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MANN g'zd'~
(201) 431-2429
POST OFFICE BOX'.... • FREEHOLD, NEW JERSEY 07728
®ta'12-1u.Atelt~ '33 (on
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1
(201) 431-2 429 POST OFFICE BOX 144 •
FREEHO LD, NEW JERSEY 07728
(card s) Copy right (1982 ) by Al Mann Excl usive s
from the host EFFECT. The Men talis t borro ws a deck of cards for a thoro ugh out given is deck and also a groc ery pape r bag. The fle it some shuf and deck the mixi ng. A perso n is then told to take pred ictio n a s make rmer perfo more and then to choo se any card . The are place d card n chose the and n as to the card chose n. The pred ictio all the drop to told next is n on the table in full sigh t. The perso makes rmer perfo the and n shake is card s into the pape r bag. The bag He then hold s the a secon d pred ictio n and plac es it on the table .takes out a card . The and bag bag high and stick s his hand into the matc h the preto shown cards two pred ictio ns are then read and the dicti ons. and calls Perfo rmer next stick s his hand s into the bag again shows them and time a at cards out cards and bring s out one or two the audie nce into cards out pass to be the card s calle d. He will also and then calls them out corre ctly! METHOD. AS can be seen by the effe ct, the cles Men talis t has a free hand at doing seve ral mira ed. mick ungim with the card s in the bag. The bag is The reve latio n of the two pred ictio ns can be left to the end of the pres enta tion for a clima x. the host Befo re the show , the Men talis t asks pape r (or host ess) for a deck of cards and a groc ery by 10i 5 say , bag. The bag shou ld be of avera ge size inch es or a bit larg er. t Whil e exam ining the deck of card s, the Men talis ld shou s card stea ls abou t 10 card s. If poss ible the tebb ins be in some easi ly reme mber ed orde r like the Si-S r pape a with syste m. Eigh t of the card s are clipp ed poare cards clip as shown in Fig. 1. The othe r two eigh t card s Fig. 1 ckete d (for use in a late r effe ct). The then and h mout are place d insid e the bag close to the the bag is neat ly folde d and place d in the pock et or on the table to be used . of card s. THE PRESENTATION. Open ly ask the host for his deck wed. borro been also has bag Then infor m the audie nce that a pape r one some have and ns perso Have the card s shuf fled by one or more ict pred ally actu You n. ictio choo se a card as you write out a pred clip r pape the ( ed. clipp are the firs t card of the 8 cards that end with a pair used is of cour se prep ared by bend ing up the long disti ngui sh and s ertip fing of plye rs just enoug h to tell with the the table on r the back s of the cards ). Plac e the pred ictio n pape f. tn/tm /fn
BRA INBUS TERS NOTHING HIDDEN
'a.3
AN AL MANN EXCLUSIVE cont. ••
without showing the message and then ask for the chosen card and show it to the audience and then place it on the table next to your prediction. Next tell the person to drop the deck of cards into the bag being careful not to flash the cards. You have opened the bag holding the clipped cards with your hand close to the mouth of the bag unknown to the audience and hold the bag high as the cards are dropped in. You release the clipped cards at the same time. Now you say, "As you can see the cards have been well mixed and Now I am going to shake the bag for good measure. You must agree that the order of the cards is not known by anyone. Would you believe that I can now stick my hand into the bag and identify the cards one by one just by the touch of my fingertips'? Or is it ESP?II IIJust to prove that I am going to predict the card ahead of time. 1I Here you write the name of the card that is on the table!. Rlace the prediction paper face down over the other one on the table. Next reach into the bag. (Here it may be well to remove your coat and roll up your sleeve before sticking your hand into the bag.) Feel for the bent top of the paper clip. That will tell you that the cards are face down and that the top card is the first card that you predicted on the first slip of paper. So take that card out and show it to the audience but do not reveal the predictions yet. Just place the card over the other one. "For good measure, I am going to try to identify some more cards." You reach into the bag again and get two more cards and call out the names and then bring them into view. (that will surely get some gasps out of the audiencel) Next you can take out two more cards and have someone hold them face down and then call their names. "Someone callout a colorl Quickly!" One lady calls out red. "I will try to find a red card." So you stick your hand into the bag again and say, IIYesl I feel a red card. I believe it is the two of diamonds." It is of course so you show ito Next go for a black card. You now have only one card left of the eight. It has the paper clip on it. IISomeone call odd or Evenl" So no matter what they call out, reach in and remove the paper clip palming it and bring out the last card after you call the name out. For the climax, reveal the predictionsl Just pick out the two papers and pass them out to two persons and have them readl Empty the bag and return the cards. It is quite evident that the Mentalist has all the leeway in the presentaion. For the prediction, a spectator may be allowed to stick his hand into the bag and get the card. The prediction may be done with two persons, making three predictions. The strong point to be made is that the card is chosen while the pack is in the hands of the audience.
