the pack back into your pocket, and
quickly bring out three more cards, tossing each one on the table
to show that you have found all four kings!
Now you put the pack back on the table and ask the person to
cut the cards and take about half of them. He deals his cards out into
four piles. "I found the kings," you tell him, "but you have found
the queens!" You turn the top card of each pile faceup. All four are
queens!
Finally you fip all the piles over, and the bottom card of each
pile is a jack! "And there are the jacks-the whole royal family!"

WHAT YOU NEED

A pack of cards.

THE SECRET
All twelve court cards are taken out of the pack ahead of time,
arranged in order, and secretly stacked in your pocket. To set it up,
remove all the jacks, queens, and kings. Stack the four jacks to-
gether facedown on a table, the four queens on those, and the kings
on top. Put the whole stack into an empty right pocket of your
jacket, faced toward your body, with the cards resting lengthwise
across the bottom of the pocket. Have the remainder of the pack
in another pocket.

107
108 Card Magic

WHAT YOU DO
Take out the pack and ask someone to shufle the cards. Put the
shufled cards in your right pocket, between your body and the
stacked cards hidden there, but with the pack standing up oerti-
callE on end. This keeps the pack separate from the stacked cards,
which are lengthuise on top of it. Take your hand out of your
pocket.
"Without looking at any of the cards," you say, "I'm going to
try to ffnd one of the members of the royal family." Reach into your
pocket and take the top card from the stack. "I think I've found a
king." Immediately bring it out, show it is a king, and toss it faceup
on the table.
Now take the pack from your pocket,leaving the stacked cards
behind. Ask the person to shufle the pack again. "Please shuffie
them more thoroughly." Put the reshufled pack into your pocket,
between your body and the stacked cards, and square up all the
cards so that the stacked ones are fush on top. Remove your hand,
and say, "I'll try again."
Reach into your pocket, take the next card from the top, bring
it out to show that it is a king, and toss it faceup on the table. Do
that twice more, each time bringing out a king and dropping it
faceup on the others. Spread them out on the table to show you
have found all four kings.
Take out the pack with the rest of the stacked cards on top and
put it facedown on the table. "Please cut the cards," you say. "Just
lift a batch of them off the pack. Cut them wherever you wish and
hand them to me." Take the cards he cuts off the top. Hold them
facedown in your left hand, ready to deal them out, and push the
rest of the pack aside.
"f want you to deal your cards into four piles," you explain.
Demonstrating what he should do, you deal four cards off the top,
one at a time, spacing them across the table, left to right. Scoop
those up, keeping them facedown, and put them back on the bot-
tom of the cards in your hand. "Deal them all out, one at a time,
from left to right."
Hand him the cards so he can do that. Because of the way they
are now stacked, his dealing them out into four piles automatically
puts a queen on the top and a jack on the bottom of each pile.
"I found the kings," you tell him, "but gou have found the
 The Whole Royal Family 109

queens!" Turn the top card of each pile faceup and show all four
queens. Pick those up and drop them on the table on the four kings.
Pause a second, as if the trick were over. Then quickly fip all
four piles over, faceup, to show there is a jack on the bottom of each
pile, and say, "And there are the jacks-the whole royal family!"

Shuffled pack-
upright on end

Stacked jacks,
queens, kings,
lengthwise

INSIDE POCKET

Stacked cards

He cuts a batch off the pack

and deals them into four piles.
*'There's a Ghost in Your Pocket *

HOW IT LOOKS
"I won't ask you for your autograph," you tell someone, as you
give him a pencil, "but I would like your initials on these cards."
You show two pieces of white cardboard and remove the rubber
band that is around them so he can initial the front and back of each
card. Then you fasten the rubber band around them again and ask
him to put them in one of his pockets.
Picking up a pack of playing cards, you ask him to call out any
number between l0 and 20. He may call, "Seventeen." You deal
offseventeen cards and put aside the rest ofthe pack. "Seventeen
is a one and a seven," you say, "so if we add the two digits of your
number together, we get eight." You count down to the eighth card
in the pile and hold it up for everyone to see. "Your card happens
to be the three of clubs."
You ask him to take the two white cards from his pocket and
to remove the rubber band. "I believe you will find your initials still
on the front and back of both cards," you say, "but you will also ffnd
something else. There has been a ghost in your pocket and he has
Ieft you a message. Will you please read it aloud?"
He discovers that magically printed across the face of one of
the blank cards is the message: You wILL CHoosE 3 or cr,uns!

WHAT YOU NEED

Two 372-inch squares of blank white cardboard; a big fat rub-
ber band, about 3 inches long and % inch wide; a pack of cards; a
pen and pencil.

THE SECRET
The rubber band that is around the white cards hides the
writing that is on one of them at the start. The playing cards are.
arranged and counted in a way that puts the three of clubs at the
"chosen" number.
110
 There's a Ghost in Your Pocket 111

First stack the two white cards together and put the rubber
band horizontally around their center. On the top card, draw aoery
light pencil line along each edge of the band, and then remove the
band. Keeping well within the pencil lines, use the pen to print:
You wrLL cHoosE 3 or cluns!
Erase the pencil lines, fasten the band around the cards again,
and adjust it to hide the printing under it. Put a small pencil dot at
the upper-right-hand corner to identify that side of the card.
Place the three of clubs in the pack so that it is the tenth card
down from the top. SIip the pack back into its case and put it on
your table with the banded white cards and pencil.

WHAT YOU DO
Give the person the pencil and show both sides of the banded-
together white cards. Rest them on your left hand, with the secretly
printed side up. (Glance at the pencil dot to make sure.) Ask him
to put his initials on the top card, which seems blank because of the
band around them. Turn them over, still banded together, and ask
him to initial the one now on top.
Remove the rubber band, keeping the cards fat on your hand.
Turn over the one he just initialed and ask him to put his initials on
the back of it. Then slide that card in under the bottom of the other
one and ffnally have him initial the one that is left facing him.
Although he has initialed all four sides, the hidden printing is now
at the inside of the cards. Snap the rubber band around them again,
give the banded cards to him, and ask him to put them in one of
his pockets.
Take the pack of playing cards from its case and ask him to call
out any number between l0 md 20. Count aloud to whatever
number is called, dealing the cards singly off the top into a face-
down pile on the table, and put the rest of the pack aside. Then say
you will add together the two digits of the number he called. If the
number called were /3, you would add together ,l and 3 and get
4. If itwere 15, you would say, "Fifteen is a one and a ffve, so if we
add the two digits together, we get six."
Pick up the cards you dealt into a pile and count down to the
number you get from adding the two digits together. Look at that
card, hold it up for others to see, and say, "Your card happens to
be the three of clubs."
112 Card Magic

(The trick works for any number from ten to twenty. But if
twenty is called, the counting is a little different. Deal twenty cards
off the pack, and say, "We'll divide your number by its ftrst digit.
Twenty divided by two is ten." Count ten cards off the pile of
twenty and turn over the nert card to show the three of clubs.)
Ask the person to take out the white cards he has had in his
pocket and to remove the rubber band. "There has been a ghost in
your pocket and he has left you a message," you say. "Will you
please read it aloud?" He reads what he discovers has been magi-
cally printed across the blank face of one of the cards he initialed:
YOU WILL CHOOSE 3 OT CLUSS!

Pencil dot

Light pencir rines

YouWLL Choose 3df CLubs
>

Printing is kept within

lines that mark where
rubber band goes-
lines are later erased.

Band around cards

hides printing under it.
 The Card Detective

HOW IT LOOKS
You ask someone to choose a card, Iook at it, and put it back
in the pack. "I'm going to hire a detective to ffnd your card," you
say.
You spread the cards on the table to show they are all facing
the same way. Then you spread them again, and the jack of spades
suddenly appears faceup in the facedown pack! "There he is: Jack
Spade-the Card Detective."
You put the jack back in the pack and ask the person to call out
the name of the card he chose. He may say, for example, that it was
the six of hearts. Once more, you spread the pack, and now the
chosen six of hearts appears faceup!
"The six of hearts," you say. "Jack always turns up the evi-
dence. But every good mystery story should end with a chase."
You show an envelope empty and put the six of hearts in it.
"Now watch for Jack." You pick up the pack and show the face of
each card, as you deal them all out on the table. There is no jack
of spades. It has disappeared! "Jack has vanished from the pack.
He's chasing your card to catch it."
You open the envelope. Inside it, with the chosen six of hearts
is the missing jack! "And catch your card, he did," you say. "Jack
Spade-the Card Detective."

WHAT YOU NEED

A pack of cards; an envelope; double-faced transparent tape
(sticky both sides).

THE SECRET
The jack of spades and the chosen card secretly become stuck
together, back to back. With one side faceup the stuck-together
cards look like the jack, and with the other side up they look like
the chosen card. At the end, you separate the two inside the enve-
lope, before taking out each of them.
113
114 Card Magic

Use a tiny piece (about /z inch) of the double-faced tape. Fas-

ten it to the back of the jack of spades at its center. Put the taped
cardfaceup on the bottom of the facedown pack. Have the enve-
lope in your pocket or on the table at the start of the trick.

