Illusionist - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

Jrock · 02-09-2005, 11:58 AM

It's hard to choose where this question should go. Knowledge and How-To seem equally good, or even paranoia if you believe this sort of thing is done with supernatural powers... If the mods think it would get a better response elsewhere, feel free to move it.

Tonight my school is having an illusionist perform. In the cafeteria at lunch time he did a few tricks to build interest. I've always been interested in magic, and figuring out how it's really done. As a kid, I had a store bought magic kit that I enjoyed playing with. One trick he did, bending a cafeteria spoon, I know how to do without resorting to the super natural. However, the other one had me completely stumped.

He first pulled a person from the audience. I wanted to volunteer, but had a plate of food in my hand when he was asking for someone. Had my hands been free, I would have been the first to volunteer. The person he did choose was a member of the student govornment, who hired him to perform, which increses the likelyhood that this person was a plant and who whole thing was a setup, in which case I would be very disapointed. However, his full show is supposed to have quite a bit of audience participation, so I don't think the volunteer was a plant.

Anyway, for his trick, he first had the volunteer check his equipment to make sure it wasn't trick gear. Then he taped a half doller over each eye with duct tape (or did he? he did it pretty quick), then wrapped a blindfold over his eyes and had the volunteer secure it. He then had the volunteer write a word on the top half of a white board and show it to the audience, instructing the audience not to say the word, so he didn't overhear. The word was MAGIC. He then quickly moved his hand over the front of the board, without touching the letters. "Your word has five letters, all capitalised... except the I, you didn't cross the I. And your G's kind of funny..." Then he wrote the word on the bottom half of the white board. MAGIC.

Anyone know how a trick like this could be done? I can think of a few ways something like this could be done. First would be the volunteer was a plant, but this is unlikely if his real show has as much audience participation as claimed. Maybey he really could see. He did cover his eyes with the coins pretty quick, so it may have been slight of hand, but I wasn't in a good position to see for sure. The tape covering them did look solid, though, and so did the blindfold. Or it could have been a trick board that somehow revealed the word by touch, but I have no idea physicly how something like that would work.

So does anybody know how this could be done, or have any links I could check out for more information?

SiNai · 02-09-2005, 02:25 PM

I've seen a really good illusionist do things like these, to the extreme. A few years ago, I was a senior in HS, working as a waiter. They had this illusionist come for the night and I was already off work so I stuck around for him. He did both tricks you described above (I actually got to see him bend one of my keys merely by stroking it after his show, we invited him to eat with us) along with many more. He told people things about them that nobody should be able to- phone numbers, answering questions people had written down on pieces of paper, even telling one girl that her sister wanted her shoes back. I volunteered to do the trick you described, I can't remember what the word I wrote was, but I have a feeling that I was "persuaded" to write a certain word by some kind of subtle subliminal sort of thing, possibly. He told us, while we were sitting with him eating, that the spoon bending and such, stems from the fact that we all have a very small amount of electromagnetic charge eminating from our body, and he can control his heartbeat, thus control this aura, and somehow make spoons bend. Didn't quite catch it. Would be fun to find out though!

Jrock · 02-09-2005, 03:24 PM

I agree with the subliminal part. Magicians, mind readers, hyprotists, con men, and illusionists of all sorts use all sorts of little subliminal tricks to mask what they're really doing so you don't catch on to their trick. That's why hypnotists usually start the show with a magic trick of some sort, which has nothing to do with hypnotism. It's to get people believing he really does have supernatural powers so they're more likely to follow his suggestion. I'm usually pretty good at seeing through this sort of thing, but it's hard since the illusionists every movement is designed to throw you off from what he's really doing. I'll be there early to get a good seat, and watching his every move like a hawk.

I don't buy the electric charge bending spoons bit for a second. That part is just a bit to make it more fun for the audience, even if the audience is just a few people sitting around the table. But since not knowing how a trick is done is half the fun, read at your own risk:

Spoiler: Any school boy knows how to do the rubber pencil trick, where it looks like the pencil is bending but it's not. There's a way to do this that it looks like you're just doing the rubber pencil trick, but you're really bending it back and forth just a little bit with your fingers. Since we're all familiar with the rubber pencil trick, we assume that's what he's doing, so we don't notice how much pressure he's really putting on it. Bend a cheap piece of metal back and forth enough times and it will eventually break. At this point, he holds the spoon tightly, so the two haves don't come apart, and slowly lets go so it looks like it's melting at his fingertips.

Of course, there are other ways to do it, that's just the one I know, and is the one he used this afternoon. I'll be interested to see what other tricks I can catch on to when I see the rest of his show this evening.

kurtisj · 02-09-2005, 05:31 PM

That is interesting, my guess would be the audience member was a plant because of all words to use she used magic...you never know though i guess, because we all know a great magician never reveals his secrets.

Cylvre · 02-11-2005, 01:31 AM

Some people (possibly only blind) people have been known to have color or tone sensitivity in their hands. Reading this brought up a memory of reading something like that. Too lazy to google it though, maybe sometime other than 3:30 in the morning.

itch vaccine · 02-11-2005, 05:27 AM

Quote:

that the spoon bending and such, stems from the fact that we all have a very small amount of electromagnetic charge eminating from our body, and he can control his heartbeat, thus control this aura, and somehow make spoons bend.

He's just pullin' your leg

and the explanation from Jrock is the most logical one.. I've seen it explained.

and erm.. the other one, the blindfold, should be a simple trick, because a lot of magicians can do it now. but .. :\ can't provide an explanation.. soz..