BRAINBUSTERS '8)'
:3 AN AL MANN EXCLUSIVE
'5lil4A- elltclt.c~efA,e"-t EFFECT AND CHALLENGE. Using the performer's deck of cards, it is given out for thorough mixing and examination. The spectator places his hands under the table and hands the performer any four cards. The performer calls out the names of the four cards while the cards are still held under the table. THE CHALLENGE. Using the host's cards, the Mentalist repeats the test which proves to be more bizzare than the first test. Four (or two) cards are passed under the table from the shuffled deck of cards which the Mentalist has not touched to another spectator! The Mentalist reaches under the table and by touching the cards held by the second spectator, he calls out the names of the four cards which are then brought out and shown to be the cards called! Both of the above effects appear miraculous and will totally dumbfound your audience so they should be presented in a serious vein. METHOD. For the presentation, you must have a paper and pencil on the table infront of you. There are several methods as follows. Method 1. Steal one card from the deck. You are using your own deck of cards so the stealing is a minor problem. The stolen card is placed on your chair under your leg. When you receive the four cards under the table, the stolen card is added to it, placing it on the bottom of the four. You must instruct the spectator to please deal the cards in your hand face-down. The cards are then divined one by one using the one-ahead system. With your hands under the table, you pretend to feel the cards with your fingertips, for vibrations, you sayl then bring your writing hand out and write out the name of the stolen card on the paper. You state that you will write out the names for verification later. So next bring out. the top card of the five and glimpse the card as you place it on the table face-down. Next reach under the table and pretend to identify the second card. Bring out your hand and write out the name of the card on the table. Proceed in the same fashion BUT on the fourth card bring out the bottom card, the stolen card and hide the other card under your leg. If you sweep off the three cards on the table over the one in your hand and then show them all will appear normal! Method 2. A more dramatic presentation can be done by simply stealing four cards from your own deck. You must of course know the four cards. Switch them for the four cards given to you and then you can just callout the four cards before bringing them out! METHOD ). Doing it impromptu with your own deckl When the four cards are given you under the table, tear off the index corner from one card and finger palm it in your writing hand. Then bring out your hand and write out the name of the index now in your palm. Next pass the torn card to the bottom and do the one-ahead system! When you bring out the last card, cover the torn corner with your thumb and fan the other three cards over it!
