Give Anyone Psychic Abilities INSTANTLY!!!
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For Becky
Copyright 2013 by Devin Knight Magic
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The Original Blindsight By Devin Knight "The directness and simplicity of Blindsight is surpassed only by its impressive cleverness." - Michael Weber "The elegantly simple method behind Blindsight opened my eyes...even my third one." - Docc Hilford "I changed my mind three times and Devin still nailed me! He then showed me the method and I was the
perfect mark!" - Bob Sheets "Without a doubt, this was the best effect of Mindvention 2006." -JHEFF
Effect: The performer states that certain people seem to have an ability called Blindsight. This allows a person to see or sense colors even though they are not visible to the normal eye. You state you would like to try an experiment to see if the spectator has the ability to detect colors sight unseen. You introduce four opaque envelopes and four different cards of various colors. The four cards are then placed inside the envelopes, and mixed so the spectator has no idea which envelope contains which colored card. Next the envelopes are placed in a row in front of the person. You ask the spectator to attempt to use Blindsight in order to determine which color is in each envelope. The spectator then points to any envelope (no magician’s force) and then states what color he thinks is inside. The performer then writes that color on the outside of the envelope. This is repeated until all the envelopes have a color written on the outside of them. Each time the spectator freely points to any envelope and tells the performer what color he thinks is inside. Once each envelope has a color written on it; the spectator is asked to set one envelope aside. ` For a climax, the performer opens each envelope and shows that the spectator has successful used Blindsight to correctly determine which color was in each envelope. This is pretty amazing in itself, but the real kicker is yet to come. Performer states that nobody could have known which envelope and color the spectator would set aside. The performer has the spectator pick up the envelope he set aside. The magician does not touch it. He has the spectator remove the colored card. Obviously, it matches the color written on the envelope because the other three were correct. However, there is something different. This envelope contains a prediction. The other three did not. The prediction states: This is the color you set aside! History and Background Similar effects have been done in the past. Many of them required using one ahead or one behind methods. This has been eliminated in this version. Other methods have involved miswriting. One of the earliest tricks using mis-writing was to have members of the audience call out first names. You would write the same name on slips of paper, although the audience would assume you were writing the name they just called. Later, a slip was drawn at random and you could divine the name. Syd Bergson had a similar idea involving mis-writing that had a spectator correctly guessing which ESP symbol was in each envelope.
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4 The problem with mis-writing is that perceptive spectators will pen-read. They can tell you are not writing what they said just by the way the pen is moving. Some magicians have attempted to get around this by pretending to write what the person said, while in reality just holding the pencil above the paper and scratching the paper with their fingernail. Blindsight attempts to overcome all the problems. You do not pretend to write, and you hold the pen in a normal position. Spectators scrutinizing the motions of the pen will see you are writing the correct color. In fact, they hear you writing it. In some cases, they will actually see you have written the exact color named. The final prediction is based on the age-old MENTAL CHOICE trick where three color cards are put on the table and the person selects one. You later show a predition that proved you knew what color would be selected. One prediction was on the back of a card, another on the envelope that held the cards and finally printed on the pen used to point to the color. Today there are hundreds of variations on Mental Choice using as many as a dozen items. The problem with most of these is that the placement of most of the hidden predictions is illogical. For example, “Look under that vase across the room, I placed a prediction regarding the choice you made.” Or consider, “Look I taped a prediction under the table”. Don’t laugh because as absurd as these examples may sound, I’ve actually seen magicians use these kinds of multiple outs. The other problem with these types of effects is that even if the predictions are apparently in full view all the time, you cannot cleanly show that the other components are prediction free. Going back to Mental Choice, if the prediction you reveal is printed on the pen, then you can’t freely show the back of the cards or envelopes to be blank. You may think, who will wonder? Plenty of people will. Do not forget Mental Choice effects have been placed in many magic sets sold to the public. Variations on this have been given away as free tricks at trade show booths. Finally, the multiple prediction out has even been on the back of cereal boxes. Many spectators will be familiar with multi-predictions. Blindsight has attempted to use the multi-prediction in such a way that there appears to be no place for other hidden prediction. Everything is freely shown (without being overly obvious) to be free of other predictions. The prediction apparently has been in full view the entire time. It has, and the spectators will plainly see there are no other predictions hidden on the table. With Blindsight I have attempted to eliminate some of the weakness and shortcomings of earlier methods.
