THE BLURB:
The performer tears a few pages from a current copy of Time,
Business Week, or Newsweek magazine, giving the pages to
people in the audience. They pass them on to others,
ensuring a random selection of helpers. The Mentalist, with
two of the helpers, illustrates how our eyes are attracted
by the clever placement of text or graphics in almost all
magazine editorials and ads.
One participant's page is torn into more than a dozen pieces
to guarantee a random outcome by eliminating any bias
resulting from the page layout. Obviously, every scrap has
totally different printed content on both sides. While the
mindreader's back is turned , the participant freely
discards all but one piece which he holds between his
forefinger and thumb for everyone (except the Mentalist) to
see.
After verbally ensuring that the helper can read numerous
words and phrases on the scrap of paper, and while the
performer's back remains turned toward the participant, he
says, "I am visualizing part of a word but it's somewhat
obscured by your thumb. Move your thumb over, please. That's
better. Would you please read for the first time that which
Business Week printed on the piece of magazine page you
chose? I believe the word 'soared' was under your thumb. Is
that correct?" He exclaims, "YES!"
* No stooges
* No assistants
* No pre-show work
* No sleights
* No switches
* No writing
* No mirrors
* Nothing added or taken away
* Helper can stand across the room
* No electronics
* Unbreakable
* Not the same words every time
* Fully examinable, even the discarded scraps!
Eye Candy's "gaffus" is sufficient for up to 100
performances
MY COMMENTS:
Wow! This brilliant reworking of Jack Dean's classic
Fragments is definitely one of the most diabolical and
direct demonstrations of mindreading with a magazine that I
know about. You can't get much cleaner than this. In other
words, the blurb is as accurate as it gets.
The effect comes packaged like an oversized trade paperback
or a thick, heavy magazine with a squarebound spine, kind of
like one of those PC mags. The first four pages contain the
instructions, plus a very clever "crib" sheet which I can't
reveal here. Then you get a hundred copies of the "gaffus."
There are two different ones, so you get 50 each, although I
don't think it really matters which one you choose. The
final twenty or so pages are blank with a square cut into
them to hold a small plastic letter opener that will make
part of the routine easier. By the way, the picture of the
effect in the ad is the cover to the package/magazine.
Drawbacks? Well, there are two. First, if you suffer from
color blindness or have poor vision, you will not be able to
easily perform this effect, if at all. On the other hand,
this routine is good enough that with some creative
thinking, you could design your own gaffs to eliminate this
problem. I can't guarantee you could do this though, but I
don't see why it can't be done.
Finally, and this drawback should sound familiar to those
who've read many of my comments on products that use
consumables, each time you use the effect you destroy the
gaffus, which means that to commit yourself to this effect,
you must commit yourself to buying additional copies of Eye
Candy when your initial 100 runs out. Granted, it will cost
you less than $1 a page and that is considerably cheaper
than if you do it yourself.
This last drawback is not a major one by any means, nor does
it lessen the brilliance of this recommended product and
routine, but it is certainly something that a professional
performer would need to consider.
