TRIVIAL THOUGHTS Toby Toby Hudson
© Copyright 2015 by Toby Hudson All rights reserved. No part of this book ay be reprodu!ed in any for "ithout "ritten perission fro the author. #or further inforation$ please !onta!t e at% !ardtri!k212&gail.!o
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Contents Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
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Introduction 3
'(ll begin by saying that '( not very good at introdu!tions$ so '(ll try to keep this brief. )hat you(ve *ust invested in is a sall book of soe of y favourite ideas and effe!ts fro perforing agi! and entalis for over 5 years no". As '( ainly +a !lose up kinda guy$( all the effe!ts "ithin these pages use playing !ards and billets$ ites that are readily available. ' kno" there are already hundreds of effe!ts of this nature available already$ but ' hope '(ve e,plored soe ne" ideas and !on!epts. ' hope you en*oy these pie!es and take the tie to pra!tise and perfe!t the as ' have and e,perien!e the "onder that entalis !an have on people. '(d like to thank everyone at the -agi! ounge in /heffield for taking e in years ago and e,posing e to the "orld of agi!. /teve ro"nlee$ oger Cur3on$ ussell Hall$ randon 4llis$ the list !ould go on and on and ' !ouldn(t have !oe up "ith any of this stuff "ithout the. Thanks guys$ it really eans a lot. '(d also like to thank y u$ dad and sister for enduring all the tri!ks '(ve sho"n you over 4
the years even the !rappy ones6 and pushing e to al"ays do "hat ' love. est "ishes$ Toby Hudson , April 2015
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Routines
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Out o ocus +ffect The spe!tator is sho"n a !ard and asked to !oit it to eory. He then !loses his eyes and the -entalist pro!eeds to repla!e the !ard "ith a ysti! bla!k ha3e$ "iping a"ay any eory of the !ard7
Presentation /oeone is asked to !oe up on stage and assist the -entalist. His nae is oger. He is asked to !lose his eyes. 8ou kno" ho" it is "hen you go into a roo and !opletely forget "hat you "ere going in for. 't(s natural$ us as huan beings have a "ay of filtering out inforation that isn(t vitally iportant to us so "e !an !on!entrate ore on other things. Ho"ever$ soe people "ho have e,perien!ed anesia !lai that they see sort of a bla!k ha3e and they !an(t reeber anything be!ause of it. A "eird !on!ept$ ' kno"$ but ' "ant to try soething "ith *ust that idea. !
A de!k of !ards is reoved and a !ard !hosen at rando. The !ard is sho"n around. e.g. 9 "# i!hardson is then asked to open his eyes and lo!k the !ard in his ind. The !ard is pla!ed in full vie" and the sub*e!t is asked to !lose their eyes again. :k$ so "hat ' "ant you to do is keep the !ard you sa" lo!ked in your ind. 'agine all the intri!a!ies on it$ see it all !learly in your ind. No"$ iagine a bla!k ha3e starts to !over the !ard. 8ou try and look around it but you !an(t. 't keeps !overing the thought until it has !opletely gone. As you look at the bla!k !loud$ it(s get !loser and !loser to you until;
The -entalist taps the sub*e!t on his forehead. He a"akes "ith a start. He is asked "hat he reebers seeing. All i!hardson says is that he !an reeber a bla!k ist and he !lais he has no re!olle!tion of the !ard. -ysterious;
Credits This effe!t is based on a routine of
do"n his =>= '#e!!e for soe good presentational ideas and great thoughts on anesia effe!t in general. ' think that the basi! handling at "ork here !an also be !redited to the effe!t R.'.) fro uke ?eray(s booklet , -ece"tions. Another highly re!oended produ!t.
Conce"t 'n its ost basi! for$ "hat you(re doing is sho"ing the spe!tator a !opletely bla!k !ard and aking it appear as though the bla!k is *ust in their ind. 't(s a bold idea$ but used "ith a lot of hidden subtleties$ !an really appear like anesia. '(d also like to add that this routine "ill still "ork if for soe strange reason$ the volunteers nae doesn(t happen to be oger. %
)hat you need to do is ake up a playing !ard "ith a regular ba!k and a !opletely bla!k fa!e. 8ou !ould print one up on a !oputer$ or do "hat ' do "hi!h is take a blank !ard and a sharpie and get to "ork. This has the added bonus of looking @uite rough$ and !eents the idea of it being a +!loud.( /et up by pla!ing the 9 follo"ed by the bla!k !ard on top of the de!k fa!e do"n. ' al"ays use the seven be!ause it allo"s you to supposedly ake the reeber the !ard again after"ards if you so desire it. ' don(t al"ays use this last phase as ' don(t al"ays think it(s needed$ but if you "ant to use it$ go ahead.