WHAT YOU DO
Hold the pack facedown in your Ieft hand. Ask someone to take
a card. Spread them in your hands to let him choose one. While he
is looking at it, draw half the cards off the bottom with your right
hand.
Hold the remaining cards out toward him with your left hand
so he can put his card back on top of those. Then put the pack
together by dropping the half from your right hand on top of the
half in your left hand.
His card now seems lost in the pack, but it really is right under
the faceup jack that has the sticky tape on its back. CarefullE square
up the pack so that all the edges are even, and secretly press down
on it with your thumb to make sure the two cards stick together.
Turn the pack faceup. Put it at the left side of the table and
spread the cards out to the right in a long overlapping row to show
they are all faceup. "I'm going to hire a detective to ffnd your card,"
you say.
Scoop up the pack, turn itfacedown, and put it at the left side
of the table. Again spread the cards out across the table. Show the
jack that suddenly has appeared faceup at the center. "There he is:
Jack Spade-the Card Detective."
Pick up dl the cards to the right of the jack. Square them, turn
them faceup, and put them on the table. Pick up the jack and put
it faceup on top of those. Then pick up the rest of the cards and put
them faceup on top of the jack. Now turn the whole pack over,
facedown, and put it at the left of the table.
Ask the person to call out the name of his card. Spread the
facedown pack across the table and show that the chosen card has
appeared faceup. Repeat the name of it. "The six of hearts" (or
whatever it may be), you say. "Jack always turns up the evidence.
But every good mystery story should end with a chase."
Hold up the envelope. Show the inside so everyone can see it
is empty. Slide the chosen card (with the jack secretly stuck to its
back) out of the spread. Bring the envelope down close to the table.
 The Card Detective 115

Pick up the double card, keep it held fat, and put it in the envelope.
Close the fap and put the envelope aside on the table.
Scoop up the cards, square the pack, and hold them faceup in
your left hand, as you say, "Now watch forJack." Deal the cards ofl
one at a time, into a faceup pile. The jack they are watching for has
disappeared. "Jack has vanished from the pack," you say, when you
ffnish showing all of them. "He's chasing your card to catch it."
Take the envelope in your left hand. Reach in with your right
ffngers and separate the stuck-together cards. Bring out the chosen
card and drop it faceup on the table. "And catch your card, he did."
Bring out the jack of spades and drop it faceup next to the chosen
one. "Jack Spade-the Card Detective."

Double-faced
tape on back of
jack of spades

card

Right hand takes half

of pack off bottom.

Right hand drops

its cards back
on top of left-hand cards-
\ jack and chosen card
stick together,
back-to-back.
 Time to Rise

HOW IT LOOKS
"Will you help me put one of these cards to bed?" you ask
someone, as you hold out a pack to have a card chosen from it.'Just
take any card at all and look at it without letting me see it." You
pick up a handkerchief and spread that over the palm of your left
hand and place the pack on it. "We'll use this handkerchief as a bed
sheet."
You take back the chosen card, keeping it facedown, and bury
it in the middle of the pack, pushing it in so that it is lost among the
others. "Let's pretend we're tucking it in for the night," you say.
"I want to show you my new silent-alarm wake-up system."
You hold the pack upright in your handkerchief-covered hand.
"No ringing alarm clock, no blaring radio, nobody shouting to wake
up. All it takes is a little magic to let your card know it's time to get
out of bed-time to rise."
You ask the person to name the card he chose. Slowly it begins
to rise, magically climbing upward out of the pack!

WHAT YOU NEED

A pack of cards; a hindkerchief or table napkin; transparent
tape.

THE SECRET
The pack is handled in a way that secretly sticks another card
to the back of the chosen one near its lower end. Stuck together,
they are like a single card twice as long as the rest. Your pinkie,
hidden by the handkerchief, pushes up the stuck-together cards so
that the chosen one seems to rise from the pack.
To set it up, turn a l-inch length of tape stickE side out and
fasten its two ends together to make a little tube. Press it fat and
stick it to the face of any card, centered about I inch down from
the card's top edge. Gently rub your thumb over the tape to make
116
 Time to Rise 117

it slightly less sticky. Place the taped card facedown on the bottom
of the pack and put the pack in one of your pockets. Have the
handkerchief or napkin in another pocket.

WHAT YOU DO
Take out the pack, spread the cards in your hands, and ask
someone to take any card and to look at it without letting you see
it. While he is looking at it, place the pack on the table, and bring
out the handkerchief. Hold your left hand palm upward and spread
the handkerchief over your palm, so that most of it hangs down
toward the front, as you say, "We'll use this handkerchief as a bed
sheet."
Pick up the pack from the table and place it on your handker-
chief-covered left hand. Hold the pack through the cloth with your
thumb at the left long edge and ffngers up around the other long
edge. Take back the chosen card from the person, keeping it face-
down. Put the card on top of the pack and slide it forward until half
its length extends beyond the front edge of the pack.
Now bring your right hand to the end of the pack that is nearest
to you and pull out about half the cards from the bottom by grip-
ping them at their sides between your thumb and ffngers. Put that
bottom half squarely on top of the pack, so that the chosen card that
extends to the front is sandwiched between the two halves. This
places the taped card on top of the lower part of the chosen card.
Secretly press down on the pack a little to make sure they are stuck
together.
Turn your handkerchief-covered hand up, palm toward you, to
hold the pack upright. With your right hand, push the chosen card
down into the pack until its top edge is level with the other cards
and it seems lost among them. (Pushing it down also pushes down
the card stuck to it, which now extends for half its length below the
bottom edge of the pack, hidden from front view by the handker-
chief.)
"Let's pretend we're tucking it in for the night," you say. "I
want to show you my new silent-alarm wake-up system. . . . AII it
takes is a little magic to let your card know it's time to get out of
bed-time to rise."
Ask the person to name the card he chose. Secretly push your
left pinkie, covered by the handkerchief, up under the bottom edge
118 Card Maglc

? Chosen card is
put on top
and slid out
to front.

Pack is held
on handkerchief.

Taped card
facedown
on bottom

Right hand draws half the pack

off bottom-then puts
that half on top.
 Time to Rise 119

of the pushed-down card, slowly pushing it up so the chosen card

rises out of the top of the pack.
When it has risen as far as it will go, bring your right hand to
the pack. Put your right fingers down into the top of the pack
behind the chosen card. Gently lift off the top half of the pack to
separate the stuck-together cards. Slide that half in under the pack
at the bottom. Remove the chosen card and hold it up to show it
again. Then put the pack and handkerchief away in your pocket.
(If you want to use the pack for other card tricks, wait a mo-
ment or two, and then "remember" another trick you would like
to show. Bring the pack out again, leaving the taped bottom card
behind in your pocket.)

Pushing chosen
card down
into pack
pushes taped
card down
at bottom.

"Time to rise!"

' Pinkie at

FRONT VIEW
*'Humpty Dumpty Changing Card *'

HOW IT LOOKS
Somebody chooses a card and you try to ffnd it with the pack
held behind your back. But the card you bring out is not the one
he chose. "I was afraid of that," you say. "This pack is out of balance.
It needs a tune-up."
You hold the wrong card upright on the table, resting on its
long side edge, with its back toward those watching. Picking up the
pack, you rest that on the top edge of the card. When you take your
hands away, the card remains standing up by itself, with the pack
balanced on it!
"What did you say your card was?" you ask. He answers that
it was the four of hearts. You pull the upright card out from under
the pack that is balanced on it, spilling the pack to the table. "That's
what I thought you said." You show that magically the wrong card
has changed to the chosen one. "The four of hearts!"

WHAT YOU NEED

A pack of cards; a glue stick.

THE SECRET
The "chosen" card has a two-way fap on the face of it so it can
be shown as either the wrong card or the right one. The fap, when
secretly opened, also serves as a hidden support that keeps the card
standing up by itself with the pack balanced on it.
Three cards are glued together to make the fap card. Take a
four of hearts and a two of clubs and put them faceup on a table.
Fold each of those in half from top to bottom to bring their narrow
ends exactly together. Crease the center folds hard with your
thumbnail.
Next put a joker (or any card) faceup on the table. Coat its
entire face with the glue stick. Then coat the entire backs of the two
folded cards. Open those so their top ends, above the center crease,
120
 Humpty Dumpty Changing Card 121

are upright. Firmly fasten the two upright ends together back to
back. Fasten their flat bottom ends to the face of the joker. Wipe
off any excess glue, put the card under a heavy book, and let it dry
thoroughly.
By secretly turning the fap from top to bottom, or bottom to
top, the card can be shown as either the four of hearts or the two
of clubs. To set up the trick, swing the fap from top to bottom so
the four of hearts is showing and put the card facedown on top of
the pack.

WHAT YOU DO
Stand at the table with the pack in your left hand. Ask someone
to please call out any number from 5 to 10. Without counting
aloud, quickly count that number of cards into your right hand, by
drawing them offthe pack one at a time with your right thumb and
taking them into that hand one on top of another. (This reverses
their original order; the fap card is now at the bottom of the cards
counted off into the right hand.)
Put the rest of the pack on the table and take the counted-off
cards in your left hand. Now count aloud as you take them from
your left hand and put them down one at a time on top of the pack.
When you come to the last card (the fap four of hearts), take it
between your thumb and ffngers, keeping the fap closed. Hold it
up with its face toward those watching, and say, "Please remember
this card."
Place it on top of the pack and pick up the cards and shufle
them. "I'll try to ffnd it without looking at any of the cards," you say.
Put the pack and both hands behind your back.
With the pack behind you, turn it faceup in your left hand.
Take the cards offone at a time with your right hand until you come
to the fap card, which you can feel because of its fap and double
thickness.
Swing the fap from bottom to top to change the face from four
of hearts to two of clubs. Take the card at the top between your
right thumb and ffngers, holding the fap closed, and bring it out
with its back toward those watching. With your other hand, put the
rest of the pack on the table.
"What was your card?" you ask. When the person answers that
it was the four of hearts, glance at it and ask, "Are you sure it wasn't
122 Card Magic

Flap card can be shown as four of hearts or two of clubs.

BACK: Pack rests

on half-open flap.

FRONT: Pack is balanced

on upright card.

