Mind Reading Tricks
This simple mind reading trick looks great and is really simple to perform. You start the trick with a telephone directory on display. You hand someone a sealed envelope.
Next, you ask someone in the audience to call out a three digit number. Or, if you want to make the trick more realistic and deflect accusations that you've planted a stooge in the crowd, ask three people to give you one number each.
Whatever option you choose, write the number down on a piece of paper or on a blackboard displayed in front of the crowd.
Once you've got your three digits, ask for someone who is good with numbers to help you with a few simple sums. After they announce the answer, get them to look up the telephone directory at the page and line indicated by the answer to the sums.
Get them to read out the name in the phone book. Then get the person with the envelope to open it and read out what is written on the piece of paper inside. And surprise, surprise, the name matches the one read out from the phone book.
Let's take a look at how this mind reading magic works.
Before you begin, take the telephone directory, turn to page 108 and count down to the ninth line. Write this name on a piece of paper and seal it securely in an envelope. Give this to a member of the audience to look after at the start on the trick.
Once you get the three digits from the audience, ask the person who volunteered to help you with the sums to reverse the number, then subtract the lower number from the higher number.
For example, 387 becomes 783, and 783 - 387 = 396
Next, ask them to take the answer, reverse it and add the two numbers together.
So, 396 becomes 693 and together they add up to 1089.
Perhaps you can see where this is going? It doesn't matter what three numbers you start with, this process of sums will always end up at 1089. And in the few cases where the subtraction results in only two figures, just add a zero to the start of the answer. For example, 85 becomes 085.
That's why page 108 line 9 is so important.
So once you have the number, ask one of the crowd to take the phone book, flick through to page 108 and count down to line nine. Ask them to read out the name that appears at that position. The person with the envelope then opens it and reads out the name which will be the same.
A round of applause for our magician. You've done it again.
In fact this is an extremely flexible trick. For example, if you want to use this as a telepathy trick instead of prediction magic, just leave out the bit that involves the envelope. And when the person in the audience looks up the phone book, ask them to concentrate on the name. Then, after a few moments of elaborate theatricals, tell them the name that they are looking at.
And for added variation, use any book that you want, provided it has more than 108 pages. A novel or a dictionary works well.
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The Telephone Directory Trick
Next, you ask someone in the audience to call out a three digit number. Or, if you want to make the trick more realistic and deflect accusations that you've planted a stooge in the crowd, ask three people to give you one number each.
Whatever option you choose, write the number down on a piece of paper or on a blackboard displayed in front of the crowd.
Once you've got your three digits, ask for someone who is good with numbers to help you with a few simple sums. After they announce the answer, get them to look up the telephone directory at the page and line indicated by the answer to the sums.
Get them to read out the name in the phone book. Then get the person with the envelope to open it and read out what is written on the piece of paper inside. And surprise, surprise, the name matches the one read out from the phone book.
Let's take a look at how this mind reading magic works.
Before you begin, take the telephone directory, turn to page 108 and count down to the ninth line. Write this name on a piece of paper and seal it securely in an envelope. Give this to a member of the audience to look after at the start on the trick.
Once you get the three digits from the audience, ask the person who volunteered to help you with the sums to reverse the number, then subtract the lower number from the higher number.
For example, 387 becomes 783, and 783 - 387 = 396
Next, ask them to take the answer, reverse it and add the two numbers together.
So, 396 becomes 693 and together they add up to 1089.
Perhaps you can see where this is going? It doesn't matter what three numbers you start with, this process of sums will always end up at 1089. And in the few cases where the subtraction results in only two figures, just add a zero to the start of the answer. For example, 85 becomes 085.
That's why page 108 line 9 is so important.
So once you have the number, ask one of the crowd to take the phone book, flick through to page 108 and count down to line nine. Ask them to read out the name that appears at that position. The person with the envelope then opens it and reads out the name which will be the same.
A round of applause for our magician. You've done it again.
In fact this is an extremely flexible trick. For example, if you want to use this as a telepathy trick instead of prediction magic, just leave out the bit that involves the envelope. And when the person in the audience looks up the phone book, ask them to concentrate on the name. Then, after a few moments of elaborate theatricals, tell them the name that they are looking at.
And for added variation, use any book that you want, provided it has more than 108 pages. A novel or a dictionary works well.
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