Perfor!ance egin by getting soeone up on stage and talk about the +!loud( that people "ith anesia suffer fro. 'f you really "ant to go all =erren ro"n on the$ talk really fast and tap his shoulder every so often. 'f any entalists are in the audien!e$ this ay thro" the off the ethod and believe you really are using suggestion.
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Another ni!e thing about this is that the +!loud( you ention a!tually e,ists$ so if they "ere to go hoe later and Boogle it$ "hi!h they "on(t6 they "ould find that any anesia sufferers do !lai that a ysterious bla!k ha3e blo!ks off their eories. Any"ay$ have the !lose their eyes. No"$ for the first tie$ bring out the de!k. 't(s very iportant $OT to say "e(ll use a de!k of !ards for this effe!t.D To the audien!e$ it "ill be !lear you(re using playing !ards$ but if the helper kno"s$ they ight get !onfused as to "hy they didn(t see a !ard. ?ust say soething like +"e(ll use these for the e,perient( and reove the !ards.
Holding the !ards near his fa!e is ni!e be!ause "hen he thinks ba!k$ he ight *ust reeber the bla!kness and nothing round the edges. 'f you are afraid they ay speak out that they(ve seen soething unusual$ *ust add in the line at the start + ' don(t "ant you to talk no" until the end of the tri!k to let the full 11
anesia take effe!t.( Ho"ever ' find it(s not
al"ays needed. The ne,t part is *ust presentation and ho" !onvin!ing you !an be supposedly indu!ing hypnoti! suggestion.
and he "ill nod too$ aking it appear as though that(s "hat he sa". The !lin!her is "hen you pi!k up the !ard fro the table and say +so you don(t reeber seeing the 9 at allG( He "ill invariably say +no( so !ongratulate hi and send hi to his seat. 'f he looks "orried ake sure to tell hi that the anesia "on(t affe!t hi anyore and that he has no "orry of forgetting anything again. $ote 'f you "ant to !ontinue "ith the se!ond phase$ don(t sho" hi the !ard.(
Phase 2 'f you "ant to$ you !an bring the !ard ba!k. Have hi !lose his eyes again and iagine the !loud lifting. Have hi !all out "hat !olour he thinks the !ard is. He "ill say red I10 ties$ but if he says bla!k use the line +no$ ' think that(s the ACJ !loud blo!king your vie" again.( He "ill then$ of !ourse have
to s"it!h to red. Hearts is the ost !oonly !hosen suit. )hi!hever suit he says$ don(t say anything. Then have hi !all out a value fro 1 K 10.
lo"er$ *ust ask hi to try again. IL of the tie you(ll get the !ard bang on$ "hereas other ties you(ll aybe get the suit "rong$ or off by one or t"o. )hatever he ends up "ith$ !ongratulate hi and say soething about +as it(s your first tie$ you !an(t be e,pe!ted to get it bang on.( /ho" hi the !ard and send hi ba!k to his seat.
A#ternati/e This is @uite a bold and !heeky "ay to have hi reeber the !ard again. As soon as you(ve tapped hi and he(s opened his eyes$ start talking about the !loud. Then say +so you don(t reeber seeing this !ardG( Here$ all you(re doing is sho"ing hi the !ard. He "ill say +no.(
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it$ even if they "at!h the effe!t ultiple ties.
Fina# Thoughts ' really like this effe!t$ and it really plays "ell "ith audien!es big and sall. ' al"ays have the +bla!k( !ard in y po!ket so that ' !an "hip it out "henever ' "ant to do this effe!t. 't also leads ni!ely into any other psy!hologi!al effe!ts that you ay do in your repertoire. 8ou !an also frae this effe!t as forgetting an iportant pie!e of inforation. 8ou !an have a business !ard "hi!h has the +bla!k( fa!e. The spe!tator !loses their eyes$ and you "rite soething like their nae on another business !ard. 8ou !an sho" it around and then s"it!h for the bla!k !ard and sho" it to the spe!tator. Then$ you !an frae it as the forgetting their nae or any personal inforation. ' haven(t really tested this idea fully$ but hopefully you !an see the possibilities this idea !ould have if developed.