What You Need To Do This And The Set Up GIMMICKED PEN: The main gimmick used in Blindsight is a special black marker pen that doesn’t write. You make this gimmick by coating the tip of a SHARPIE MARKER with several coats of CLEAR NAIL POLISH. Let each coat dry before coating again. After three or four coats, it will no longer write. It is suggested you quickly rub the writing point over a sheet a paper prior to doing the trick. Do this secretly, NOT IN FRONT of the audience. The reason for this is that sometimes the marker, after setting for a period of time, will produce light mark from the point. A few quick rubs across a sheet of paper will insure no ink will come out later when you do trick. Also, over time you may find it necessary to recoat the tip of the pen with clear nail polish. I recommend the quick drying type that dries in less than a minute. When storing this pen: Always leave it uncapped. This will insure your pen continues to dry out. Only put the cap on before you do the trick, and AFTER you have tested the pen to ensure no ink comes from it. REGULAR MARKER: You will also need a regular black marker that will write as expected. This is used to prepare the envelopes in your own handwriting and to prove the marker writes, if you wish, as part of the routine. 4
5 Telling The Markers Apart: I suggest putting a few black scuffmarks on the marker that does not write. This allows you to double check that you have the marker that doesn’t write. Simply take the regular pen that writes and put a few marks on the gray body of the marker. Markers often get marks on the body, especially if someone is working with several open markers at a time, so this will go unnoticed. PREPARING THE SIX ENVELOPES: You need six manila envelopes, you want to buy: 28-lb., Size #5 3-1/8 x 5-1/2 Inches. You will also need a rubber band to hold the bundle of envelopes together. These six envelopes should last you a long time, as you never actually mark them doing the routine. Once the envelopes are prepared, you can use them over and over again. You will write the names of each color on the front of four envelopes. The other two envelopes will be left unmarked. These will be used to create the illusion that all envelopes are mark free at the start. The placement of the writing on the envelopes is of great importance. The writing must be in MIDDLE of the envelope and go from one narrow side to the other. Take four envelopes and write one of the four colors: RED, BLUE, GREEN, and YELLOW on each of them. You will have to write Yellow in slightly smaller letters to insure it will fit in the space. Do not write lengthwise across the longer part of the envelope. Write it as shown in the next photos. You will need the top area of the envelope to be blank so you can create the illusion there are no marks on the front later on in the routine. The following photos should make everything clear.
THE FOUR COLOR CARDS: You will need four colored cards, yellow, green, blue and red. You can get color card stock from your local print shop. Have the card cut down so it fits inside the envelope. These cards are ungimmicked, but you are going to add a secret label to the back of the YELLOW CARD. This is nothing more than a blank address label cut in half to make it a small square. Write on this label BEFORE YOU PUT IT ON THE CARD! This ensures there will be no indents on the yellow card from the writing. You will need to use an ink pen to write the prediction, as the sharpie point may make the writing too large to squeeze onto the label. It is important that the label be a small square as shown in the next photo. The fingers, when showing the back of the card must easily conceal this. Anything larger may be harder to conceal. 5
6 On this small square label write with an ink pen: You Discarded Yellow. After you have this on the label, then place it on the back of the YELLOW CARD. See the next photo. You must place the label in the same position on your card. This way if you if you hold the card with your thumb on one side and the four fingers on the back, the label will be concealed.
THE INDEX CARD: You will also need a small blank index card. Take this card and with your regular marker write on it the names of the four colors. When done the card should look like this:
You will also need a full size address label. Using an ink pen write on this label: “Blue Is The Color You Set Aside” or something along those lines. Place this label on the back of the index card See the below photos for clarification.