Thumb closes flap and pulls card

out from under-toppling
the pack as card changes.
 Humpty Dumpty Changing Card 123

the two of clubs?" Turn it around to show the two of clubs and shake
your head. "I was afraid of that. This pack is out of balance. It needs
a tune-up."
Turn the back of the card toward those watching and bring it
down to the table. With one hand at the flap end, hold the card
lengthusise, standing upright on the table on its long bottom edge.
Pick up the pack with your other hand and place it fat and length-
wise on the top edge of the single card, as if trying to balance it
there.
As you adjust the cards, bring your thumb down to the back
and secretly open the fap. Open it halfway, so the back edge of the
pack rests on and covers the fap from top view.
Lift both hands away, moving them out to the sides of the
cards. Supported by the fap now hidden from view beneath it, the
pack seems to stay balanced on the edge of the card that remains
standing up by itself! Pause long enough for everybody to realize
what has happened, and then ask, "What did you say your card
was?"
As he answers, bring the tip of your thumb against the edge of
the fap, ready to close it so the four of hearts will show. Close the
fap as you grip the card between your thumb and ffngers and pull
it out from under the pack, toppling the pack to the table.
"That's what I thought you said." Hold up the card to show it
has changed to the chosen one. "The four of hearts!"
Gather up the pack, put the card on top of it, and put the pack
away in your pocket.
7 +
+ *

*
+
+
* I
+ *

(e\ fr
*
 The Money Jar

HOW IT LOOKS
"Some people save their small change in piggy banks," you say,
"but I decided it would be more fun to use this money jar." You
show an empty small glass jar, topped with a screw cap. "It's fun
because there's no coin slot in the lid. There is no way to put your
money in except by magic. I'll show you how it works."
You carefully wrap a quarter in a small piece of paper, fasten-
ing it with a paper clip. Then you rub the wrapped quarter against
the bottom of the jar.
Suddenly the quarter clinks into view inside the jar, as if it had
passed right through the bottom! You tear up the paper to show it
is empty, and have someone unscrew the lid and remove the quar-
ter from the jar.

WHAT YOU NEED

An empty 2-ounce glass jar with a screw cap (such as an olive,
pickle, or salad-dressing jar); two look-alike quarters; a 4-inch
square of newspaper; a paper clip.

THE SECRET
One quarter is hidden between the inside of the lid and the top
edge of the jar, where it remains until you secretly twist the lid. The
duplieate quarter slides out of the folded paper into your ffngers
after wrapping, and you get rid of it when you reach into your
pocket for the paper clip.
Soak the jar in hot water to remove the labels. Wash and dry
it, and also remove the lid's cardboard lining. Put the lid, mouth up,
on a table. Place one of the quarters fat against the inside edge.
Turn the jar mouth down and gently screw it into the lid until the
coin is ffrmly clamped in place.
Fold the bottom edge of the newspaper square up to about I
inch below the top edge. Put the paper, the other quarter, and the
126
 The Money Jar 127

paper clip in your right jacket pocket. Have the capped jar standing
upright on your table at the start of the trick.

WHAT YOU DO
Holding the jar upright, freely show it around so it can be seen
empty. Tilt the lid toward those watching, showing there is no slot,
then stand the jar on the table. Take the quarter and piece of paper
from your pocket.
Show the quarter, put it on the paper's center, and hold it with
the tip of your left thumb. Close the bottom fold up over the quar-
ter and turn the paper upright, keeping the coin inside the fold,
which is now toward you at the back.
Fold the right side out away from you, around to the front, and
crease it. Then fold the left side around to the front, so that the two
ends overlap, and crease it. (When making these folds, allow a little
space at each side of the coin, so it will later slide freely.) Finally fold
the top inch down to the front, and crease the fold.
The quarter seems completely wrapped inside the paper, but
the folding has left an opening across the back top edge. With your
right hand palm down, take the paper with the top edge between
your thumb at the back and ffngers in front, and remove it from
your left hand. Tap the paper sharply several times on the tabletop,
so the eoin can be heard inside.
With your right thumb pressing the coin through the paper, to
keep it from sliding out, turn your hand over palm up and lift the
paper from the table. Now say, "I'll fasten it with a paper clip."
Bring your left hand over to take the paper. As your hands
come together, release the pressure of your right thumb and let the
quarter secretly slide out into your right hand. Lift the paper away
with your left hand, and reach into your pocket with the right hand.
Leave the quarter behind in your pocket and bring out the paper
clip. Fasten the clip to the paper and hold it up with your right
hand.
Put the ffngers of your left hand around the jar's left side to
cover it, with your index ffnger and thumb around the lid. Turn that
hand palm up, so the jar lies on its side in your ffngers, lid to the
left and bottom to the right.
With your right hand, gently rub the folded paper against the
jar bottom. As you do that, secretly push your left thumb forward
128 Coin Magic

t
2 t
\
BACK VIEWS \ ,I
I

Quarter inside Right side Left side Top part

of bottom fold folded folded folded
around around down to
to front to front front

BACK VIEW
Quarter slides out
into right fingers.

Coin is hidden inside lid-

clamped there by top edge of jar.

Paper is rubbed
Thumb secretly
bottom of jar.
twists lid
to release
the hidden coin.
 The Money Jar 129

against the side of the lid. Inch the lid around between your thumb
and index ffnger, unscrewing it just enough to release the quarter.
(Only a slight twist is needed.) Tilt the jar bottom down a little, so
the hidden coin falls into view inside it.
Hold up the jar with the quarter in it and gently tilt it back and
forth, so the coin can be seen clearly, and then stand the jar on the
table. Quickly remove the paper clip and tear the folded paper in
half and in half again. Toss the empty scraps on the table and hand
someone the jar, asking him to unscrew the cap and pour out your
quarter.
 The Magic Money Maker

HOW IT LOOKS
You show a small piece of paper, fold it in half, and put it on
the table. "I've discovered a magic way to make money," you say.
You place a penny on the paper. "All I need to invest is one penny."
You fold the paper several times more, closing the penny inside
it. Then you snap your ffngers and open the paper. Magically, the
penny has changed into a dime!
"Ten times as much money as I had when I started," you say.
"But if you're wondering why I'm not a millionaire, the trouble is
that to make a million dollars-I'd have to do this trick ten million
times."

WHAT YOU NEED

A penny; a dime; a 4-by-S-inch piece of paper; transparent
tape.

THE SECRET
The dime is hidden by the way you handle the paper when you
ffrst show it and fold it in half. Attached to the penny is a small patch
of sticky tape. It holds the penny to the back of the paper when you
open it to reveal the dime.
Turn the paper lengthwise, fold it in half left to right, and
crease the fold. Put the paper, with its/olded edge at the bottorn,
into your left jacket pocket. Place the dime there, too.
Take a l-inch piece of tape and fasten the ends together, stickE
side out. Press it fat and attach it to the back of the penny. Put the
taped penny in your right jacket pocket.

WHAT YOU DO
Reach into your left pocket and get the dime in your ffngers.
Hold it fat against the paper, covered by your ffngers, and slide
130
 The Magic Money Maker 131

them up until you can take the top of the paper between your
ffngers and thumb.
Bring it out of your pocket, show both sides, and hold it fat in
front of you, thumb on the top left edges and ffngers underneath.
The dime lies hidden on your fingers under the paper. With your
right hand, open the top fold and show the paper empty. As you
open it, the paper remains lying on your left hand.
Now fold the paper in half by bending the right end dousn
under the back of your left ffngers. This brings the hidden dime to
the inside center of the fold. Grip the dime through the paper with
your right thumb and ffngers, and take your left hand away.
Hold the paper as it is with your right hand and crease the fold
with the left thumb and ffngers. Put the paper on the table with its
folded edge to the front.
Reach into your right pocket and bring out the penny with its
taped side down. Lay the penny on the paper, centered just below
the fold. Call attention to it by saying, "AIl I need to invest is one
penny."

Dime is hidden by
fingers under paper.

Opening paper to show it emptY

Right half is folded down

under left fingers.

Right hand takes folded paper-

dime now hidden inside it.
132 Coin Magic

Sticky tap .
on bottom
of per ny
Pe ny put
on aper
on ble

Fold paper Then... Turn whole Penny stuck

over to fold it paper over to paper
close penny over again. toward you
inside- to bring
press down open edges
so it to top.
sticks to
paper.

BACK VIEW

Fold the paper over toward you one fold, to bring it over the
bottom edge of the penny. As you crease that fold, press down on
the penny to stick it to the paper. Fold the paper over toward you
again and crease the second fold. Then turn the whole paper over
toward you to bring its two open edges to the top. Lift both hands
away, show them empty, and snap your ffngers.
Take the top open edge that is nearest to you between your left
thumb and index finger, and the other edge between your right
thumb and index ffnger.
Lift your left hand straight up and your right hand forward and
down, pulling your hands apart to open the folded paper. The dime
will appear and slide to the table, while the penny is hidden behind
the paper, stuck to the back of it.
"Ten times as much money as I had when I started," you say.
Hold up the apparently empty paper a moment. Then crumple it
and drop it into your left pocket. Pick up the dime, show it, and say,
"But if you're wondering why I'm not a millionaire, the trouble is
that to make a million dollars-I'd have to do this trick ten million
times."
 The Seesaw Nickels
and Pennies

HOW IT LOOKS
"There's an old saying among magicians," you say, spreading
two paper napkins fat on the table, "that the closer you watch, the
less you see. I'm going to count out some coins and I want you to
keep track of how many of each kind there are."
You place ffve nickels in a row on the right napkin and ffve
pennies on the left one. Then you pick up the coins one at a time,
putting the nickels under the right napkin and the pennies under
the left one.
"How many nickels did I put over here?" you ask, pointing to
the right-hand napkin. The answer is "Five." But you say, "Sorry,
you're wrong. There aren't any nickels here at all. . . . These are all
pennies!"
You lift away the napkin and show ffve pennies instead of five
nickels. Then you lift the other napkin and the ffve nickels are
there. All the coins have magically changed places. "I'm afraid you
were watching too closely," you say. "You didn't really see whatyou
thought you sau)."

WHAT YOU NEED

Five nickels; six pennies; two large paper napkins.