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V'nis(in) *oint +ffect A de!k of !ards is borro"ed and shuffled in an e,treely fair anner by the parti!ipant. They then erely peek at a !ard$ yet the -entalist !an nail it every tie7
Presentation The -entalist asks for a parti!ipant to help hi "ith his ne,t +!ardboard !reation.( A de!k of !ards is borro"ed fro hi let(s !all hi /teve6 and the !ards split into four rando piles. :k$ so you look like a sart guy. 8ou probably kno" all the tri!ks using key !ards and +se!ret helpers( and that sort of !rap. /o "hat '(ve done is split the de!k into four piles.
The helper does *ust this. He shuffles the pa!kets on at a tie. The pa!kets are then gathered and s@uared. ight$ so '( going to turn y ba!k and "hat ' "ant you to do is lift up a 16
se!tion of !ards any"here$ peek at the !ard$ then slap the de!k ba!k together and thoroughly shuffle. 8ou doneG Bood.
The -entalist should have no inkling as to "hat the !ard is. He stares into /teve(s eyes. '( getting a red !ard$ yes. ook at e please$ it(s a heart yesG :k$ no" think about "hether or not it(s a pi!ture or a nuber !ard...it(s a nuber !ard. No" for the value. 't(s high !ard$ is it notG ' thought so. ook at e here$ the M$ no of hearts yesG Thank you very u!h.
/teve !onfirs this is the !ard and the de!k is fully e,ained$ and there are no gii!ks or sta!ks to speak of. )hat ' love about this routine is that it is totally iproptu and !an be perfored at the drop of a hat. ' like to use this effe!t "ith the +ove onkeys( as it really !onfuses the.
Conce"t
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T(in+t'n+ +ffect Three spe!tators ea!h think of a different thought and "rite it do"n. /oeho"$ the -entalist anages to divine all three$ before sho"ing that he kne" "ay in advan!e "hat ea!h of the "ould pi!k.
Presentation Three ini slips of paper are sho"n$ "ith a nuber 1$ 2 or "ritten on ea!h. They are i,ed and three spe!tators randon$ Nathan and Ba36 take a !ard ea!h and reeber their nuber. The slips are then torn up. :k$ so right no" ea!h of you is thinking of a nuber. 'f you thought of nuber 1%
1$ think of a siple geoetri! shape like a s@uare or !ir!le$ nothing too !ople, like a star. 'f you thought of nuber 2$ think of any playing !ard for e$ but not an a!e as they(re too easy. #inally$ if you thought of nuber $ think of any t"o digit nuber fro 1 to 50 for e.
4a!h spe!tator "rites their thought do"n on a billet. These are unarked and !opletely noral. The -entalist is blind folded and is handed the billets. He pro!eeds to !orre!tly divine all three thoughts perfe!tly$ e.g. 1$ triangle and F 6 before giving a short but e,treely spe!ifi! !hara!ter reading on all three parti!ipants. Ho"ever$ ' have to adit soething to you. ' had a feeling as to "hat your thoughts "ere going to be a "eek ago. ' gave you indi!ates spe!tator 16 a de!k of !ards 2 "eeks ago$ and ' asked you to bring it along "ith you tonight. Could you please get it outG
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The spe!tator takes out the de!k$ and "ith shaking fingers$ reoves the !ard fro the bo,. He is asked to !ount do"n to the 1 th !ard. 't is turned over. /ure enough$ it(s the F $ and s!ra"led a!ross the fa!e of it$ is the "ord TRIA$'&+ in big bla!k lettering. The -entalist never handles the de!k$ and it is !opletely ungii!ked.
Credits 'f you haven(t already guessed it$ this effe!t akes use of the brilliant 0o* Princi"#e by =avid Hoy. /oe note"orthy effe!ts using this idea are -a/e(s Pin fro -i!hael -urray(s book A Piece of )* )ind and uke ?eray(s +Touching on 0o* fro Cora# Fang.