Finally, take a small slip of WHITE PAPER. This can be any writing paper you have around. I make mind about 2 inches square and tear it off so it looks more impromptu. Then write on it with an ink pen: “You Set This Envelope Aside: PS: It contained the green card.” 6
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PLACE THIS SLIP INTO THE ENVELOPE YOU HAVE WRITTEN GREEN ON THE FRONT OF. DO NOT FOLD THIS SLIP. DOING SO COULD CAUSE THE GREEN CARD TO JAM WHEN YOU INSERT IT INTO THE ENVELOPE LATER. Why Are We Handwriting All These Things? The reader may wonder why I didn’t supply you with pre-printed predictions and a card that was professionally printed with the names of the four colors. The reason wasn’t because I was trying to save money; the reason is because this is what FOOLS everyone. The moment they see a printed slip or a printed card, it screams MAGIC SHOP TRICK. We want to create the illusion that this is something using ordinary envelopes, slips of paper and some colored cardboard. Anything else would make the trick look TOO PROFESSIONAL. This trick virtually fooled all the mentalists at the 2006 Mindvention partly because of this. They told me had they seen a printed card or prediction they would have been suspicious. The way the routine was performed made it appear totally impromptu, and that is the effect YOU are trying to create.
THE COLOR STACK: The colors are in a stack. I wanted to come up with a simple word to remind me of the order of the colors. The word is: GRaBY. This is easy to remember because this is something we don’t won’t the spectators to be. Yes I know it should be grabby, but we are using a shortened version to aid us in the memory of the colors. Here is how it works: GREEN RED A BLUE YELLOW
STACKING THE ENVELOPES: Your stack of envelopes should be as follows. The address sides with the writing are facing downward. The backs with the flaps are facing upwards. From top down the stack is: 1-Envelope with GREEN written on the front (this has the prediction slip inside) 2-Envelope with RED written on the front 3-Envelope with BLUE written on the front 4-Envelope with YELLOW written on the front 5-Blank Face Envelope 6-Blank Face Envelope Put a rubber band around the stack. Finally, take the four colored cards and put them in any order and slip them under the rubber band with the envelopes. Make sure the label on the back of 7
8 the yellow card is facing down so it won’t be seen when you lay the colored cards out. I like to put the yellow card with the hidden label pointing toward the flaps. This way you know which end the label is on. You might want to put a small LIGHT pencil dot other side of the yellow card as a visual reminder as to which end the label is on. I prefer to do it by memory, but I mentioned this in case you want a safety factor. Finally, take the index card with the four colors written on the front of it and place it out of sight, or in your coat pocket. THE ROUTINE AND HOW YOU PERFORM IT: This routine is based on several psychological factors, plus some clever bits of business. Do this routine correctly and you will fool even well informed magicians. Start by commenting briefly about BLINDSIGHT. Explain how some people who have recently become blind seem to have the ability to detect things, even though they can’t see them. Point out that research has shown that some blind people have the ability to point to the exact location of an object, even though they can’t see it. OTHERS HAVE BEEN ABLE TO DETERMINE THE SHAPE OF AN OBJECT WITHOUT TOUCHING IT. In some cases the subject was even able to sense colors even though they were completely blind! SIDENOTE: Some of you may thing this is total bull, however; much research is being done in this field at universities. If you would like to come up with more ideas for patter than I strongly urge you to do a GOOGLE search on the Internet for Blindsight. You will find many web sites devoted to this phenomenon. There you can find the latest information and research being done in this field. This subject is very topical and this trick is the perfect tie in. You continue your comments by saying, “Scientist have discovered we don’t have to see the actual color to see it in our mind. For example if we read the name of a color, most of us can then see the color in our mind. Bring out the index card with the 4 colors written on it. BE CAREFUL NOT TO FLASH THE PREDICTION ON THE BACKSIDE OF IT. Show it to a spectator and ask him to read a couple of the colors aloud. Ask him, if after reading a color, if he sees it in his mind. You will find that most everyone will say yes, they can see the color in their mind. Most people will find this little demonstration amusing. They never thought about it before. The fact they realize they can see a color in their mind just by reading it, helps leads them down the proverbial yellow brick road. If the person says, he cannot see the color in his mind (very rarely will you hear this) just mutter something along the lines that hopefully he will have better luck in the blindsight test and proceed with it. At this point, whether or not he can visualize the color in his mind is not that important. If he can, fine. If not, don’t sweat it. You only do this bit to have a reason to put the secret BLUE PREDICTION in full view. Since you have used the card as a lead in demonstration, it will be quickly forgotten and no importance placed on it. In real life, you will find you almost never have to use the blue prediction on the back. Tell him you would like to try an experiment to see if he has any hidden blindsight ability. Bring out the stack of rubber-banded envelopes with the four colored cards stuck under the rubber 8