02-09-2005, 11:58 AM	#1 (permalink)
Jrock Upright	Illusionist It's hard to choose where this question should go. Knowledge and How-To seem equally good, or even paranoia if you believe this sort of thing is done with supernatural powers... If the mods think it would get a better response elsewhere, feel free to move it. Tonight my school is having an illusionist perform. In the cafeteria at lunch time he did a few tricks to build interest. I've always been interested in magic, and figuring out how it's really done. As a kid, I had a store bought magic kit that I enjoyed playing with. One trick he did, bending a cafeteria spoon, I know how to do without resorting to the super natural. However, the other one had me completely stumped. He first pulled a person from the audience. I wanted to volunteer, but had a plate of food in my hand when he was asking for someone. Had my hands been free, I would have been the first to volunteer. The person he did choose was a member of the student govornment, who hired him to perform, which increses the likelyhood that this person was a plant and who whole thing was a setup, in which case I would be very disapointed. However, his full show is supposed to have quite a bit of audience participation, so I don't think the volunteer was a plant. Anyway, for his trick, he first had the volunteer check his equipment to make sure it wasn't trick gear. Then he taped a half doller over each eye with duct tape (or did he? he did it pretty quick), then wrapped a blindfold over his eyes and had the volunteer secure it. He then had the volunteer write a word on the top half of a white board and show it to the audience, instructing the audience not to say the word, so he didn't overhear. The word was MAGIC. He then quickly moved his hand over the front of the board, without touching the letters. "Your word has five letters, all capitalised... except the I, you didn't cross the I. And your G's kind of funny..." Then he wrote the word on the bottom half of the white board. MAGIC. Anyone know how a trick like this could be done? I can think of a few ways something like this could be done. First would be the volunteer was a plant, but this is unlikely if his real show has as much audience participation as claimed. Maybey he really could see. He did cover his eyes with the coins pretty quick, so it may have been slight of hand, but I wasn't in a good position to see for sure. The tape covering them did look solid, though, and so did the blindfold. Or it could have been a trick board that somehow revealed the word by touch, but I have no idea physicly how something like that would work. So does anybody know how this could be done, or have any links I could check out for more information?

02-09-2005, 02:25 PM	#2 (permalink)
SiNai Dreams In Digital Location: Iowa	I've seen a really good illusionist do things like these, to the extreme. A few years ago, I was a senior in HS, working as a waiter. They had this illusionist come for the night and I was already off work so I stuck around for him. He did both tricks you described above (I actually got to see him bend one of my keys merely by stroking it after his show, we invited him to eat with us) along with many more. He told people things about them that nobody should be able to- phone numbers, answering questions people had written down on pieces of paper, even telling one girl that her sister wanted her shoes back. I volunteered to do the trick you described, I can't remember what the word I wrote was, but I have a feeling that I was "persuaded" to write a certain word by some kind of subtle subliminal sort of thing, possibly. He told us, while we were sitting with him eating, that the spoon bending and such, stems from the fact that we all have a very small amount of electromagnetic charge eminating from our body, and he can control his heartbeat, thus control this aura, and somehow make spoons bend. Didn't quite catch it. Would be fun to find out though! __________________ I can't seem to remember now What it was like- to live life, before you.. symbiont

02-09-2005, 05:31 PM	#4 (permalink)
kurtisj Insane Location: The Wick	That is interesting, my guess would be the audience member was a plant because of all words to use she used magic...you never know though i guess, because we all know a great magician never reveals his secrets. __________________ Marvin the Mountie Always Gets His Kurtisj.

02-09-2005, 03:24 PM	#3 (permalink)
Jrock Upright	I agree with the subliminal part. Magicians, mind readers, hyprotists, con men, and illusionists of all sorts use all sorts of little subliminal tricks to mask what they're really doing so you don't catch on to their trick. That's why hypnotists usually start the show with a magic trick of some sort, which has nothing to do with hypnotism. It's to get people believing he really does have supernatural powers so they're more likely to follow his suggestion. I'm usually pretty good at seeing through this sort of thing, but it's hard since the illusionists every movement is designed to throw you off from what he's really doing. I'll be there early to get a good seat, and watching his every move like a hawk. I don't buy the electric charge bending spoons bit for a second. That part is just a bit to make it more fun for the audience, even if the audience is just a few people sitting around the table. But since not knowing how a trick is done is half the fun, read at your own risk: Spoiler: Any school boy knows how to do the rubber pencil trick, where it looks like the pencil is bending but it's not. There's a way to do this that it looks like you're just doing the rubber pencil trick, but you're really bending it back and forth just a little bit with your fingers. Since we're all familiar with the rubber pencil trick, we assume that's what he's doing, so we don't notice how much pressure he's really putting on it. Bend a cheap piece of metal back and forth enough times and it will eventually break. At this point, he holds the spoon tightly, so the two haves don't come apart, and slowly lets go so it looks like it's melting at his fingertips. Of course, there are other ways to do it, that's just the one I know, and is the one he used this afternoon. I'll be interested to see what other tricks I can catch on to when I see the rest of his show this evening.

02-11-2005, 01:31 AM	#5 (permalink)
Cylvre Upright Location: Minnesota, USA	Some people (possibly only blind) people have been known to have color or tone sensitivity in their hands. Reading this brought up a memory of reading something like that. Too lazy to google it though, maybe sometime other than 3:30 in the morning.