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Conce"t The basi! idea at "ork here is the faous +Hoy
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-ake sure the ink doesn(t 1#eed through. 8ou(re no" ready to perfor the effe!t. )hen ready to perfor$ pla!e t"o of the slips that have a 1 on the on your lap so you !an a!!ess the easily.
Perfor!ance 'f you sa" the +presentation( at the start$ it(s should be !lear that ' don(t really have a set presentation for this effe!t. /oeties '(ll talk about preonitions and a!t serious about it$ or soeties '(ll present it as a +e,posing the psy!hi!s( routine and do it @uite tongue in !heek. 't(s up to you really. To begin$ introdu!e the effe!t and say that you(ll need +three rando thoughts.( /ho" the three slips of paper freely and have the e,ained. As this is happening$ get the t"o slips in your lap$ ready to be paled. 8ou(ll no" perfor a siple s"it!h to s"ap nubers 2 and for the ones on your lap.
itch Take the slips ba!k so that nuber 1 is on top. Hold the fa!e do"n and get a break under the top slip. 8ou(re going to let the t"o
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belo" it to slip onto your lap as you pla!e the t"o paled on top. ring your hands together and as you do$ briefly dip your hands belo" the table and drop the t"o slips belo" the break onto your thighs. ring your hands ba!k up as they eet and drop the t"o paled slips onto the other hand. Brab all three "ith your right hand and spread the on the table. To the naked eye$ it should appear as though you *ust transferred the slips fro one hand to the other and spread the on the table. ittle do they kno" the slips no" all have 1 "ritten on the. )hat fools they are.
Perfor!ance /pread the out on the table and have the spe!tators take one at rando and reeber the nuber. -ake sure to tell the not to sho" anyone else "hat nuber they got. This "ill ensure no one "ill see that all are the sae. Take the slips ba!k and dispose of the. No" follo" the presentation "ritten at the beginning. 'f you "ord is as sho"n$ then all 24
three of the parti!ipants should be thinking of triangle. 4a!h of the also thinks that the other t"o are thinking of a !ard or a nuber. Take three business !ards !areful not to disturb your sta!k6 and dra" bo,es in the iddle identi!al to the ones dra"n earlier. Hand one to ea!h parti!ipant and have the "rite do"n their thoughts in the bo,es. Again$ !aution the not to let anyone else see "hat they "rite. lindfold yourself and take the three !ards fa!e do"n. -i, the up and hover your hand over the one at a tie to +pi!k up the auras( the !ards are leaving. 8ou !an no" pro!eed to supposedly re!eive the thought one at a tie. +'( getting a shape !oing through here$ @uite pointy$ a triangle aybeG =on(t rea!t anyone$ don(t give anything a"ay. Ne,t$ the nuber. This is @uite !entral$ like OG And finally the !ard. :h that(s easy$ the ;.no 2 of hearts7
eove your blindfold and say +@ui!k yes or no$ did ' get yoursG( Ask the one at a tie in @ui!k su!!ession and they "ill all say +yes.(
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of the sta!k !asually. ela, a little here and soak up the applause.
Bive a brief reading "ith the usual +arnu stateents.( )hen you(re done$ ove straight onto the se!ond +person( "ho "rote the nuber. As this is no one$ you !an be as spe!ifi! as you "ant as no one !an verify it. The sae "ith the last +person.( 26
No" ask ea!h of the +"hat per!entage of the inforation that ' *ust gave "ould ean soething to youG( As all three got the
reading "ith +arnu stateents( in$ their ans"er "ill differ$ one aybe saying e!ause you(ll get different per!entages$ this !eents the idea that all the readings applied to only one person ea!h. #inally$ all you need to do no" is say that +you kne" "hat they "ere going to pi!k( and go into the final reveal "ith the de!k of !ards. -ake sure you N4>4 go near the !ards so that any "at!hing entalists don(t a!!use you of s"it!hes.
A#ternati/e Here is an alternative to the se!ond phase$ the !old reading bit. After you(ve revealed all three thoughts$ all the fa!e do"n !ards still say +triangle( so you !an have the i,ed as u!h as possible$ yet you !an identify "hi!h !ard belongs to "hi!h person$ as they "ill al"ays get a !ard "ith their thought "ritten on it7
Fina# Thoughts
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' kno" this ight read a bit dull on paper$ but as long as you keep the !aptivated and involved$ there(s no reason for the to be.
and they "ill go for the triangle.
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