9 band. Lay out the four colored cards on the table. Be careful not to flash the back of the yellow card, or you will expose the hidden prediction. Do not make an attempt to show both sides of the cards yet. You will do this later, and in a very clean manner when you show there are no other predictions hidden anywhere. Remember, your envelopes are stacked top down in the GraBY order. You are going to show the envelopes to be normal in a subtle manner. Remove the rubber band and turn the stack over revealing the blank address side. Hold the stack in your left hand and push over the top envelope taking it in your right hand. This leaves the other blank envelope on top of the stack. Hold the envelope in your right hand up toward the light and show that the envelope is opaque. Say, “These envelopes are opaque, that means you can’t see thru them, unless your name happens to be Clark Kent.” Do not say the envelope is blank; to do so may cause someone to wonder if the others are too. By casually showing the envelope and pointing out it is opaque, you have implied in a subtle way, this is just a stack of regular manila envelopes. They see the one in the air you are holding toward the light, and the blank one in your hand on top of the stack. If done in a casually nonchalant way, nobody will ever suspect the other four envelopes already have writing on the fronts. You are now going to place each of the colored cards into the envelopes one at a time. Remember you have to pick the colored cards up in the GraBY order. Turn the packet of envelopes so the flaps are facing up and the address side is facing down. Hold this packet of envelopes in your left hand, with the flaps facing toward the spectators. Open the flap of the first envelope. This is the one that has the UNFOLDED secret slip prediction inside of it. Insert the Green Card into this envelope. DO NOT SHOW THE BACK OF THE GREEN CARD YET. Slide the envelope forward about 2 inches and tilt the packet of envelopes upwards. The writing is concealed as it is on the middle of the envelope. This allows the spectator to see the other side again. Comment, “See you can’t tell what color is inside the envelope.” See the next photo for clarification.
This is the view the spectator gets showing he can’t see the color inside. Turn the envelope packet back over and continue to slide the envelope off and drop it on the table so the flap side is up. 9
10 What you have done here is to create the illusion that the envelope was blank. Note this bit of business has allowed him to see the front of the bottom envelope. You have slide off the top envelope containing the colored card for about two inches. You have said: “See, you can’t see the color thru the envelope.” YOU HAVE NOT SAID THE ENVELOPE was blank, only that he cannot see the color through it. Later, when he thinks back, he will remember he apparently saw the blank face of the envelope when it was placed on the table. Repeat this procedure again with the RED CARD, and then the BLUE CARD. Make sure you drop each envelope on top of the other making them a stack again. Finally, take the YELLOW CARD and insert it into the envelope. MAKE SURE YOU KNOW WHICH END HAS THE SECRET PREDICTION ON IT. The prediction end must go in closest to the flap. If you followed my suggestion and put the prediction end facing toward the flaps, then it will be in the right position when you pick it up. If you are unsure, you can always do as suggested earlier and put a very light pencil mark on the end of the yellow card that has the prediction on it. Make sure you don’t flash the secret prediction when you place it in the envelope. Drop the envelope containing the yellow card on top of the other envelopes. This will give you a stack of four envelopes on the table. You will be left with two regular envelopes in your right hand. Toss these aside so the address side is face down also. You may be tempted to turn them face up so the spectators can see the blank faces. THIS IS NOT A GOOD IDEA. If these two are face up the spectators may wonder why the others aren’t also. Leaving these two address side down keeps things consistent Now pick up the stack of four envelopes and quickly mix them in your hand. Keep you hand tilted downward. YOU MUST NOT FLASH the writing on the fronts of them. You now deal them into a row facing the spectator. See photo:
THE ROUTINE AND HANDLING: Reach into you pocket and get the MARKER THAT DOESN’T WRITE. Uncap it. Point to the row on the table and have the spectator point to any envelope. Ask him, “Let’s see if you have any hidden Blindsight ability. What color do you think is inside?” 10
11 Allow him to name a color. Pick up the envelope in your left hand with your palm going over the top. Turn it toward you so you can see the color written on it. You must be careful NOT to allow anyone to see the face of the envelope. You alone, will see the color written on it.