THE SECRET
The extra sixth penny is hidden in your ffngers at the start.
When you appear to put the ffrst nickel under its napkin, you
actually drop the hidden penny instead, hiding the nickel in your
ffngers. Then you pick up a penny and appear to put that under the
other napkin, but drop the hidden nickel instead and keep the
penny in your ffngers, and so on, until all the coins have been put
under napkins. (Switching the coins secretly is easy because your
hand is always under a napkin when you do it.)
Put all the nickels and pennies in a right-hand pocket. Fold the
napkins small to carry in the pocket.
133
134 Coin Magic

WHAT YOU DO
Unfold and spread the napkins fat on the table, spaced well
apart. Say you are going to count out some coins and you want those
watching to keep track of how many there are of each kind.
Reach into your pocket and hide one penny by closing your
lower two fingers around it. Bring out the rest of the coins, keeping
your palm down as you spread them on the table. With your thumb
and free ffngers, pick up the nickels one at a time and place all ffve
in a row on top of the front part of the right napkin. Then do the
same with the pennies on the left napkin.
Hold up a nickel between your thumb and index ffnger, keep-
ing the other ffngers closed to hide the extra penny. With your left
hand, hold up the back end of the napkin. Put your right hand
under the center of it, drop the hidden penny on the table instead
of the nickel, and push the nickel into your fingers with your thumb
to hide it.
Pick up a penny from the top of the other napkin to show it.
With your left hand,lift the back end of that napkin. Put your right
hand under, drop the hidden nickel, and hide the penny in your
fingers.
Keep repeating the same moves, each time dropping the coin
previously hidden in your ffngers and hiding the picked-up coin in
its place. (After you have put ffve coins under each napkin there will
be an extra penny still hidden in your ffngers. Just keep it, with your
ffngers loosely around it, until the trick is over.)
Now point to the right-hand napkin. "How many nickels did I
put over here?" When someone answers "Five," you say: "Sorry,
you're wrong. There aren't any nickels here at all. . . . These are all
pennies!"
Lift the napkin by its back edge with your right thumb and
index ffnger. Take it away and show ffve pennies lying on the table
where the nickels should have been. "The nickels are all over
here," you say, as you lift offthe other napkin in the same way. "I'm
afraid you were watching too closely. You didn't really see whatyou
thought yov sau)."
Wait a moment, and then put the napkins aside. Scoop the
coins into your hand, secretly adding the extra hidden penny, and
put them away in your pocket.
 The Seesaw Nickels and Pennies 135

F ve pennies Five nickels

\
\
t\
I
t'

oo o oo
-N

z )

Paper napkins are spread on table.

Extra penny is
hidden in fingers;
hold up nickel
toshowit. //

With your hand under napkin, each time you leave coin that
was hidden in fingers and hide the one you just showed.
 A Coin-Vanishing Envelope

Here is an envelope you can use in various tricks to make a coin,

ring, key, or poker chip disappear. It works almost automatically,
with nothing to hide in your ffngers.
You will need some manila coin envelopes, No. 2 size (2Yz
inches by 4Yz inches), with a fap at one end. You will use a new
envelope each time you do the trick.
Turn an envelope upright, fap at the top. With a pair of scis-
sors, trim a tinE strip off the bottom edge, cutting straight across.
Put the prepared envelope, face to the front, in the outer breast
pocket of your jacket or shirt.
Hous to use it: Show the coin (or whatever you plan to make
vanish) and put it on the table. Draw the upright envelope out of
your pocket with your left hand. Take it with your right hand,
between your thumb across the back just above the bottom edge
and your ftngers in front.
Tilt the envelope forward and hold it fat, face toward the table
so that everybody can see what you're doing. Pick up the coin with
your left hand and slide it into the envelope. Tilt it upright again
with your right hand, pinching your thumb and ffngers together to
keep the coin from sliding out the bottom end. Bring it to your
mouth, lick the fap, and seal it shut with your left ffngers.
"I'll put the envelope right here so you can keep an eye on it,"
you say. Still holding it as you were with your right hand, put the
bottom end down inside your breast pocket. Leave most of the
envelope sticking up out of your pocket, where it remains in full
view. Now simply remove your right hand and let the coin secretly
fall from the envelope into the bottom of your pocket.
Go on with the rest of whatever trick you're doing, until you
are ready to show that the coin has vanished. Then take the enve-
Iope from your pocket and tear a Yz-inch strip off the bottom end,
tearing it straight across.
Squeeze the side edges, put your ffngers into the opening, and
tear the envelope open along one side and at the top, so you can
open it wide to show it empty.
136
A Coin-Vanishing Envelope 137

Right thumb and fingers

pinch end to keep coin
from falling out.

Envelope is kept in view;

coin drops into bottom of pocket.
 Pulse Beat

HOW IT LOOKS
You place three paper cups, bottoms up, in a row on the table,
and put a quarter beside them. "May I take your pulse?" you ask
someone. 'Just hold out your left hand." You hold his wrist and feel
his pulse for a moment. "Thanks. I wanted to know what your
normal pulse beat is."
Then you explain that you are going to turn your back so you
can't see what he does, and that you want him to hide the quarter
under any one of the cups. "When you have done that, slide the cup
back where it was in line with the others, so I can't tell which one
the quarter is under," you say. "Now, to mix things up, change the
places of the other two cups. Swap those two around, one for the
other-but do it silently, please."
You face him again and ask him to hold out his left hand and
to point to the row of cups with his index ffnger. You take his wrist,
feeling his pulse, and gently move his hand back and forth above
the row of cups. Finally you bring his hand down so his ffnger
touches one of the cups.
"You kept a straight face and didn't say a word," you tell him,
"but your pulse is throbbing, so this must be the one." You lift that
cup and show the quarter that was hidden under it.

WHAT YOU NEED

A quarter and three paper cups.

THE SECRET
The bottom edge of one of the cups is slightly dented, so you
can secretly keep track of where that one is after it has been moved
around on the table. You can dent the cup ahead of time, or while
you are handling them at the start of the trick, simply by pressing
your thumb in against the bottom rim to bend it a little.

138
 Pulse Beat 139

WHAT YOU DO
Stand the cups, bottoms up, on the table. Slide them around to
mix them, and ffnally line them up in an even spaced-apart row.
Remember the starting position of the one with the dented edge,
whether it is ffrst, second, or third in the row, counting across from
your left. Place the quarter on the table, and ask someone if you can
take his pulse so you know what his "normal pulse beat is."
Take his left wrist with your right hand and pretend to feel his
pulse. Then explain that you are going to turn your back and you
want him to hide the quarter under any one of the three cups.
Turn your back, and say: "When you have done that, slide the
cup back where it was in line with the others, so I can't tell which
one the quarter is under. . . . Now, to mix things up, change the
places of the other two cups. Swap those two around, one for the
other-but do it silently, please."

Quarter hidden under any cup

Bottom edge
slightly dented

Dent helps you keep track of which cups are moved

while your back is turned.
140 Coin Magic

You say it that way because you want to make sure he puts
whatever cup the quarter is hidden under back in the exact place
in the row where it was, and so that he will move around only the
other two cups, exchanging their positions in the row.
Face him and ask him to hold out his hand and point his index
ffnger at the row of cups. Take his wrist and pretend to be feeling
his pulse. This gives you time to ffgure out under which cup the
quarter is hidden.
What you do is secretly look for the cup with the dented rim.
If it still is in the same place in the row as it was before you turned
your back, then the quarter is hidden under that dented cup.
But if the dented cup has been moved somewhere else in the
row, then the quarter is not under the dented one, and it is not
under whichever cup is now where the dented one was at the start.
By mentally eliminating those two, you know which cup the quar-
ter must be under.
Act out the rest of the trick by gently guiding his pointing
ffnger back and forth above the cups. Bring his hand down to touch
the cup the quarter is hidden under. "You kept a straight face and
didn't say a word, but your pulse is throbbing," you tell him, "so it
must be under this one." Lift the cup and show the hidden quarter.
 The Money Catch

HOW IT LOOKS
"I collect coins," you say, as you show an empty small paper
bag. "Not rare coins. Just ordinary quarters." You take a quarter
from your pocket, show it, and drop it into the bag. "But I don't
collect them the ordinary way.I do it by magic."
You reach out into the air and another quarter suddenly ap-
pears in your ffngers. Dropping it into the bag, you say, "That makes
two. I just pick them out of the air whenever I happen to see one."
Again you reach out, catch a coin from the air, and drop it into the
bag. "Three quarters-and there's another." Once more you pluck
a quarter from the air and drop it into the bag. "They do add up
four quarters always make a dollar."
-andYou turn the bag upside down as if to dump out the four
quarters, but the coins have vanished. A dollar bill drops out of the
bag instead! "And that's exactly what I've got<ne dollar."

WHAT YOU NEED

A small fat-bottomed brown paper bag, about 10 inches high;
a quarter; a dollar bill; transparent tape.

THE SECRET
You really show the sarne quarter each time you pretend to
catch one from the air and drop it into the bag. Only one coin is
used. It is attached to your ffngers by a strip of tape that acts as a
hinge, so you can fip the coin up into view or let it fall out of sight
behind the ffngers. The dollar bill is in the bag at the start, hidden
by the way you show it empty.
Take a strip of tape LYz inches long. Attach one end to the
center of the quarter, leaving the rest of the fat strip extending
beyond the bottom edge of the coin. Put the taped coin in an empty
right pocket, with the sticky side of the tape toward the outside of
the pocket.
141
142 Coln Maglc

Fold the dollar bill in half lengthwise, and again in half the
same way. Close the bag fat and then fold it in thirds from the
bottom up. Turn over the folded bag so the opening at the top is
faceup. Slide the bill inside the top, down to the bottom of the ffrst
fold, and put the bag into an empty left pocket.

WHAT YOU DO
Take the folded bag from your pocket with your left hand.
Transfer it to the right hand by putting your ffngers down inside the
top, fat against the hidden bill to hold it there, with your thumb
outside at the back. Shake the bag open with your right hand.
Bring your left hand to the opposite top edge, ffngers inside
and thumb outside. Holding the top open with both hands, turn the
mouth toward those watching so that they can see inside the bag.
Then turn it mouth down and shake it again.
Remove your left hand and turn the bag upright with your
right hand. As you do that, secretly let the hidden bill drop from
under your ffngers and fall to the bottom of the bag. Stand the bag
upright on the table.
"I collect coins," you say. "Not rare coins. Just ordinary quar-
ters." Reach into your pocket with your right hand as if searching
for a quarter. Fasten the free end of the tape to the inner surface
of your index ffnger, so the bottom edge of the coin is at the top
edge of that ffnger, just above the middle joint. Hold the bottom
edge of the quarter with the tip of your thumb, and bring your hand
out of the pocket to show the quarter.
Turn your hand front and back so everyone can see you have
only one quarter. Then turn the back of your hand toward those
watching, ffngertips pointed left. Pick up the bag with your left
hand, by putting yow middle frnger down inside the top back edge,
with your thumb and other ffngers outside at the back. Behind the
bag, bend the tip of your index ffnger in against the tip of your
thumb.
Put your right hand down into the top of the bag as if dropping
the quarter. Just let go of the coin entirely and it will hang by its
tape behind your ffngers. As you pretend to drop it into the bag
with your right hand, snap your left index ffnger against the back
of the bag. This makes a sound like a coin falling into the bottom
of the bag. (Don't overdo it; a slight snap is enough.)
 The Money Catch 143

Quarter attached to finge

Hangs behind hand.