4 AN AL MANN EXCLUSIVE
BRAINBUSTERS '8) BLIND ENCHANTMENT
contI .,
Some of the wise ones in your audience will begin to offer a solution to your effects, BUT you stop them cold by saying, "Blind people can read with their fingertips by the Braille system. I have been acused of doing that but to prove to you that I am not resorting to that I will repeat the test with the host's own deck of cards." Now you will conpletely silence everyone with what follows. Have a lady sit on your right and a gentleman on your left. Have the cards shuffled several times. You say, "Please note that I will not handle the deck." You have two cards in your pocket that belong to the Host. These are the two cards stolen during the first effect with the paper bag. You have of course memorized the two cards. After the cards are well mixed tell the person to place his hands under the table and to give the lady any two cards from the deck face-down. Caution them not to flash the cards to anyone. Tell the lady to keep her hands under the table with the cards face down. They must not see the cards. You then say that you must touch the cards. So reach over and gently clip the two cards with your left hand and place the stolen two cards aligned over the two the lady is holding. Then you pull fast on the two cards held by the lady and at the same time push the two stolen cards into her hand, saying, "OH! Please do not let go of the cards. Hold on to them ... · You have just exchanged the two cards! Ask the gentleman to give you the deck under the table. Add the two cards to it and bring it out saying; "I can tell by the weight that there are 8 pips missing. The two of hearts and the 6 of clubs!" The same test can be done with four cards and with more than one person receiveing cards under the table, but the test as stated above is devastating as it is. WITH FOUR CARDS. Say that the lady is given four cards under the table face-down and unknown to anyone. You have two known cards palmed under the table. Reach over and gently touch the four cards and give them a slight tug. This will get the lady used to you pulling on the cards. Bring your hand over the table and say that you know one of the cards. So write down the name of one of the stolen cards. Reach for the cards under the table again and take with your left thumb and fingers the two center cards held by the lady and insert the known cards under the top card of the four. Then pullout the two center cards and push in the two known cards! The lady is still holding on to the cards so she suspects little. You now know the identity of the two center cards held by the lady. Place the new stolen cards on your lap and sight their identity while concentrating on the second card. So write down the second card of the first two known cards and also write out the last two
.5 BRAINBUSTERS
t
AN AL MANN EXCLUSIVE
8.3
BLIND ENCHANTMENT
cont. ••
cards that you have just stolen and sighted saying."I think that the other two cards are these but I am not sure. Let me check again." So you reach for the lady's cards under the table and repeat the maneuver but first tell the lady to transfer the top card to the bottomo Feel the card and then say, "Please transfer another card to the bottom." After this the two unknown cards are the two center cards of the four held by the lady. So exchange the two center cards for the two known cards you are holding In the same fashion as before. Next ask the lady to compare her cards with the notes you wrote. You still have two stolen cards that belong to the host so return them to the deck in your first opportunity or do another test with them however the test you just did should suffice for the day. NOTE. During the above test, you must ask the lady to help you as the test is most difficult. She must hold the cards squared at all times and she must keep them out of sight until the test is finished. IMPROMPTU WITH FOUR CARDS! Let's say that you have been challenged with a strange deck of cards and that you have not had a chance to steal a single card. Have the deck shuffled saying that you will not touch it. Have them pass four cards to the lady under the table. Here you can tell them to look at the cards before the test if they wish. Say that you must touch the cards gently and pass your hand over the lady's hand and cards. Then write out the name of anycard but keep it secret. Tell them that you already have an impression of one of the cards Next reach for the cards again under the table and steal one. Just take one of the middle cards out. The lady will not know the difference. After you glimpse this card stick it back into the lady's hand second from the bottom. She is now holding four cards. You know the identity of only the third card from the topo So write out the name of the known card and scratch out the first name you wrote. Later you can tell them that you made one mistake and had to scratch it out. You now proceed one-ahead. Bring out the top card and glimpse it and write it down as the second card, etc. You must of course feel the cards before you write down a name. When you get to the third card leave it in her hands and take out the fourth card. The third card is brought out last. Give them your notes to read. If you wish to do the test without bringing the single cards up, then you just keep stealing cards one at a time, glimpsing them and replacing them. :Do the two center cards first and then tell the lady to pass cards from top to bottom and then reveal the new two center cards in the same fashion. Any way you do it, it is a killer effect! 0
6 BRAINBUSTERS '8)
AN AL MANN EXCLUSIVE
en 1SdtCe :
Here is another 'under-the-table' brainbuster where the method is elementary. In EFFECT. A person is handed a straight deck of cards in its case. He is instructed to take out the cards and examine them and shuffle them at will. Then he is to place his hands under the table and cut the deck several times and then choose any four cards, letting no one see the faces or the backs, and to place the cards into the card box and close the box. He is then to Fig. 2 hold the box under the table. Performer then touches the box lightly for 'vibs' and then using another deck of cards takes out a card and places it into an envelope which he gives to a second person to hold. Person holding the card case is then told to take out one card and give it to the performer under the table. Performer takes the card and places it into a second envelope which he may also give to a third person. This is continued until all the four cards are out of the box. When the cards are compared they are two sets of duplicates. The performer has divined all the four cards:
METHOD. This is an almost automatic way of getting one-ahead an your audience. Get a piece of double-stick Scotch Tape. Every Mentalist should have a roll of this tape handy. Place a tiny piece of tape on the center of the back face of the card case. Then attach one of the playing cards to it back-side showing. You of course must know the identity of this card. The back of the case will appear natural as the design of the card appears to belong there. But, like the magician's thumb tip, the back of the case is hardly never seen by your audience, especially if you are working at a table. The case is always placed on the table front-side up as shown in Fig. 2 and th~ attached card on the back side is out of sight alwaysl The case can be trusted to the hands of the VIP without danger of exposure. You will also need twa letter envelopes and another deck of cards. (Prediction slips of paper can be used instead of a second deck, although people like the idea of two decks. It all depends on your presentation.) PRESENTATION. After the deck is shuffled (it is your deck) and four cards have been chosen under the table, have the person place the cards into the case sight-unseen. While he holds the deck under the table, you touch the case for the dramatics and then take out the second deck and remove the duplicate of the attached card and place it into an envelope and give it to a person on your right. Next ask the person with the card case to take one card out and hand it to you sight unseen. You glimpse the card as you place
7 BRAINBUSTERS EN BOlTE
• 8)
AN AL MANN EX.CLUSlVE
• •• cont.