Left Hand Picks Up Envelope with Palm Downwards One of two things will have happened. The color written on the envelope is the one he named. This is what you are hoping for. The other alternative is that the color doesn’t match what he said. Either way, you do the same thing. Take the marker and WRITE ON THE ENVELOPE the color he just named in the same position. For example if he named Green and your envelope has RED on it, just take the pen and actually write the word Green. NOTE: No actual ink will come out of the pen, but to an astute spectator watching you closely, he will HEAR and SEE the motions of the pen writing. If he is pencil reading he will see you are writing the exact letters. This is what throws off many magicians. IF THE COLOR IS THE SAME AS HE NAMED Then you casually flash the envelope as you point to the row asking him to pick another envelope. This must be done in a subtle way. Don’t point out that you wrote what he said. This should be a given. Just POINT to the row with your left hand. The palm of the left hand covers the flap side of the envelope. Your participant will see the written color is the same one he just called. IF THE COLOR ISN’T THE SAME Then you don’t flash the front of the envelope. Instead point to the row with your marker and ask him to point to another envelope. Once he points to one, your left hand still holding the previous envelope reaches over picks up this envelope allowing it to go on the bottom of the stack. Refer to the previous photo for correct position of the left hand. Turn the bottom of the stack toward you being careful NOT TO FLASH THE WRITING, as you ask the person to guess what 11
12 color this might be. WRITE THE COLOR HE JUST NAMED so pencil readers will see you wrote the correct thing. If he is correct then you proceed to flash the front as you again point to the row. If not repeat the procedure just mentioned if the color doesn’t match. ON THE AVERAGE YOUR PARTICIPANT WILL GUESS CORRECTLY AT LEAST ONE TIME. THE ODDS ARE JUST IN FAVOR OF IT. SO AT LEAST ONCE, HE WILL SEE THE FRONT OF AN ENVELOPE WITH THE CORRECT COLOR WRITTEN ON IT. THE MAJORITY OF THE TIME YOUR PARTICIPANT WILL GUESS TWO CORRECTLY. THIS WILL HAPPEN MORE TIMES THAN YOU WILL BELIEVE. SO YOU CAN FLASH IT TWICE. A FEW TIMES, YOU FIND THAT YOUR PARTICIPANT GUESSES EVERY ONE CORRECTLY. THIS ALLOWS YOU TO FLASH THE FRONT OF ALL THE ENVELOPES AFTER YOU HAVE WRITTEN ON THEM. This is repeated until all four envelopes have been written on. You will be left with a stack of four envelopes in your left hand. The envelopes are being held by the sides PALM DOWN. Your left now slightly spreads the envelopes with the thumb and then flips them over and throws them casually on the table so they are spread out showing the writing. This way nobody can keep track of which envelope you wrote what on. All they see are now four envelopes address side up with writing on them. Everything appears, as it should be. Your motivation for tossing the envelopes on the table IS TO FREE THE LEFT HAND so it can recap the MARKER. For the moment place the capped marker on the table. Now you pick up the four envelopes and spread them in a fan in your right hand. ENSURE THAT WHEN YOU PICK THEM UP. RED IS ON THE BOTTOM and BLUE IS ON THE TOP. The two middle cards will be Yellow and Green and their position doesn’t matter. You just need to make sure the Yellow and Green are in the middle. That way they are MOST LIKELY TO BE CHOSEN. The fan of cards should look like this:
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13 Follow closely. You have three predictions; all the colors except for red are covered. WE NEED TO TAKE RED OUT OF PLAY. We want to have one envelope set aside. THIS ENVELOPE CANNOT BE THE RED ONE! Here is how to ensure that. Say, “We only need three envelopes for the first phase… PLEASE TAKE ONE.” YOU PAUSE HERE FOR A BEAT DEPENDING ON WHAT HE DOES. The odds are great participant will take one of the two middle envelopes. He will almost never take the bottom red one. IF HE TAKES BLUE, YELLOW, OR GREEN YOU SAY: “Thank you. Please set that one aside for now, we’ll get to it later” IF HE TAKES THE RED ONE FIRST YOU SAY: You have paused for a beat, and immediately say, “Ok that is one, now take a second one.” Allow the participant to take a second envelope. He will now have the red and any other color. You are left with two envelopes. You say, “Ok I have two left, choose the third one you want. The last one