# Mentalist Trick

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mentalist-trick/445357>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [April 14, 2008, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mentalist-trick/445357 "2008-04-14T21:38:15Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\
**Post date:** [April 14, 2008, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mentalist-trick/445357/1 "2008-04-14T21:38:15Z")

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I was at an event where a “mentalist” was featured. He had numerous mind-reading tricks. But at the end, he performed something that had us all amazed. He had two women hold fluorescent bulbs (the long tubes). Through what he described as “mental energy”, the tubes lit up while in the hands of the women. They weren’t attached to anything, and he didn’t touch the women or the tubes. People running the conference confirmed that these were indeed ordinary tubes that were provided by the hotel, and I got my hands on them and they were authentic Sylvania brand tubes. We were even told to keep the tubes.

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**Author:** ![cher3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cher3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cher3)\
**Post date:** [April 14, 2008, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mentalist-trick/445357/2 "2008-04-14T21:41:26Z")

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Did you keep the women, too? That is to say, are you sure they weren’t planted in the audience?

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**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\
**Post date:** [April 14, 2008, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mentalist-trick/445357/3 "2008-04-14T21:55:09Z")

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Fluorescent tubes will [glow all by themselves](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qt-gIyA-G0w) in the presence of an electromagnetic field. So you just get yourself a gadget that puts out an EMF of the size and power you want, maybe like something on [this guy’s](http://www.maaagic.com/ent_mentalism.htm) website.

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**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\
**Post date:** [April 14, 2008, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mentalist-trick/445357/4 "2008-04-14T22:41:35Z")

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Yep, what DDG said.

I used to know a guy who had a monstrously powerful shortwave radio in his car. Loose fluorescent tubes would light up if you brought them within two or three feet.

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**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\
**Post date:** [April 15, 2008, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mentalist-trick/445357/5 "2008-04-15T13:34:58Z")

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Thanks. That explains it.