it into a second envelope which you hand to a person on your left telling him to not open the envelope yet. This proceedure is repeated with the next two cards. With the fourth card, you claim that you can not get any 'vibs,' so you ask the person to shake the case a bit. Still no 'vibs.' So then you take the case and shake it yourself and while doing it, open the case, take the card out and replace it with the card that is attached to the outside of the case. Then give the case back to the person and tell him to take the card out. (the other card can be attached to the outside of the case or just palmed into your pocket). You need not touch the last card! You must now remove the last card from the second deck and stick it into the envelope and then tell the audience to compare cards. You need not worry as to the order of the cards. It is not important since the cards are placed into the envelopes one at a time in no particular order. The act of placing the cards into the card case will create talk and make the test seem miraculous. CARD CASES. More fabulous Brainbusters can be presented with specially gimmicked card boxes. I refer you to the following. For our purpose, the best tricked or gimmicked case can be found in Al Baker's "Pet Secrets." This case is also treated in "The Third Ecstasy.". This gimmicked case will add three known cards to the top of the deck. (see also The Pall Bearers Review, vol.4 #12) The Miller Card Case, in More Card Manipulations by Hugard describes a case that can add about eight cards to the deck. Peter Warlock in Patterns for Psychics, describes the construction of a case with a flap for use with the Brainwave deck. William Larsen in The Sphinx Vol. 2), #) describes an effect with the finer card boxes that telescope. A DIFF"ERENT MlRACLEl The late Joseph Dunninger created a sensation with this type of effect. Working at the table or platform the magician has some one shuffle and cut a deck of cards and then keep one. He is told to remember the card and may also show it around. The card is then returned to the deck and the deck is again shuffled and cut by anyone. The deck is then passed to a person on the opposite side of the room or table. This person is told to please study the cards and that one card will stand out to him. This card you say, "Will attract you and will look different from the rest." After a moment the spectator succeeds in picking out the correct cardl The solution is simple. The Magician uses two decks. One deck has the large giant-size pips while the other deck has the normal pips. The large-pip deck is switched secretly for the other while the spectator is showing his card around I The large-pip card is returned to the normal pip deck. The rest is obvious.