Thumb holds
bottom edge.

Upward swing of hand flips coin into view.

i
z I

/ hidden inside folded top.

I
I
I

7Q1
/-\
a
l-- /

((

Right hand pretends to drop coin;

left finger snaps against bag
to make sound of coin falling.
144 Coin Magic

Take your right hand from the bag and let your arm drop to
your side for a moment. "But I don't collect them the ordinary
way," you say. "I do it by magic." Turn your body to the left. Bring
your right hand up and reach into the air with a little upward and
forward swing. The coin will hinge on the tape and fop itself up to
the top edge of your ffnger. Move the tip of your thumb to the coin's
bottom edge to hold it there.
Then pretend to drop it into the bag as you did before.
Just let go of it so it hangs on its tape behind your ffngers, and snap
your left ffnger against the bag to make the sound of a coin falling
into it.
Drop your right hand to your side again. Repeat the same thing
twice more, pretending each time to catch a quarter from the air
and drop it into the bag. "They do add up," you say. "And four
quarters always make a dollar."
With your left hand, tip the bag over. Shake out the dollar bill
and drop the empty bag on the table. "And that's exactly what I've
got-one dollar."
Pick up the folded bill with your left hand. Keep the back of
your right hand toward those watching and bring it up to the front
of the bill. Press your ffngers and the hidden coin fat against it and
open the bill with both hands. Snap it between them, and put it
away in your pocket, leaving the taped coin there with it.
6 +
*

*
+
 How to Make Your
Own Magic Rope

Rope tricks are always popular, but if you've ever tried to do one
with ordinary clothesline you probably have discovered that it is
stiffand difrcult to use. Rope for most magic tricks must be soft and
pliable, easy to loop, to knot, and to cut through.
Dealers in magicians' equipment supply special soft clothes-
line. But you can easily make your own "magic rope" that will serve
most purposes just as well. That can be done by removing the inner
core from standard types of clothesline sold at hardware and variety
stores.
What you need is one of the many brands manufactured with
a "braided jacket." Those words usually are printed on the label.
The best for magic is clothesline with a braided cotton jacket, but
the kind with a braided plastic jacket also can be used.
The braided jacket is an outer tubelike shell. Inside it, running
through the whole length of the rope, is a core of several strands
of string or plastic ffber. Removing that core is simply a matter of
pulling out the center strings, so that you are left with the braided
outer jacket for rope tricks.
How to retnooe the core: Cut a piece of braided-jacket clothes-
line to the desired length. Take one end in your left hand, and use
your right ffngers to pull apart the braiding of the outer jacket at
that end to expose about an inch of the inner core. Close your left
hand around the jacket just beneath that end and grip the core
strings tightly with your right ffngers. Now pull the strings up with
your right hand, as you slide the jacket doutn with your left hand.
After you have pulled out a few inches of the core, you will ffnd
that the jacket bunches so it is hard to pull out any more. When that
happens, move your left hand to grip the jacket just below where
it has bunched. Pull your left hand dousn along the whole length
of the rope. That draws the bunched part down so the bottom end
of the jacket gradually becomes an empty tube.
Continue to do that. Pull out a few inches of the core at the top,
smooth the jacket down toward the bottom, and then pull out a few
more inches of the core from the top. When the entire outer jacket
has been stripped from the core, throw away the core, trim off the

146
 How to Make Your Magic Rope 147

two ends of the jacket and your "rope" is ready to use for magic.
It looks the same as it did before the core was removed, but now
it is soft and pliable.
Binding the ends: If you plan to use the same piece of rope for
repeat performances of some favorite trick, you may want to bind
the ends to keep them from fraying. The easiest way is to wrap a
short strip of white cloth adhesive tape horizontally around each
end.
Another way is to dip each end into white craft glue. Work the
glue in with your ffngers, roll the ends to reshape them, and allow
the glue to dry thoroughly before using the rope.
Magic string: Venetian blind cord makes an excellent "string"
for most string tricks. It is white, clearly visible, strong, and smooth
to handle, and it doesn't kink or ravel easily, as many loose-stranded
strings do.
The common variety of Venetian blind cord has an outer
braided cotton jacket, similar to cotton-jacketed clothesline. For
most tricks, it can be used as packaged. But if you want an even
softer and more pliable "string," the core can be removed the same
way as from clothesline.
Core

Right hand
pulls out core.

Jacket

Left hand
slides jacket
down toward
bottom.

Throw away core.

Use outer jacket.

 A Rope and a Knot
from Nowhere

HOW IT LOOKS
You show both hands empty, clap them together, and suddenly
produce a rope. "A rope from nowhere," you say. Then you loop the
rope around one hand and hold it up to show that it is not twisted
in any tricky way. "And now . . . a knot from nowhere." You swing
your hand toward you, give it a little downward shake, and a Iarge
knot suddenly appears, tied in the rope!

WHAT YOU NEED

A 3/z-foot length of soft clothesline (core removed). You will
need to wear a jacket or long-sleeved shirt or sweater and a wrist-
watch on your Ieft wrist.

THE SECRET
The rope is hidden up your sleeve, ffxed so you can catch a loop
of it with your thumb to draw it out through your hand and sud-
denly bring it into view. A simpliffed method of tying a knot with
one hand is used to make the knot appear.
To set up the trick, double the rope by bringing its two ends
together. Take the center loop and feed it from the inside armhole
down your left sleeve. Reagh up into your sleeve and draw the loop
down until you can slide it beneath the band of your wristwatch.
The loop should lie fat against the inside of the left wrist with its
center about an inch beyond the watchband.
Hold the loop in place with your right thumb and stretch your
left arm out full-length in front of you. Remove your right thumb
and let your left arm drop to your side. Inside the top of your sleeve,
the two ends of rope should now hang a few inches over the arm-
hole and down your left side. Fixed that way, it won't fall out of your
sleeve. You can move around freely until you are ready to do the
trick.

148
 A Rope and a Knot from Nowhere 149

WHAT YOU DO
Stand facing the audience with both hands hanging naturally
at your sides. Keep them at your sides and turn your palms outward
to show them empty. Turn your body a little to the right and raise
your hands to waist level, with the back of the left hand toward the
audience.
The way you clap your hands together puts them in position to
produce the rope. Point your left thumb toward the ceiling and
ffngertips toward the right. Bring your right palm against the left
so that the right fingers are vertical and the tip of the right thumb
touches the inside of your left wrist.
CIap your hands twice. Do it loudly, as if applauding. As you
clap the second time, catch the tip of your right thumb in the loop.
Quickly draw the rope up through your left hand and all the way
out to the right. Hold it up with your right hand to show it and say,
"A rope from nowhere."

Two ends

As hands
clap together-
thumb hooks loop.

Rope in
left sleeve

Right hand draws rope up through left.

150 With Rope and String

Now take one end with the left hand and shake the rope open
full length. Turn your right palm toward you, thumb up, ffngertips
to the left. Place the top end of the rope in the crotch of your right
thumb to hold it. Run your left hand down the rope to its center.
Bring that part up around the back of your right hand and drape
the center over the top edge of the right fingers, so the rope's other
end hangs down across the right palm. Remove your left hand.
Turn your right palm toward the audience to show the rope
and say, "And now . . . a knot from nowhere." Swing your palm
toward you again. Quickly close your ffngers against your palm.
Take the top end of the rope from under your thumb by gripping
that end between your index and middle ffngers, and straighten out
your hand.
Tilt your fingertips toward the foor, still holding the end of the
rope, and give your hand a little downward shake. The loop will fall
off your hand and a knot will appear in the center of the hanging
rope!

End under
+thumb

Fingers close
Rope is looped over and take end
back of hand ONE-HAND KNOT f rom under thumb. . .

and down front. then open out

again.

Loop falls otf hand

and knot appears.
*'Before You Can Count to Three*'

HOW IT LOOKS
You show a string in one hand, a pair of scissors in the other,
and announce, "Here's the quickest trick in the world. It happens
before I can count to three." With the scissors, you point to the long
loop that hangs over the back of your hand. "That's one . . . one
piece of string." You cut through the loop, cutting the string in two,
and show the cut pieces. "That's two . . . two pieces."
Quickly you run your ffngers along the string, stretching it out
between both hands and instantly it is restored to one piece again.
"One . . . two . . . and one!"

WHAT YOU NEED

A l-yard length of soft string; a second piece half that long;
scissors.

THE SECRET
The shorter piece is made into a large extra loop, tied at each
end to the center of the longer string. It is the extra loop that is cut
in half instead of the real center of the long string. When you spread
your hands apart that slides the cut pieces out to the ends, so the
whole thing looks Iike one string again.
Tie a small knot at each end of the long piece and trim those
ends close to the knots. Then tie each end of the short piece in a
single knot around the center of the long one. Again trim the ends
close to the knots. Slide those two knots together until they are
centered on the long string about I inch apart. The two bottom
ends of the long string should hang straight down from the center.
Fold the prepared string loosely and have it on your table with
the extra loop toward the front, and the scissors next to it.

151
152 With Rope and String

WHAT YOU DO
Take up the string with your left hand by closing your ffngers
around where the two parts join. Bring that hand in front of you,
with its back toward those watching.
Use your right hand to unfold the string and adjust it in your
left hand. The real center of the long string should be against the
inside of your left middle ffnger, near the base of that ffnger, with
your ffngertips pointing toward the right. Your left thumb covers
the center and holds the string there. Two ends hang down to the
bottom and the large extra loop hangs over the back of your left
hand.
Large
extra loop

Left hand holds rope.

Small knots
tied at ends
 Before You Can Count to Three 153

As hands pull apart,

ends are drawn up.

r/.

Thumbs cover
Cut end of joining knots- Cut end of
extra loop extra loop
looks like one rope.