will be set aside.” AS HE GOES FOR THE THIRD COLOR AND TAKES IT YOU SAY, “Are you sure? You can still exchange it for the one left in my hand, otherwise I will set this one aside.” If he wants to exchange, go ahead and let him exchange. The trick seems even more impossible if he exchanges, as you can point out later that he changed his mind! Set the envelope aside he didn’t choose. Both ways you have placed an envelope aside and it will NOT BE THE RED ONE. This technique for taking the red out of play was developed with the help of Mel Strouse. You are now ready to make the revelations. THE REVELATIONS You are now ready to remove the colored cards and show they match. You only have to be careful when removing the Green or Yellow Card if these are one of the three you will open. Here is how to deal with them: YELLOW ENVELOPE: This one has the prediction on the back of the card. If yellow is one of the three, try to make this the second one you open. When you remove the first color casually flash its back as you drop it on the table. As you remove the yellow card, make sure your fingers cover the prediction on the bottom side. Quickly flash the bottom side, your fingers conceal the prediction and then drop it on the table. Finally, open the third envelope and remove the card casually flashing the backside. This way the audience has seen you remove all three cards, and you have shown them front and back. GREEN ENVELOPE: This one has the small prediction slip inside it. When you remove the green card, make sure you keep the envelope tipped upward so the prediction does not fall out. 13
14 At this point, you have revealed that your participant has correctly guessed all three colors. This is very impressive in itself and you give your participant ALL THE CREDIT. Now you take some credit by saying: “You got ALL three correct, so obviously the fourth envelope must be correct. I had you SET ONE ASIDE at the beginning, because if you did get three correct, then the fourth one would be anti-climatic. I think you would agree that I could not have known which one you’d set aside. I don’t want to touch the envelope that was set aside, would you pick it up and open it and show the color matches.”
Revealing The Final Prediction HE SET BLUE ASIDE: Being the top envelope of the fan, this one almost never gets set aside. However, you are covered. Tell him, “I thought you’d set blue aside, look what I wrote on the back of this card.” Turn over the card with the four colors written on it, and show your prediction on the back. This is probably the weakest prediction; but it is still strong, as you have apparently shown the front and back of the cards when you removed them. Many people will wonder where another prediction could have been concealed. Obviously, it isn’t on the cards or on the envelope as in MENTAL CHOICE EFFECTS. EXTRA TIPS if he set Blue aside: When you remove the cards from the three envelopes. Buckle the envelope with the card inside allowing your participant to see inside. The buckle is made with the yellow envelope so the prediction on the back of the card isn’t seen. It is pressed up against the inside of the envelope thanks to the buckle. This allows your participant to see inside the envelope and see no other card. Once the yellow card is removed, turn the envelope upside down and shake it, showing nothing inside. When you remove the green card, buckle the envelope and green card so the green card conceals the prediction slip. This allows your participant to see inside and see nothing but the green card. Remove the green card with the envelope tilted upward. Then lightly pinch the bottom of the envelope (this will keep the slip from falling out) and turn it upside down. Shake it so it appears empty. This advanced handling will apparently show nothing else inside the envelopes. HE SET YELLOW ASIDE: This is a very strong prediction. The blue and red envelopes can be opened freely, Use the technique described above to buckle the envelope before you remove the green card allowing them to see inside the envelope. At this point three cards will be on the table, GREEN, RED and BLUE. The envelopes have apparently been shown empty. POINT OUT THAT NOTHING IS ON THE BACK of the colored cards. The performer then freely shows them AGAIN on both sides. HAVE THE SPECTATOR PICK UP THE ENVELOPE MARKED YELLOW. He removes the yellow card and looks on the back of it. Have him read the prediction aloud. THIS IS A VERY STRONG ENDING.
