---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, <s3raphita@...> wrote :
A while back someone posted an explanation of a mind-reading double act that
had fooled the experts. These demonstrations in which the audience put random
items onto a tray and then the "sender" asks the "receiver" what he's holding
and she's able to tell us usually involve a simple code. What made this act so
baffling was that the performer was using the "one-ahead" routine. It would be
agreed before the show that the first item held up that night would be a credit
card. The coded message used by the sender would refer to the *next* item he
was going to pick up and not the one he was actually holding aloft. Geddit?
Simple but effective.
That routine really tickled me. However I've now come across another method
that also left the experts at a loss.
Sam Loyd (Yank - 19th century) used to do a routine in which he would
blindfold his son and have him stand with his back to the audience. A legit
deck of cards would be shuffled by an audience member (not a stooge) who would
then hold up each card in turn for Sam Loyd to see. Lloyd would gaze at the
card and not say a word or move a muscle and eventually his son would announce
"Ace of Hearts" and be correct. This would continue through the pack.
So how was it done?
Think about it and see if you can work it out.
The solution is . . .
Have your tiny brains worked it out yet?
Awesomely simple . . .
And it is?
The son never spoke a word! Sam Loyd was a ventriloquist!
Brilliant.
There was a really good TV show about magicians and their art, and even though
they didn't give any secrets away one of the featured illusionists said that
one of the most important things a magician has to learn is how to make the
audience think they are about to see something really difficult. He then
proceeded to make Tower Bridge disappear before our eyes.
While we are on the subject, you just might enjoy this:
The Prestige (2006) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0482571/
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0482571/
The Prestige (2006) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0482571/ Directed by
Christopher Nolan. With Christian Bale, Hugh Jackman, Scarlett Johansson,
Michael Caine. Two stage magicians engage in competitive one-...
View on www.imdb.com http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0482571/
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