8 BRAINBUSTERS '8)
*Ike
AN AL MANN E)CCLUSIVE
St!4te~
tJoteu
A Ootw (pronounced you-two) may very well be a creature from the planet Vulcan, BUT it isn't. The letters OOTW stand for Out-Of-ThisWorld. So after the next-door neighbor's kid comes over and floors everyone with his masterful presentation of OOTW come back and study The Sealed Ootw. Paul Curry's effect is a classic in card magic and will ever remain so. But for a time the effect was so popular that everybody and his third cousin new the working of it. In the 1940's tens of thousands of these rons. sold world wide for $1. The effect was known in every bar room, card room and drawing room in the world or so it seemed. ~verytime you baffled someone silly with OOTW, he could come back a week later and tell you how you did it. He had been so impressed with the effect that he told all his buddies at the office plus all his relatives and someone told him how it was done. That is exactly what happened to me in the backwoods of Mexico. Fortunately Magicians have the ability to getting ahead of the layman. I recall the story of the Magician who walked into a bar room in Portland Maine and baffled everyone by doing OOTW with a shuffled deck. Many of the patrons new the original OOTW but they were completely mystified when they saw the effect done with a shuffled deck! I believe Harry Lorayne is credited with having invented the OOTW with a shuffled deck. A stroke of genius, no less! Here I offer you "The Sealed Ootw.," EFFECT. From a shuffled deck, two spectators separate the cards sight-unseen and place them into four envelopes. When the spectators open the-envelopes it is seen that each envelope contains cards of only one color. Two envelopes contain all the red cards and the other two envelopes contain all the black cardsl The envelopes are carefully marked before the test with the words "Red" and "Black!" in large letters. Besides, the envelopes are initialed or signed by two personsl Each person gets one red and one black envelope I Envelopes are ungimmickedl TO PREPARE. Take two letter envelopes and marked them "RED" with large letters with a red ink markero Take two other letter envelopes and mark them "BLACK" in large letters with a black ink marker. That is all you will need besides a deck of cards, anyone's deck of cards I The effect is best done at a tableo A lady sits to the left across the table and a gentleman to your right across the table. Let's call them Mary and John.
9
BRIANBUSTERS
AN AL MANN EX.CLUSIVE
'8)
THE SEALED OOTW
•• cont. •.
THE PRESENTATION. The original set-up is as shown in Fig. ). The four envelopes are address-side up with the words showing in front of you. So proceed as follows.
John
Mary Fig. )
1. "Let me show you a test with cards that atAcK deck you will think is truly amazing. If it works. R.o Sometimes it fails. It is done with four envelopes. Please note that the envelopes are marked "Red" and "Black." Magician "Please sign your names on the envelopes. Each of you get two envelopes." Let John sign the two envelopes on your right and Mary M John ary signs the other two.
I l,clol Q
I
2. Let John keep the "Red" envelope while you take back the Black one and place it to your right. Mary keeps the "Black" envelope and you take back the Red one and place it to your left. The envelopes are still address-side up with the words showing.
I I let.4C( I
Fig. 4
Magician ). Pick up the deck and say. "The test is very simple. It is a guessing game. As you know playing cards come in two colors. Red and Black. All you have to do is to John Mary guess what color each card is by looking at its back. For example (take a red card from the deck) say that you have guessed this card is red. (turn the card over) Red Black It is red so you put it into the "Red" enFig. 5 velope." (take a black card from the deck) "But if you think the card is black (show the card), place it into the "Black" envelope." You have given the red card to John to insert into the "Red" envelope which he Magician holds and the Black card you have inserted into the "Black" envelope. The envelopes are again left address-side up with the words showing. This is very important as you are programing their minds to think Red and Black. However John's "Black" envelope after handling it, you have left it in front of you. Repeat the same thing with Mary and at the end place her "Red" envelope on top of John's "Black" envelope as shown in Fig. 4
a
Dc>=
4. Take up the two envelopes in front of you and turn them over
saying, "Please turn the envelopes over so that they are flap side
10 BRAINBUSTERS
AN AL MANN EXCLUSIVE
'8)
THE SEALED OOTW
• •• cont. ••
up." And right away give John the deck saying, "Please shuffle the deck several times and cut it all you want. It is very important that the cards be well mixed. Then pass the deck to Mary and let her shuffle some more." You have in front of you two envelopes flap-side up. The top one is marked "Black"and the bottom one is "Red." But the marks cannot be seen. So during the misdirection of shuffling the cards, separate the envelopes. Place the top envelope to your left and the bottom envelope to your right. The condition is shown in Fig. 5.
5. Take back the deck after the shuffling and make a fan facing you
and say, "Remember that you shuffled the cards. I will not disturb the order." Take a red card from the left half of the fan and ask John to guess if it is red or black. Whatever he says place the card into one mf the envelopes on your right. If he says "Red" give him the card to place into his envelope. If "Black" place it into the envelope to your right.