"One. . . one piece of string," you say. Take up the scissors with
your right hand and cut through the extra loop. Put the scissors
back on the table, and say, "Two . . . two pieces of string." With your
left thumb still covering the real center, swing that hand outward
a moment, palm to the front, to show the cut string from both sides.
Then bring the hand back in front of you as it was, palm toward you.
Now bring your right hand over to the inside of the left palm.
With your right thumb and index and middle ftngers, tightly grip
the little knot to the right of the string's real center. With your left
thumb and fingers, grip the knot to the left of the center.
Quickly spread both hands apart, right and left, as far as you
can, sliding the knots along the string to its ends. Your thumbs and
ffngers automatically conceal the joining of the knots, and the out-
stretched string suddenly appears whole, restored again. "One
...two...andone!"
 Guaranteed by Magic

HOW IT LOOKS
"This necklace has a magic guarantee," you say, as you take a
string of beads from a paper bag. You show a card on which are
printed the words: GUARANTEED By ua.crc! "These beads won't
ever break."
You hold the necklace by one end, dangling it above a small
bowl on your table, and pick up a pair of scissors. "Of course, the
thread may break-and the beads will come loose and spill all over
the place." You cut offthe bottom bead and the others all spill loose
into the bowl,leaving the empty thread hanging from your ffngers.
"But if that happens, you just use the magic guarantee." You
show the paper bag empty, roll up the thread, and drop it into the
bag. Then you pick up the bowl and pour the beads into the bag.
"Shake them up a bit, and tap them three times with the guaran-
tee."
You shake the bag and tap it three times with the guarantee
card. When you reach in and take out the necklace, all the beads
are magically strung together again! "And there they are-just as
good as ne\ /."

WHAT YOU NEED

Fourteen large plastic or wooden beads; a spool of thick white
thread; scissors; a S-by-S-inch blank ffle card; a black marking pen;
a small bowl; a fat-bottomed brown paper bag.

THE SECRET
Two threads are used. Twelve beads are strung together in a
separate set on one thread. The second thread runs through those
and has an extra bead tied to each end. It all looks like a single
necklace, but when you cut off the bottom bead only the second
thread is cut. What seem to be loose beads spilling into the bowl
really are the strung-together set. You simply pour them into the
154
 Guaranteed by Magic 155

paper bag, and then take them out to show the necklace is whole
again.
To string them, start with one bead and a 2-foot length of
thread. Put the bottom end of the thread through the center hole,
bring it up around the side, and tie the end to the thread just above
the top of the bead. Trim it close to the knot.
Slide eleven more beads down the thread from the top. Tie the
last of those in place at the top by bringing the thread down around
the bead and knotting it just under the bead. Cut offany remaining
thread. (You won't have to restring this part of the necklace each
time you do the trick; the tied-together set can be used many
times.)
Now take a second 2-foot length of thread and tie a single bead
to its bottom end. Thread the free end up through each of the
tied-together beads, so it runs through the entire set. Tie another
single bead to the top end of this second thread, just above the
tied-together set, and trim off the thread close to the knot.
On both sides of the ffle card, print in big letters: cUARANTEED
BY MAGIc! Drop the card and necklace into the paper bag. Put the
bag, bowl, and scissors on your table at the start of the trick.

WHAT YOU DO
Stand beside the table and reach into the bag with your left
hand. Take one end of the beads between your thumb and index
ffnger. Bring them out of the bag, hanging down from your hand,
and say, "This necklace has a magic guarantee."
Reach into the bag with your right hand, take out the printed
card, hold it up to show it, and put the card on the table. Keep the
top bead held with your left hand, take the bottom one with your
right hand, and hold out the string between both hands. Tilt it up
and down so the beads slide back and forth, and say, "The beads
won't ever break."
Drop the bottom bead from your right hand to let the string
hang down from your left hand again. Hold the string above the
bowl. Pick up the scissors with your right hand and say, "Of course,
the thread may break-" Snip off the bottom bead by cutting the
thread betuseen it and the bead abooe. "-411fl the beads will come
loose and spill all over the place."
(Cutting offthe bottom bead lets the others spill down into the
156 With Rope and String

bowl. They look like loose beads, but really they are the strung-
together set, plus the one separate bead that was snipped off with
the scissors. Your left thumb and ffnger still hold the bead tied to
the top of the cut thread that is left hanging down from that hand
when the others slide off into the bowl.)
"But if that happens," you say, "you just use the magic guaran-
tee." Pick up the paper bag and show it empty. Roll up the cut
thread with its bead and drop them into the bag. Take the bowl,
tip it to pour its beads into the bag, and put down the bowl.
"Shake them up a bit," you say, "and tap them three times with the
guarantee."
Do that by gently shaking the beads around inside the bag, and
tapping the bag three times with the card. Reach into the bag, take
one end of the beads, and bring them out to show them magically
strung together again. Hold them up between both hands, sliding
them back and forth on their thread. "And there they are-just as
good as new."
(Left behind in the bag are the cut thread and two other beads.)
After you show the necklace, drop it back into the bag, close up the
bag, and put it aside with the bowl and scissors.

Seoarate
'€ exira
bead
Tied in
<- place

Strung-together set
of twelve beads
on one thread

Separate
Second thread extra
runs through bead
strung-together set.
 Guaranteed by Magic 157

Scissors snip off

bottom bead.

Single tied-on
bead remains
in fingers.

Beads spill off

cut thread into bowl.

You pour them into bag-

and pull them out
strung together again.
 The Ring-String Puzzle

HOW IT LOOKS
You take out a small ring and a long string. "Here's a little
puzzle you might want to show some of your friends," you say. "I
should warn you that there's a catch to it." You thread the ring on
the string and tie it so the ring hangs at the bottom of a knotted
loop. "This is the puzzle.. . . How can you get the ring offthe string
without untying the knot or breaking the string?"
After those watching have thought about it a moment, you say,
"The answer is-you cheat a little." You reach into your pocket,
take out a small pair of scissors, cut through the string, and let the
ring fall free. "I said without breaking the string." You hold up the
cut string, with its two pieces knotted together at the center. "I
didn't say anything about not cutting it."
You wind up the string around your ffngers and drop the scis-
sors back into your pocket. "It's a silly little stunt, but fun to do at
a party. Of course, it does leave you with a string that has been cut
in half-and that's another problem. But the way to solve that is
with magic."
You snap your ffngers over the cut string and unwind it to show
that the knot has vanished and the string is whole again!

WHAT YOU NEED

A 3-foot length of hard-ffnished string; a small ring; scissors that
easily will fft into a jacket pocket.

THE SECRET
The loop is tied to make it look as if you are cutting through
the center of the string, but you really cut one end. You secretly
slide the knotted cut piece off when you wind the string around
your ffngers, and get rid of the knot when you drop the scissors back
into your pocket. There is nothing to prepare. Put the scissors in
your right jacket pocket and the ring and string in another pocket.
158
 The Rlng-String Puzzle 159

WHAT YOU DO
Take out the ring and string and explain that you want to show
a "little pluzzle." Thread the ring on the string and take one end in
each hand and slide it back and forth. Lift your left hand up so the
string is vertical and bring the right end up next to the center of
the string.
Hold both strands with your right hand for a moment and drop
the top end from your left hand. Bring the left hand down to the
center to take the left strand again. Use both hands and tie the short
right-hand end into a square knot arottnd the center. (It must be a
real square knot; the trick won't work with any other. Just tie the
short end otser and under the long end, then ooer and under the
Iong end again.)
Take the top end of the string with your left hand and remove
your right hand. That leaves the string hanging down from your left
hand, with the ring hanging at the bottom of the loop formed by
the knot at the center. Explain that the p:uzzle is how to get the ring
off without untying the knot or breaking the string.

Short end is tied around

long end at center.

Over and under-

then over and
under again.

Square knot

Short
end
160 With Rope and String

Cut string
is pulled
f ree.

End points to
side to cut.

Ring lies flat

Cut on table.
here

Pause a moment, as if really showing a puzzle to be solved.

Then say, "The answer is-you cheat a little." Reach into your
pocket with your right hand, take out the scissors, and click the
blades as you show them.
Lower your left hand so the ring on the bottom of the string
rests on the table. Cut through the side of the loop that has the end
of the knot sticking outfrom it. Cut about an inch below that knot.
(That end always indicates the side to be cut, no matter how the
string may become twisted. If you cut the other side of the loop, the
string really will be cut in two.)
Keep the scissors loosely held in your right hand and draw the
string up with your left hand, so that the ring comes free and
remains lying on the table. The hanging string appears to have been
cut in half, with its two parts knotted at the center. "I said without
breaking the string," you say. "I didn't say anything about not
cutting it."
With your left hand still holding the string by its top end, bring
your right hand still holding the scissors around the knot at the
center. Close your ffngers and press the knot against the inside of
 The Ring-String Puzzle 161

them with your thumb. Lift the string and quickly wind it around
the extended ffngers of your left hand, sliding your right hand with
the hidden knot down the string as you wind it.
As you ffnish winding, the knot will slide offthe string into your
right hand. The scissors are still in that hand, providing good reason
for keeping that hand closed. Drop the scissors into your pocket,
leaving the knot with it.
"Of course, it does leave you with a string that has been cut in
half-and that's another problem," you say. "But the way to solve
that is with magic." Snap your ffngers and unwind the string. Hold
it up to show that the knot has vanished and the string is whole
again.

Right hand
slides knot down.
 *.)(

*
 The Aunt Trap

HOW IT LOOKS
"This is a magic ant trap," you say, as you show both sides of
two small pieces of blank paper, and then tear them into scraps and
wad them into a little ball. You toss the paper ball to the foor in
front of you. "All I need now is a pinch of invisible ant powder to
sprinkle around."
Reaching into your pocket, you bring your hand out as if you
had a pinch of powder in your ffngers and pretend to sprinkle it
over the ball of torn papers on the foor. "Then I just wait for an ant
to come along and crawl into the scraps of paper," you explain,
"And I step down hard." You step on the paper and lift your foot
away. "You may not think that it works-but it does."
Showing your hands empty, you reach down and pick up the
paper ball. When you open it, the torn-up scraps are two whole
pieces again, and on one piece there is a comic drawing of a
woman's face. "There's my aunt," you say. On the second restored
paper there is a picture of a man's face. "And that's my uncle!"

