To P r e p a r e. You need a toothpick and a small piece of Scotch tape

You need a toothpick and a small piece of Scotch tape. Lay the end of the toothpick flatly against the back of your right thumbnail and put the piece of Scotch tape over it (photo 1). Using your left thumb and first finger, twirl the toothpick a few times until you can slide it out from beneath the tape (photo

2)—this leaves a channel in the tape so you can reinsert the toothpick when needed.

Note that this can only be
performed for one person who’s
standing directly in front of you.
Anyone else will see how it’s
done.
To P e r f o r m
Begin	with	the	toothpick
hanging	from	your	mouth.
Remove it with your left hand.
Turn your right hand so your
thumb and first finger are up-

ward. Curl your thumb as much as you can and insert the tooth-pick into the channel in the tape. Once the toothpick is all the way in, it appears, from the front, that it is being held between your right thumb and first fingertip (photo 3). It’s important that you don’t let the person watching see you actu-ally insert the toothpick under the tape—in fact, that person should never see the tape at all.

Your left hand, held near your right, snaps its fingers (photo 4). Suddenly move your hands a few inches closer to the person’s face— this causes them to lose focus for a second. At the same time, open both your hands, pointing the tip of your right thumb directly toward your face (photo 5 is an exposed view). It will appear to the person watching that the toothpick has vanished. You have to watch your angles, of course, because from the sides anyone can see the toothpick behind your thumb. The person watching will see only your empty hands (photo 6).

To make the toothpick reappear, suddenly retract your hands toward

you, at the same time returning your right hand to its original position, apparently holding the toothpick between the tips of the thumb and first finger.

Your right hand places the toothpick back between your lips, which draw it out from beneath the tape as your right hand moves away.

Advanced Version: This can be done without usingScotch tape. Instead of a toothpick, use a match that you’ve ripped out of a matchbook. Under the guise of a slight cough, bring your right hand up to your mouth and secretly lick the back of your right thumb-nail. Leave a nice amount of saliva on it. Now perform the trick exactly as explained but, this time, instead of inserting the end of the tooth-pick between the Scotch tape and your nail, press the lower end of the match firmly against the saliva. It should stick, allowing you to con-tinue with the presentation. If it doesn’t stick, then try using less saliva. Experiment until you figure out exactly the right amount. It would be pretty embarrassing if the match fell off your thumb in the middle of the trick.

35.

Aces Anytime

Criss brings out a deck of cards and hands it to someone with in-structions to shuffle it thoroughly. Afterward, he asks the person to feel the interior of the inner breast pocket of his jacket to make certain it’s empty, then to place the mixed deck into that pocket. Criss asks the person to name a four of a kind—most people will name aces. Criss inserts his hand into his pocket and, one at a time, mysteriously locates each ace and removes it from his pocket.

Дата добавления: 2015-10-24