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15 HE SET THE GREEN ASIDE: This is the strongest of all and the one that happens most. For some reason, most people seem to choose the green over yellow as the one they set aside. Ok, you’ve shown the front and backs of the cards when you removed them concealing the yellow prediction on the back. Go back and point out the each envelope is empty. THEY REALLY ARE. You again pick up each envelope and plainly show that nothing is inside. Tell your participant you put a prediction inside one envelope. Have him pick up the envelope marked GREEN. Tell him to remove the green card and look inside the envelope. He will see a slip of paper. Have him dump it out and read it. Gather everything up and put away. Once you learn the various endings you will find this will fool even the most astute audiences. Done probably, there appears to have been only one prediction. You have shown WITHOUT SAYING SO, that there are no other predictions. Everything appears to open and above board. The best of both worlds is when you really luck out and your participant correctly guess all four colors, and then set Green aside (which is the strongest prediction). This very scenario happened not once, but twice at the 2006 Mindvention while some of the best minds in magic were watching. When this happens; few, if any magicians will have a solution. It looks totally impossible. The worst-case scenario is when your participant does not guess correctly any colors at all and they set aside blue. Still, even this will still appear impossible to any lay person. ADVANCE HANDLINGS: If your participant does not set aside the blue envelope: Then take the index card out of play. Pick up the marker and the index card with your third prediction on the back and place in your pocket. That way no curious person will pick it up and look on the back. HOW TO THROW OFF MAGICIANS: Make a duplicate index card with the writing identical BUT WITH NO PREDICTION ON THE BACK. Have this in your pocket. If someone did ask to see the card (only a magician would think to ask) bring out the card without the prediction. SHOWING THE MARKER DOES WRITE BEFOREHAND: If you do this you will need to buy some blank index cards. Here is what you do. Have your prediction on the back of a blank index card. Talk about how sometimes, just by reading a color, we can see them in our minds. Then you do the following. BRING OUT THE MARKER THAT DOES WRITE. Write down the word RED and have your participant read it. Then write YELLOW and have him read it. Ask him if he saw the colors in his mind. You need only write two colors down for the demonstration. Leave the index card on the table with your secret prediction on the back. (It is there in case you need it if he set Blue aside). Return the Marker to your pocket. Later, after you put the four cards in the envelopes, you bring out the marker that does not write. Since he saw you write with it earlier, it will be taken for granted it writes now. A piece of cardboard in your pocket can divide your pocket to keep the markers separate. Also, don’t forget to put some small marks on the marker’s body as a way to double check that you have the one that doesn’t write. OPPS, The MARKER IS REALLY MARKING! This could happen because you got confused and brought out the real marker. It could also happen because you forgot to check the gimmicked marker before the show or the nail polish has 15
16 worn off and needs to be replaced. Regardless, you start to write and suddenly you see a mark. Don’t panic. Just raise the marker slightly off the envelope and extend your forefinger so it touches the envelope. Spell the word with the marker and your fingernail scratches the envelope creating the sound of writing. The marker never touches the envelope. Afterwards, test the marker and rub it against paper and make sure all the residue ink is gone and no marks come out. If need be coat the tip again with clear nail polish. ADDITIONAL ENVELOPES CAN BE BOUGHT IN ANY OFFICE SUPPLY STORE. You want to buy: 28-lb., Size #5 3-1/8 x 5-1/2 Inches.
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