WHAT YOU NEED

Four pieces of blank paper, each 3 inches square; a black mark-
ing pen or crayon.

THE SECRET
As the ball of scraps is tossed to the foor it is secretly switched
in your hand for a ball of whole pieces with the pictures drawn on
them. You get rid of the torn ones when you reach into your pocket
for the "invisible ant powder."
Sketch a woman's face on one piece of paper and a man's face
on another. Make the drawings comic-looking, but keep them sim-
ple. Put them together faceup, with the one of the woman on top,
and wad the two pieces into a tight small ball. Put it in the right
pocket of your jacket along with the two blank squares of paper.
164
 The Aunt Trap 165

WHAT YOU DO
Reach into your pocket with your right hand. Close your pinkie
and ring ffnger around the paper ball to hide it inside them. Take
the two pieces of paper between your thumb and other fingers and
bring your hand out of the pocket and up in front of you, with its
back toward those watching. Lift your left hand, with its lower
ffngers closed the same way, and take one paper between the
thumb and other ffngers so that there is a piece of paper in each
hand. Show both sides of the papers and say, "This is a magic ant
trap."
Put the papers together and tear them in half, then in half
again. Wad the torn pieces into a little ball. As you ffnish doing that,
grip them with your right thumb against the inside of your right
index and middle ffngers to hold the ball of torn pieces there.
Take your left hand away and immediately turn your right
hand down as if to toss the ball of torn pieces to the foor in front
of you. But open your right pinkie and ring ffnger and toss the other
paper ball to the foor instead. Look down at it and let your right
hand fall to your side, with the torn pieces still hidden in it, as you
say, "All I need now is a pinch of invisible ant powder to sprinkle
around."

Blank pieces of paper

Ball of torn pieces

are kept by thumb.

Pictures wadded into ball

are hidden in fingers.

Pictures are
tossed to floor.
166 Paper Magic

Put your right hand into your pocket, drop the ball of torn
pieces and leave it there, and bring your hand out again with your
ffngers together, as if holding a pinch of invisible powder. Pretend
to sprinkle it around the paper ball on the foor. "Then I just wait
for an ant to come along and crawl into the scraps of paper," you
say. "And I step down hard." Stamp your right foot down on the
paper ball and lift your foot away. "You may not think that it works
it does."
-butShow both hands empty, and reach down and pick up the
crushed paper ball. Slowly open it, with the picture sides toward
you. Hold up one paper in each hand to show that the torn scraps
have become whole again. Turn over the one with the drawing of
the woman's face on it, hold it so the picture can be seen, and say,
"There's my aunt!" Wait a second, turn over the other one, and say,
"And that's my uncle!"

"There's my aunt!"

"And that's my uncle!"

 Postage Paid by Magic

HOW IT LOOKS
"I just wrote a letter, but I couldn't ffnd a stamp to put on it,"
you say, as you show an addressed envelope that has no stamp. "I
guess I'll have to use an invisible stamp."
You reach into your pocket, bring out your empty hand, and
pretend to show an invisible stamp. You slap it against the back of
the envelope. "There-that ought to do it." When you fip the
envelope over, a real postage stamp has appeared, fastened in the
usual place at the top front corner. "All stamped and ready to go,"
you say. "Postage paid by magic!"

WHAT YOU NEED

A postage stamp; transparent tape; an envelope and a pen.

THE SECRET
Because of a band of sticky tape on its back, the stamp peels
loose easily so you can hideit in your ffngers and then secretly press
it into place on the envelope.
First write some name and address on the face of the envelope
and seal it. Fasten the center of a 2-inch strip of tape vertically to
the back of the stamp. Fold the bottom end of the tape up 6nd the
top end down, so the ends overlap, and fasten them together stickE
side out. Press the tape fat.
Turn the stamp faceup. Stick its tape to the face of the enve-
lope at the bottom right corner. Hold the envelope with its staneped
end at the top, turn the back of the envelope toward you, and put
it in the inside right pocket of your jacket.

WHAT YOU DO
Reach into your jacket with your left hand. Put your ffngers
down over the corner of the envelope, with your thumb at the back.
167
168 Paper Magic

Taped stamp is hidden in fingers.

As both hands hold envelope,

left hand moves up left edge.

Stamp is secretly pressed on corner.

 Postage Paid by Magic 169

With your ffngers, gentlE pull up the lower edge of the stamp so it
comes off into your ffngers. Use your thumb to place the stamp
against the inside of your index and middle fingers. Close those
fingers slightlE to keep the stamp hidden in them. (This takes only
a second, and there is no need to hurry.)
When you have the stamp properly hidden, take that same
corner of the envelope between your thumb and index ffnger.
Bring out the envelope, show it, and say, "I just wrote a letter, but
I couldn't ffnd a stamp to put on it."
Hold the envelope in front of you, facing those watching, so
that they can see it has no stamp. Bring your right hand to the
top-right corner and hold it between both hands for a moment. Still
holding it with both hands, turn it facedown. Slide your left hand
up the left edge, so the stamp hidden in your fingers comes against
the underside of the top corner. Secretly press the stamp in place
on the face of the envelope, keep it facedown, and drop it fat on
the table.
"I guess I'll have to use an invisible stamp." Reach into your
jacket pocket with your right hand and pretend to bring out an
invisible stamp. Turn your left hand palm up and pretend you are
placing the stamp on your left palm, but let it be seen clearly that
both hands really are empty.
Pretend to pick the stamp up again between your right thumb
and index finger. Slap the imaginary stamp down against the back
topJeft corner of the envelope on the table. Press down hard with
your ffngers and say, "There-that ought to do it."
FIip the envelope over faceup. Hold it up to show the stamp
that suddenly has appeared, fastened in place at the top-right front
corner. "All stamped and ready to go," you say, as you put the
envelope away again in your inside jacket pocket. "Postage paid by
magic!"
 The lnvisible Hole

HOW IT LOOKS
You take offyourjacket, hang it over the back ofa chair, and
then pick up a table knife with one hand and a folded sheet of
newspaper with the other hand. Holding the newspaper against the
outside of the jacket, you bring the knife down and slowly push it
right through the jacket and newspaper.
The audience ffrst sees the tip of the knife tear through the
paper, and gradually the entire knife passes through from back to
front and falls to the foor. But when you lift the paper away, your
jacket is unharmed. The knife has penetrated the cloth without
leaving a hole.

WHAT YOU NEED

Jacket with the usual inside pockets; an open-backed chair; a

double sheet of newspaper (two attached pages); two ordinary table
knives that look alike.

THE SECRET
So far as the audience knows, only one knife is used. The dupli-
cate matching knife is hidden inside the folded newspaper at the
start. The other knife, which you show to the audience, is secretly
dropped into the inner pocket of your jacket and left there. It is the
duplicate that they see come out through the front of the paper and
drop to the foor.
To set it up, close the double sheet of newspaper on its folds,
the way it would be if an unopened paper were lying on a table:
headlines at the top, center fold at the left, bottom hdf of the paper
folded under. Now turn it so the headlines are to the right. Take one
of the knives and hold it with the tip of the blade to the left. Slide
the knife in under the top sheet of the folded paper until the tip
is all the way to the left against the middle of the fold.
Place the chair so its back will be toward the audience when
170
 The lnvisible Hole 171

you perform. Lay the paper, with the knife hidden in it, on the seat
of the chair. The left edge of the paper should extend about an inch
beyond the left edge of the chair seat, so you can pick up the paper
easily. Put the other knife on the right of the chair seat, where it
will be in view.

WHAT YOU DO
Pick up the visible knife and show it. Tap it a few times on the
top of the chair, and put it back on the seat where it was. Remove
your jacket and hang it over the chair with its back toward the
audience. Take the knife in your right hand again. Hold it high and
then bring it down inside the jacket.
Push the tip of the blade against the cloth a few times, at the
inside left, the center, and then over toward the right side, as if
searching for a spot to push the knife through.
As your right hand is moving with the knife against the inside
of the jacket, pick up the folded newspaper with your left hand. Do
that by sliding your fingers under the left edge, with your thumb

Paper
overlaps Left hand holds
chair edge. up paper.

Second knife
is hidden
under top
sheet.
172 Paper Magic

on top, to grip the paper and duplicate knife hidden inside it. Lift
the folded paper with its open edges hanging toward the bottom.
Casually turn your hand to show both sides of the paper, and then
bring it up and hold it against the outside of the jacket.
While your left hand is showing the paper and moving it up
into place outside the jacket, move your right hand down inside to
the inner right pocket. Drop the knife into the pocket and leave it
there. Immediately poke the tip of your right index ffnger against
the inside center of the jacket so the cloth bulges forward as if being
pushed by the knife. Keep the paper pressed against the outside of
the jacket with your left hand.
With your right hand, feel through the cloth and paper from
inside the jacket and grip the handle of the duplicate knife. Draw
it and the bunched cloth back toward you, and tip the knife so the
blade points down and tears through the paper at the front. Keep
the paper pressed against the outside and guide the knife with your
left ffngers as your right hand continues to push it through until it
finally falls out from the front of the paper to the foor.
Lift the paper away, crumple it, and toss it aside. Show that
there is no hole in the jacket. Pick up the knife, tap it on the chair,
drop it on the seat, and put on your jacket again. The ffrst knife
remains secretly tucked away in the inside pocket and the whole
trick seems to have been done with an ordinary knife and plain
sheet of newspaper.

FRONT VIEW

Knife is pushed through.

