MICK AYRES'
RhymeTime! You hand a business card to a guest and ask her to put it in her pocket. Next, you display a long list of words and ask her to think of one. Next, to make things more impossible, she is asked to dream up a word that rhymes with her chosen word. She is the only one who knows what she is thinking—or is she? After naming the word she created, she removes your business card from her pocket—and discovers the very same word written across the back. A perfect prediction. In 2002, RhymeTime won a Linking Ring Award for Mentalism from the International Brotherhood of Magicians. The effect plays well on stage, in parlor shows or close up. After all, you are truly discerning a word that a guest has made up in her mind. You'll need a marking pen and ten pieces of blank paper—althought index cards, blank business cards, blank playing cards or even Post-It Notes® will do as well. Write one of the following words on each of ten cards:
Torture
Victim
Harsh
Soldier
Fortress
South
Gauntlet
Assassin
Weapon
Culprit
On an extra piece of paper that will serve as your prediction, write the word “Marsh”. Fold this paper and hand it to your guest, requesting that she put it in her pocket for the time being. Basically, the whole effect is just one big, unique force. In a nutshell, the secret to this trick is simple: none of the words on the list rhyme with anything at all, with the exception of two—South and Harsh. Allow me to explain: It is a popular belief that the words orange, silver, purple and month are the only four words in the English language that rhyme with nothing—but it’s not true. In fact, the word nothing itself rhymes with nothing at all. Indeed, there are hundreds of words that do not rhyme and hundreds more that rhyme with only one or two words. It is the latter category that allow this experiment to succeed. In RhymeTime, South (which only rhymes with Mouth) and Harsh (which only rhymes with Marsh) become the force cards. Arrange the cards so that when held face up, the two force cards are on top with the Harsh card on the face of the packet. Put the packet into an envelope and you are ready to begin. Say, “Can you make a rhyme every time? Are you a poet—but don’t know it? Shakespeare is widely considered to be the greatest poet and storyteller of all time. His work is so popular that the Hollywood film industry has created at least four versions of Hamlet in the past decade alone. In fact, the last time I watched the play, I wrote down a list of several words that Shakespeare used frequently in his classic tale.” Remove the packet of cards from the envelope and display them freely. “Please read each word aloud.” Deal the cards from one hand to another, reversing their order, as the spectator pronounces each word. Afterwards, turn the packet face down. The Harsh card is back on top. Hand the face down packet to your guest and ask her to deal the cards into two piles on the table. Watch carefully and note which pile gets the first card. Say, “Pick up either pile...”. If she picks up the pile without the Harsh card, finish your instructions by continuing, “...and hand it to me. Each pile needs to be shuffled thoroughly. Please mix your cards well.” She will pick up the Harsh pile and mix them while you mix yours. However, if she picks up the Harsh pile all you do is say the last two sentences from the above statement: “Each pile needs to be shuffled thoroughly. Please mix your cards well.” Either way, you have arranged things so the spectator is now holding the Harsh card and four other word-cards. Say, “If I were to tell you what words you are now holding, that would be a good trick. Or, if you were to choose just one of those words and I was able to identify it correctly, that would be far more impressive. But what if I took it a step further? Pretend you are a poet
for a moment. Come up with a word, any word, that rhymes with any one of the words on those cards. When you have a word in mind, focus on that new word alone and forget about the words on those cards. Signal when you are ready by putting your cards on the table so I never see the words at all.” The average spectator will look the list over casually and will choose the path of least resistance. Since no rhyming words come to mind quickly for any of the other four words and since rhyming Harsh with Marsh isn’t a big leap for anyone, that will be the rhyming word they decide upon. Once she puts her cards on the table, say, “In a clear voice, please tell me the word you just dreamed up in your mind.” She will say, “Marsh”. Remind her that she has a piece of folded paper in her pocket. I prefer to have her hand it to me and I slowly unfold it while watching her face. The dramatic reaction is always worthwhile. If requested to repeat this demonstration, ask for another volunteer and discreetly prepare a second prediction paper with the word 'Mouth'. Fold it twice and hand it to this new person for safekeeping. Continue the experiment by using the remaining packet. You'll baffle everyone by finishing with a completely different word. Either way, the experiment now is over.
w While field-testing RhymeTime, experience taught me a few things that are worth mentioning. At first, I had only one card among ten that would rhyme. Trial-and-error showed that giving people the entire ten word list was too overwhelming—plus it made for an uncomfortably long silence in the middle of the presentation. Dividing the pile in half took the pressure off the guest and quickens the pace considerably. In parlor settings, I perform RhymeTime using highly visible, jumbo cards. I am just as likely to give an impromptu performance by tearing a blank piece of paper into several squares and proceeding from there. My creative friend, Chris Faria wrote a brilliant RhymeTime presentation with a completely different justification—he dropped the whole 'Shakespeare' angle completely. Instead, Chris introduces the cards while talking about those small magnetic word-tiles that people stick to their refrigerators. The popular word-tiles are used to make up funny messages, sayings, poems, or anything else that comes to mind. Chris then holds up the cards and tells his audience that these ten words are the most frequently used words in his household, etc.
Over the years, RhymeTime has enjoyed a prominent spot in my repertoire for a number of reasons. First, the shuffling is real. Second, the choices are their own and are followed to the letter. Third, you really do reveal a word she just dreamed up. Fourth, when you think about it, there is no 'reset' to speak of. Finally, the fact that you may repeat the effect immediately and get a completely different answer makes this effect invaluable to the working professional. I feel RhymeTime offers a whole new forcing method that has yet to be fully exploited. Please—feel free to play with this concept and consider other applications for it within the world of Mentalism. No one would be more pleased than I to witness your efforts someday. Mick Ayres Hilton Head Island, SC
m 'RhymeTime' copyright 1998 by Mick Ayres. For performance use only. All rights reserved. For more mysteries, visit: www.mickayreswares.com