6. Continue in like manner picking at least 20 cards from left half of the fan, all red, of course. After this you will have at least 20 black cards on the left half of the fan, the top half of the deck.
7. Give the deck to Mary and tell her to take one card at a time and guess its color, sight unseen. If she thinks it is "Red" she is to give you the card to insert into the envelope on your left. If she thinks it is Black she is to place it into the envelope she has. She is to continue in the same manner until about 20 cards have been dealt. (Mary deals from the top of the deck.) 8. Next tell Mary to turn the cards face up and spread them on the table (the cards left over in her hand), "As we can see," you say, "The cards are well mixed.
9. Tell John and Mary to check their envelopes to see how they did. At the same time place the envelope on your right on top of the envelope on your left and hold them with your right hand still flapside up. 10. After the initial amazement with the two envelopes, turn your right hand over saying, "Now see how you did with these. I have ~ot touched the cards." Throw the envelopes in front of John and Mary. THE ACT of placing a red card openly into the "Red" envelope and a black card into the "Black" envelope at the beginning and the fact that the envelopes are unequivocably marked completes the mystery!
11
BRAINBUSTERS '8)
AN AL MANN
~CLUSIVE
by Al Mann re frame s! This is the stage versi on of OOTW done with two pictu s in frame re pictu The idea is cred ited to Art Neal who first used In Neal vs versi on a mark eted effe ct calle d "Out of oute r-Sp ace." of cards and then a perso n is calle d on stage who shuf fles a deckblaOk placi ng them sepa rates the cards sight -uns een into red andframe s are turne d over face down into two pictu re fram es. When the (pain ted red) it is seen that all the red cards are in one frame ted blac k.). (pain frame r othe and all the black cards are in the ratio n was a sepa the doing tator In Neal 's versi on, the spec stoog e. The effe ct is fabul ous none thele ssl pt the Here is my versi on done with out help from anyon ean exce t. effec is a one-m parti cipa ting members of the audie nce. Itsize comes, inch 12 9! by YOU WILL NEED. Two pictu re fram es, en wood a have s plete with glass and cardb oard back ing. The frame there part ition down the cent er so that actu ally are two frame s in each. The backs of the frame s are equip ted with sprin g locks so that the back board s can be place d and locke d insta ntly. THE PRESENTATION. Place the two pictu re fram es glass side down and remov e the backs of both . The two frame s shou ld be place d one over the othe r on an incli ned table top so that they Black Red are visib le to the audie nce. Borro w a deck of cards or use your own. Have seve ral perso ns shuf fle the card s. Infor m the audie nce what is to be done. Then proce ed to do the OOTW effe ct as deta iled in "The Seale d OOTW exce pt that now you will use the pictu re frame s to put the cards into. Fan the deck to your self and take out a red card from the left half of the fan and with out show ing it ask anyon e to choo se redly Red Black or black and then place the card acco rding m botto into the top left- half frame or the Fig. SA left half- fram e. If 'red' is calle d, place the card face- downis calle d, place into the left- half of the top frame . If 'blac k' ed in the same it into the left- half of the botto m frame . Proce fashi on unti l abou t 20 cards have been place d. nce and tell him Next , give the cards to anyon e from the audie and to take one card or her to hold the cards face- down in one handinto the righ t-ha lf at a time sight -uns een and to place the card k' and into the of the top frame if they think the card is 'blac .' righ t-ha lf of the botto m frame if they think it is 'red
12
BRAINBUSTERS '8) THE FRAMED OOTW
AN AL MANN EXCLUSIVE •• cont . . '
stop the dealing after about 20 cards and take the deck and fan it to the audience to show that the deck is well mixed. As matters stand, your audience sees two picture frames, one over the other and some face-down cards. The moves that follow are crucial and must be done one at a timel "Let's see how we did." You say. 1. Replace the back board on the top frame and lock it in place and then, 2. Turn the frame over from top to bottom, like letting the top edge fall down, and replace the frame face-out in the same position it was before. NOTEI The audience cares little how you turn the frame over and pay little attention to the turning. All they are interested in is to see the face of the frame. And when they see that the red cards are separated from the blacks, they will let out a gasp and then all reason will be suspended! J. Next replace the back board on the lower frame and lock it into place BUT DO NOT TURN THE FRAME OVER but take it on the left side with your left hand and on the right side with your right hand and TURN THE WHOLE BODY AROUND to face the audience. Another gasp no doubt. ( A dramatic way to display the second frame, is to hold the frame facing the floor. Look at the audience and ask. "Would you like to see this one?" By this time your audience has lost tract as to any special handling of the frames. Then slowly expose the face of the frame.) 