 Circle Around a Star

HOW IT LOOKS
You show ftve cards, each with a design on it: a triangle, circle,
cross, star, square. One by one, you eliminate the cards until only
one is left. Without looking at it yourself, you ask someone to think
of that design.
"I'll try to cut a silhouette of your thoughts," you say, as you
take out paper and scissors. You cut the folded paper in two, snip
a corner from the cutoffpiece, and open that to show you have an
eight-pointed star. "The star," you announce. "Was that the design
you had in mind?"
But you are wrong! The person says he wasn't thinking of astar;
he was thinking of a circle. You admit your mistake and crumple
up the star, drop it on the table next to the paper you cut it from,
and put the cards away.
"It's good that I'm a better magician than I am a mind reader,"
you say. "All I need is a touch of magic to make you believe I did
cut a circle instead of a star."
You snap your ftngers and unfold the paper that you ffrst cut
to show that a circle was cut from its center. "And a circle, it was."
Then you pick up the crumpled star and unfold that. Magically it
has changed from a star to a circle. "The circle of your thoughts!"

WHAT YOU NEED

Two S-inch squares of blank paper; ffve 3-by-S-inch blank index
cards; scissors that will fft in a jacket pocket; a black marking pen;
a ruler.

THE SECRET
The "choice" of the circle is forced. The paper is folded so the
ffrst cut makes a circle and the second cut makes a star. Another
circle, cut to matching size ahead of time and crumpled into a ball,
is secretly switched for the crumpled star.
173
174 Paper Magic

Draw a large design on each card: triangle, circle, cross, star,

square. (The star design should be eight-pointed to match the cut-
out.) Stack the cards so the circle will be second from the top when
they are facedown.
Fold each paper the same way: Ieft edge to right edge, bottom
to top, bottom-right corner to topJeft corner, diagonal right edge
to left edge. Match edges exactly and crease all folds fat.
From the point at the bottom of one of the cone-shaped folded
papers, measure 272 inches up from the center. Put a pen dot there.
Measure I inch from that dot down the right side edge and make
another dot. This is the paper you will cut when you show the trick.
Take the other folded paper, measure 2/z inches up its center
from the bottom tip, and draw a line from side to side. Cut the
paper in two, straight across that line. Discard the top part, open
the cutoff piece, and you will have a circle. Loosely crumple that
into a ball. Put it in your right jacket pocket with the design cards,
scissors, and the uncut folded paper.

WHAT YOU DO
Take out the cards, keep them in order, show each design, and
say what it is. "Five different designs. To decide on one by chance,
I'll eliminate them, one at a time."
Hold the stack facedown. Take the top card and toss it aside on
the table. Move the next one from top to bottom of the stack. Toss
another to the table, move the next from top to bottom, and so on,
until only one is left in your hand. It will be the circle.
Without looking at it yoursell hold it up, and ask someone to
think of that design. Place it facedown on the table, apart from the
others.
Take out the scissors and folded paper, and say, "I'll try to cut
a silhouette of your thoughts." Open the paper to show it and refold
it on its creases. Hold it with its point to the bottom.
Look for the center dot. Cut the paper in two, straight across
through that dot from one side edge to the other. Let the upper
part fall to the table, where it remains until the end of the trick.
(Because of the way it was folded, there now is a circle cut from its
center.)
Now bring the scissors to the dot at the right edge of the
remaining piece. Make aslanting cut from that dot up through the
 Circle Around a Star 175

... bottom-right
corner to
Fold in half, left to right. . . top-left corner.

Fold right
diagonal edge
over to
left edge.
Finished fold

Cutting r+>
straight across
leaves circle
cut from center
of upper half.

Slanted cut from side

up through left corner
makes star of bottom half.
176 Paper Magic

topJeft corner. Let the snipped-offpieces fall away, and hold up the
still-folded cut piece with your left hand.
Put the scissors away in your pocket with your right hand. With
your hand inside the pocket, get the paper ball (circle) hidden in
your ffngers by closing your ring ffnger and pinkie around it. Take
your hand out with its back toward those watching, and bring it
over to the folded paper held by the left hand.
Open the cutout and show that it is a star. Take its far right
point between your right thumb and index ffnger, and hold it up
with that hand, still keeping the back of your hand toward those
watching. "The star," you announce. "Was that the design you had
in mind?"
He will answer that you are wrong. Pick up the facedown circle
card with your left hand. Look at it, shake your head, and show it.
"l u)as wrong," you admit. "The circle-not the star. I guess our
minds were on different tracks."
Crumple the star into your right hand, gathering it in with your
ffngers. Wad it loosely into a paper ball above the one already
hidden there. "Well, those things happen. . . ."
Pick up the rest of the cards with your left hand and put them
into your right hand, under your right thumb and covering the
paper balls. "Let's call it an experiment. We'll call it that-because
it didn't work."
Tip your right hand down and drop the lower paper ball (circle)
to the table, by letting it roll out from under the covering cards. Put
the cards away in your pocket and leave the other paper ball (star)
with them.
"It's a good thing I'm a better magician than I am a mind
reader," you say. "All I need is a touch of magic to make you believe
I did cut out a circle instead of a star."
Lift your arms and snap the ffngers of both hands over the
table. Pick up the original top half of the paper and unfold it to show
the circle cut from its center. "And a circle, it was."
Pick up the crumpled cutout from the table. Open it and show
that instead of a star, it is also a circle! Hold one in each hand to
match the cutout circle to the hole in the center. "The circle of your
thoughts!"
* The Sliced-Banana Mystery *

HOW IT LOOKS
"This is a tale of two strange bananas," you say, as you show two
banana-shaped paper cutouts, one yellow and the other green.
"One is ripe and the other is still green." You put them together
and show that they match in size. "Both the same length. But the
odd thing is-they won't stay even."
You turn them over together a couple of times and then hold
them up to show them one above the other. The green banana
suddenly seems to have grown several inches longer than the yel-
Iow one! "That green one's still growing. I'll slice offa piece so they
are even again."
With a pair of scissors, you cut an end off the green banana to
make them the same length. Then you turn them over together a
couple of times, and again hold them one above another. Now the
yellow banana seems to have grown inches longer than the green
one!
"That ripe banana keeps growing, too," you say. "No matter
how you slice them, they won't stay the same size. But what is really
strange is that if you cut them both in half . . ." You put them
together and cut through both, snipping off pieces that fall to the
foor. "Instead of sliced bananas, you get one uhole banana, but the
whole one is orely half-ripe."
You shake open the cut-apart pieces that remain and show they
have joined together as one banana that is half-yellow and half-
green. "That's one crazy banana," you say.

WHAT YOU NEED

Green and yellow 9-by-I2-inch construction paper; a small
plate (about 9-inch diameter); sharp scissors; rubber cement; four
or talcum powder; an old newspaper; a pencil; a ruler.

177
178 Paper Magic

THE SECRET
Both cutouts are the same size at the start. They seem to grow
because of an optical illusion. When you hold either curved cutout
above the other, the lower one always looks inches longer. Both are
treated with rubber cement. At the end of the trick, the pressure
of the scissors cutting through the two pieces automatically sticks
the cut edges together as one banana, half-yellow and half-green.
To make the cutouts, put the plate facedown near the top of
a sheet of construction paper. Mark a curving line with the pencil
around the top rim of the plate from one side of the paper to the
other. Move the plate down toward you2 inches and mark around
the plate rim again to make a second curving line below the ffrst
one. Connect those two curved lines at each end with a straight line
that slants in toward the center of the paper.
Cut along the pencil lines and use that ffrst "banana" as a
pattern for marking around to cut out others. You will need a new
set, one yellow and one green, each time you rehearse or show the
trick, so you may want to make up a dozen or so at a time.
After you have cut them out,lay them on the newspaper. Coat
the center 3 inches of one side of each cutout with rubber cement.
Apply a thick coat, top to bottom and side to side. Let them dry and
dust the coated part of each with four or talcum powder, so that
they won't stick together. Brush off any extra powder.
To set up the trick, put a green banana on top of a yellow one,
with their coated parts face to face, and have them on the table with
the scissors.

WHAT YOU DO
Pick up the bananas, slide them apart, and take one in each
hand to hold them out and show them. "This is a tale of two strange
bananas," you say. "One is ripe and the other is still green." Put
them back together, the green on top of the yellow. Even them up
so their edges match and show them on both sides. "Both the same
length. But the odd thing is-they won't stay even."
Lay them fat on your left palm with their ends pointing toward
you. With your right hand, turn them over together twice. This
looks as if you are doing something "magical" but leaves them as
they were.
 The Sliced-Banana Mystery 179

Slide them apart, turn them with their ends pointing down,
and hold them one above the other with your left hand. Do that by
holding the left end of the yellow one between the sides of your
index and middle ffngers, and the left end of the green one with
your thumb and other two ffngers. Hold them out with their left
edges making a straight line.
Because of the optical illusion, with one curved cutout held
directly below another, the green banana seems to have grown
inches longer than the yellow one. "That green one's still growing,"
you say. "I'll slice off a piece so they are even again."
Keeping them held as they are in your left hand, pick up the
scissors with your right hand. Cut off the right end of the green
banana so it looks the same length as the yellow one. Let the cutoff
piece fall to the foor, and put down the scissors.

<;- I TNCHES --+>

Coat center
parts with
Bananas are cut rubber cement.
from construction
paper.

Ends are
on straight

Holding them together to show

the audience that
both are the same size.

You cut
off end.

Held one above other,

green seems inches longer.

Now yellow seems to

grow longer than cut-even
green one.
180 Paper Magic

Slide the two bananas together, with the cutoff green one on
top. Lay them fat on your left palm. Turn them over together twice
and then separate them to hold one above the other with your left
hand. But this time, hold the cutoff green one at the top, and the
yellow one directly below it. Just a moment ago the green one was
cut even with the yellow, but now the yellow looks inches longer
than the green.
"That ripe banana keeps growing, too," you say. "No matter
how you slice them, they won't stay the same size." Put the green
one back on top of the yellow and hold them together, fat in your
left hand. "But what is really strange is that if you cut them both
inhalf..."
Take the scissors with your right hand and cut straight across
the center of both pieces, cutting them in two. Let the scraps fall,
and put down the scissors. "Instead of sliced bananas, you get one
uhole banana, but the whole banana is only half-ripe."
Take the top-left edge between your right thumb and ffngers.
Lift your hand and shake it gently so the banana unfolds and hangs
down from that hand, whole again but half-green and half-yellow.
"That's orre crazy banana," you say.

Cut through center. Cut-off pieces

drop to floor.

GREEN
-+>

One banana-
yELLOW
-+> half yellow and
half green.