# How are these magic tricks done? Britian's Got Talent **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 10, 2020, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-these-magic-tricks-done-britians-got-talent/849232 "2020-03-10T22:48:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2020, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-these-magic-tricks-done-britians-got-talent/849232/1 "2020-03-10T22:48:13Z")
Note: there are two tricks here, probably with different methods and results I know how many mentalist tricks are done. There is very often a complicated(sometimes insanely complicated) code in the spoken words of one team member and the blindfolded one simply interprets the code and announces out loud what they are told. [Here is the whole routine, skipped to the first trick. The blindfold was checked!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nav5HmFWI6s) In the first trick, we really don’t get to see the sighted team-member say much and the “mentalist” lady is able to identified the item. Was his coded message edited out or do they have a different method? Perhaps…there is a way to make the blindfold see-through? [Here is trick 2.](https://youtu.be/Nav5HmFWI6s?t=162) No secret that they know all 1-100 countries. How did they send the message “Italy” to Simon Cowell? Simon must have some kind of idea since he said he heard something. What did they do? Calling all Fool Us! fans! ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_Prize](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d2c977/32.png) [@Sir\_Prize](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_Prize)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2020, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-these-magic-tricks-done-britians-got-talent/849232/2 "2020-03-11T02:18:04Z")
For the second trick all they need is for Simon to know that it will be Italy. The woman picked a number,not the country, they just have to make sure that whatever number she picks shows Italy. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2020, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-these-magic-tricks-done-britians-got-talent/849232/3 "2020-03-11T02:37:29Z")
> [@Sir\_Prize](#): > > For the second trick all they need is for Simon to know that it will be Italy. The woman picked a number,not the country, they just have to make sure that whatever number she picks shows Italy. Yes, so how did they do that? ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2020, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-these-magic-tricks-done-britians-got-talent/849232/4 "2020-03-11T02:48:00Z")
> [@Sir\_Prize](#): > > For the second trick all they need is for Simon to know that it will be Italy. The woman picked a number,not the country, they just have to make sure that whatever number she picks shows Italy. So Simon was in on it? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2020, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-these-magic-tricks-done-britians-got-talent/849232/5 "2020-03-11T02:48:25Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Yes, so how did they do that? One obvious way is that she has a smart phone, and she clearly hits something on the screen after the person says “97” and before handing the phone to the woman to scroll down the list. There’s a weird cut from one camera angle to another there, so you can’t quite see what she does on the phone, but the phone doesn’t come into possession of the person selecting the country until after the number is called out, so it’s almost trivial to just make an app on the phone that will insert whatever country you want to whatever slot on your list you want. That’s one guess, at least. (This is assuming if Simon is a confederate in the trick and in on it. If not, I don’t know. I’m guessing there’s more to the trick than this, and quite possibly Simon wasn’t in on it, because otherwise it’s not that interesting a trick.) ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2020, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-these-magic-tricks-done-britians-got-talent/849232/6 "2020-03-11T14:47:57Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > I know how many mentalist tricks are done. There is very often a complicated(sometimes insanely complicated) code in the spoken words of one team member and the blindfolded one simply interprets the code and announces out loud what they are told. > > [Here is the whole routine, skipped to the first trick. The blindfold was checked!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nav5HmFWI6s) There are so many, many ways of doing this that the chances of my guess being The One is small. But it is far from amazing. For example, I don’t think the judges normally bring with them to the set their handbags. So something had to have been set up backstage to ensure this happens. The bag might have been available for a confederate to check it’s contents before it was brought out, the couple were informed of it’s contents and a much more limited code system was picked for the few items that it contains. But one thing to remember: on several of these “reality” shows, the judges sometimes are in on the bit. I.e., it’s all completely faked. Never trust that what you see on a “reality” show is real. ---
**Author:** ![Disheavel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@Disheavel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Disheavel)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2020, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-these-magic-tricks-done-britians-got-talent/849232/7 "2020-03-11T17:02:25Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > There are so many, many ways of doing this that the chances of my guess being The One is small. But it is far from amazing. > > For example, I don’t think the judges normally bring with them to the set their handbags. So something had to have been set up backstage to ensure this happens. The bag might have been available for a confederate to check it’s contents before it was brought out, the couple were informed of it’s contents and a much more limited code system was picked for the few items that it contains. > > But one thing to remember: on several of these “reality” shows, the judges sometimes are in on the bit. I.e., it’s all completely faked. Never trust that what you see on a “reality” show is real. I was thinking that given a standard purse, choose 5 items (lipstick, wallet, perfume, eyelash, cell phone), for each of these assign a word or final sound (s=scent= perfume) to be used by the item holder. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2020, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-these-magic-tricks-done-britians-got-talent/849232/8 "2020-03-11T20:56:50Z")
A “sophisticated” modern method would use electronic signaling. The man could have a device in his shoe. He taps out stuff in Morse using his toe. It sets off a vibrating thing hidden in the woman’s waistline. It’s even easier to have a confederate off stage who can see the item and do the signaling. But the chances of these two being anywhere near such a level of technique is tiny. Again, the number of methods to do this is vast. It is really unimpressive. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2020, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-these-magic-tricks-done-britians-got-talent/849232/9 "2020-03-11T22:52:00Z")
I’m so used to Fool Us, which disallows off-screen buzzers, plants, and various other impossible-to-detect things, I guess I missed that this whole thing was just a standard sham I could see anywhere. I really prefer advanced magic that requires huge skill, the kind of thing Teller has a hard time figuring out.