4. Replace the frame face-out in its original place so that the view is now like in Fig. 5A! Voila! another miraclel Keep in mind that no amount of reason can account for what the audience sees. They shuffled the cards and picked them! There is no way in which the frames can be manipulated (so they think)! And everything can be examined. If you wish, the frames can be painted half-red and half black but then you must be careful in the handling so that at the end all will be normal NOTE III While handling the single cards, do not hold them over the frames as the audience may see a reflection in the glass. There you have it, Gentlemen. If you do not think this one effect alone is worth buying this mns. it is because you have not yet tried the effect on an audience. With a small effort you can do the effect with giant size cards, or red and black ESP cards, and larger picture frames. The effect is strong enough for the closing numberl Have fun,
13 (201 ) 431-2429 POST OFFICE BOX 144 • FREEHOLD, NEW JERSEY 07728
13d14AAz
?h.
eeJI4C.~e.rJ, Vi'~peJ,4"'U
(1982)
Copyright by Al Mann Exclusives
Two very interesting chapters on Geometrical vanishes are treated in Martin Gardner's 'Mathematics, Magic and Mystery (chapters 7 and 8).' The study deals with the Principle of Concealed Distribution of Matter resulting in the mysterious loss or gain of areal This amazing paradox has not been properly applied to the Mentalists' art. Here is a first attempt.
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EFFECT. The Mentalist shows a square piece of card (or paper) and says that he has a written prediction on it which he will disclose later. However, he explains, the prediction is in code and he will later instruct someone in the audience how to decode it! He next has the card signed by someone and then openly cuts it into several pieces, seals the pieces in an envelope and hands it to anyone to hold. Another person is then asked to callout the name of any playing card. Mentalist records the name called and then has the person holding the envelope cut it open and remove the pieces. He instructs the person to construct a sentance with the pieces; like solving a puzzle. When the sentance is constructed it reveals the name of the card! PREPARE a piece of card or paper 3 inches square ( Fig. 6 ). Draw line A through the center point of the card and at 10 degrees inclined to the horizontal. Next draw line B perpendicular to line A. Then write in the words as shown. Your audience will never see the card in this condition and they will never see lines A and B. If the card is then cut through lines A and B and rearranged so that the message is legible it will look like in Fig. 7 I Fig. 6 You will now have a void space of 3/4 inch square. Where did the material in the void go? It was distributed around the perimeter of the card, so that the new card is now a bit larger but hardly noticeable. Since the audience did not measure the card they are non the wiser. FOR THE PRESENTATION, you prepare ~ F'~g.
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14 BRA INBUS TER .' 83 THE BLACK HOLE
AN AL MANN EXCLUSIVE •• con t. .•
3/4 inch square of card of the same material and attach it to a
writing pad with a tiny bit of double-sided scotch tape. After the card is called, write the name on the writing pad and also write the initials on the 3/4 inch square of card and then palm the piece. After the spectator rearranges the message correctly he will notice a piece missing. "Oh!" You say, "There is a piece missingl" So take the envelope, look into it and say, "Here it is!" and shake the envelope upside down and let the piece drop on the table. End of Miracle. The misdirection is perfect. The audience saw the card whole. The card pieces were all sealed into the envelope. And the message is then read correctly. The proper way to cut the card is to cut it along line A but leave it attached by about 1/8 inch material. Then cut across line B and then finish the first cut. That way it looks like several cuts were made and fumbling is avoided. NOTEI For our purpose in creating Mental effects, we must always draw the lines through the center point of the card so that the intersection of the two lines will be made at the center. The serious students will discover that the point of intersection can be made at any point on the card and the angle that line A is drawn to the horizontal can be any angle! But the resulting void varies with the degree of angle and the student can spend a lifetime drawing up tables for the various angles, etc. In the above effect, a spectator may be allowed to sign the card on the blank side behind the Performer's signature. When the card is shown to the audience only the blank side is shown. NOTE III If the angle of inclination of line A with the horizontal is increased, the area of the void space and the card increase also. At an angle of 20 degrees the size of the void space will be about 1-1/16 inch square. This is large enough to write in a spirit message or the picture of the lady's favorite flower, etc. Line B must always be perpendicular (90 degrees) to line A. In Fig. 6 , the writing on the card appears upside down. This is only to show that the four pieces of the card remain in the same quarter but are rotated so that the center of the card becomes the outside corners of the card. In actual practice you can show the card writing side up. The message in only flashed to the audience to show that it is there. The lines can be replaced with pencil dots as will be detailed.
1.5 BRAINBUSTERS '8)
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AN AL MANN EX.CLUSIVE
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This may very well be the most profound effect you can do with the Principle of Concealed Distribution! Instead of making a message appear, we will make a 'Dead Name' disappear. Correspondingly after the Dead Name disappears the resulting card will be smaller than the original! In Effect the patter can be anything you can invent. You may say that you will prove that the spirit of Dead Persons do not belong among the living. TO PREPARE use an index card size ) by .5 inches. Draw line A inclined 10 degress to the horizontal. Point A (Fig. 8 ) is approximately 1t inches from the bottom of the card. (actually point A can be anywhere as desired as Fig. 8 will be shown later). Draw line B parallel to line A but must be exactly 1/2 inch above line A. Draw in the other two lines perpendicular to lines A and B. These lines are only guide lines to cut the card by. They can be in any color or shade. TO PRESENT: Collect live names and write the names only, without the numbers, on the card. The live names are Bill, Tom, George, Joe and Mike. Show the live names that have been written. Fig. 8. Next call for a dead name. This name goes into the 1/2 inch rectangle, Carl. Show the dead name to have been written to the perGe~rte son. Next write in the numbers as shown. Have someone sign the back of the card at the bottom. Cut the card following the lines and steal the dead name. This can be done by placing the pieces on a writing pad and the dead name Fig. 9 over double-side scotch tape on the pad. Dump all the pieces on the table and have someone rearrange the pieces. The 'Dead Name' will be missing without a clue. This is shown in Fig. 9, the performer's name is written under 'George.' Or if you wish, the dead name strip can be left among the pieces and you can show that it does not belong in the list of names!
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16 BRIANBUSTERS '83
AN AL MANN EKCLUSIVE
The story is told about five dead soldiers that were buried with honors in the court yard of the local church. Years later the name of one of the soldiers was removed from the honor rolls as it was discovered that he had consorted with the enemy. While the townspeople were thinking about what to do about it, a violent storm passed over the town. In the morning a coffin was found in the church yard. It had been disgorged by the ground. Upon investigation it was discoverd to be the coffin of the dishonered soldier. (Perhaps the reader has a better story). In any event the effect is that any coffin called by number from 1 to 5 can be made to disgorge itself from the card. Actually the card with the coffins is shown to the audience. But at first the Fig. 10 coffins are unnumbered. Later after the number is chosen, the Mentalist writes in the numbers secretly or openly making sure that the chosen number goes on the coffin in the 1/2 inch strip. The card used is again an index card and the lines are drawn as in the previous effect. NOTE. The lines need not be drawn • Pencil dots are drawn instead. One dot at the begining of the line and another dot at the other end of the line. That way you will know how to guide the scissors for the cutting. A STAGE SIZE VERSION of this concept can be made of wood. It should."-be-"-:f by-5 feet Til"size and mounted on a frame The wood panel is already cut into the correct pieces. The vanishing strip must measure exactly 6 inches wide. The length of it is imaterial but should be proportional to the one shown in Fig. If the wood is machine cut, the lines will hardly be noticeable. In Effect the audience sees a frame with say five items on it. It is dismantled and placed back in place. Now they see only four items and the board and frame are the same size. Actually the frame hides the difference. It is presented as an unsoluble puzzle with a piece left over. 0
NOTE. The 1/2 inch strip as shown in Fig. 10 can be placed anywhere on the card But the inclination must be the same.
