# Penn & Teller: Fool Us, US run on CW **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 7, 2014, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015 "2014-08-07T07:25:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 22
**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:** [August 20, 2015, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015/421 "2015-08-20T02:50:34Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > The order in which they were posted in this thread (and the order in which I viewed them) doesn’t seem to be the order in which they were intended to be viewed. Correct. I just grabbed them as I remembered them. He has been posting them regularly the past month or so. He’s really been having fun interacting with fans. ---
**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:** [August 20, 2015, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015/422 "2015-08-20T02:53:08Z")
By the way, here is his most recent one, filmed by a fan/layperson when he went to Sweden for some kind of event. [Magic Beer bottle vanishing.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pu2KuTsw-s) ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2015, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015/423 "2015-08-20T02:58:03Z")
So there’s more? I’ll have to check out his channel. I want him to fool me. ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2015, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015/424 "2015-08-20T02:59:29Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > Now seeing the commercial for the watch, it does appear that the face of the watch can be rotated to set “different” times, and of course that would be independent from the stem. You have to practice rotating the stem and the face, preferrably in a way that they can’t really see the hands not turning. I did spot that while he shows different times, the angle between the hands stays the same, it’s just placement that makes the times different. Have to be careful on that, probably a strategy for picking times that work. Watching the commercial though, I get the sense that the watch hands are _not_ rotating at all. First, he shows the face while holding the watch vertically and says a time completely inconsistent with the position of the hands. Then he does some winding and shows the watch horizontally, and does say a time consistent with the hands in that position if the face were vertical. When he reveals the watch after the “winding” by the confederate next to him, the hands look to me like they’re in the same position. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2015, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015/425 "2015-08-20T03:00:47Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > I don’t know that he is, it just comes across that way to me. I haven’t seen a list or a blog or anything, just the links you provided. I didn’t provide them. That was **Mahaloth**. I quoted his post in mine, but he ordered and posted the links. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2015, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015/426 "2015-08-20T03:04:30Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > By the way, here is his most recent one, filmed by a fan/layperson when he went to Sweden for some kind of event. > > [Magic Beer bottle vanishing.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pu2KuTsw-s) He uses the same vanishing technique he uses in the “naked vanish” and then drops it in his lap. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2015, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015/427 "2015-08-20T03:09:11Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > He uses the same vanishing technique he uses in the “naked vanish” and then drops it in his lap. It’s not impressive magic in itself, but it’s clever marketing, a skill possessed by the very best of magicians. That is not to say he is one of the very best, I don’t know much about him. ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2015, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015/428 "2015-08-20T03:09:58Z")
I just watched the commercial for the watch again. The hands say 3:05 the whole time. He just holds it upside down the first time (and says 3:15 when the hands look more like 3:35), holds it sideways and says 12:20, which it looks like _sideways_ (but not from it’s proper orientation), and then does the trick to result in 3:05. The guy on Penn & Teller may have thought that was too obvious, but it would have been better to go for that rather than to never show the face at the beginning. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2015, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015/429 "2015-08-20T03:27:09Z")
This one has me partly stumped. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/_dV-pptzwAU/maxresdefault.jpg "Vanishing Bottle with Cards inside! - Shawn Farquhar") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dV-pptzwAU) I’m pretty sure that the deck we see at the end is not the same “deck” as we see in the bottle. I’m also pretty sure that vanish is done the same way as in the “naked vanish”. How he gets rid of the bottle and switches in the deck is something I can’t figure out. I can see between his arm and his side the whole time, and I can see below his hands the whole time. The deck in the bottle is just an empty box, and may not even be a real box (it had to get in through the neck somehow), so maybe the deck at the end is also just an empty box that springs open to appear full. Maybe it’s some sort of trick bottle that only appears solid but somehow collapses into a card box? I really don’t think so but it’s the only thing I can think of. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2015, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015/430 "2015-08-20T03:34:22Z")
He has the second deck in his left hand right from the beginning. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2015, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015/431 "2015-08-20T05:06:48Z")
I suspected that from the way he’s holding the bottle before it vanishes. He then swings it up so it’s pointed straight back from his hands, but then what? It must have something to do with the way he’s standing; turned slightly with his left shoulder forward. The only obscured paths I can see would be up the bottom of his right arm and then behind his back or along the back of his left arm and then behind his back, but I can’t see how he could make it travel along either of those paths. He could use a string or elastic of some sort but why wouldn’t it hang down? I’m thinking that it may be extremely angle dependent and that he may even have had to do numerous takes until he got one where he got lucky and we don’t see any flashes of bottle as it somehow travels behind his back. I’m guessing that the dark background behind him may be a factor. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2015, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015/432 "2015-08-20T05:25:17Z")
Okay, it may be a matter of very tight camera work, or maybe even cropping of the video. Right before it vanishes, the camera tilts down so that there is space between his hands and the bottom of the screen, presumably to eliminate any possibility of him simply dropping the bottle. Then he brings his hands together and the bottle “vanishes”. At this point we know (or at least think) that the bottle is pointing straight back with the top gripped in his right hand. Then he flips his left hand to reveal the deck. When he flips the hand there is a brief moment when there is no space between it and the bottom of the video frame. Maybe at that point he drops the bottle. Maybe it’s plastic or he drops it onto a pillow. This would require a number of takes to get it perfect or cropping the video exactly right, or maybe both. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2015, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015/433 "2015-08-20T05:29:13Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > [Smooth as silk on this one.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0RY9oKYLFY) > > [This time, he decides slower is cooler.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXHVV-2KXJU) > > [Even slower](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZ81bTFVkUk) > > [This time with no hankerchief/curtain over it](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYoCZ30cRMI) Somebody tell me how he does this shit right goddamn now. I hate magic tricks so, so, so much. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2015, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015/434 "2015-08-20T05:39:46Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > Somebody tell me how he does this shit right goddamn now. > > I hate magic tricks so, so, so much. Back on page one: [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=18613560&postcount=387](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=18613560&postcount=387) ---
**Author:** ![jaredmcohen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/58956e/32.png) [@jaredmcohen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaredmcohen)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2015, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015/435 "2015-08-20T06:44:55Z")
I think Farquhar is a mutant with a kangaroo pouch. That’s the most logical explanation to me. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2015, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015/436 "2015-08-20T11:47:01Z")
> [@jaredmcohen](#): > > I think Farquhar is a mutant with a kangaroo pouch. That’s the most logical explanation to me. I can explain every one of his bottle vanish videos that I’ve seen. The explanations may or may not be correct but they can be explained. Some of them are _very_ dependent on timing and angles and it may seem remarkable that he can pull them off so perfectly, but keep in mind that these are videos so he can do as many retakes as he needs to get it perfect. ---
**Author:** ![randwill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@randwill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/randwill)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2015, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015/437 "2015-08-20T18:07:20Z")
Some interesting insights into the show and Kostya Kimlat’s experience here: > **[“Did you really get Penn high?” And other frequently asked questions.](https://thinklikeamagician.wordpress.com/2015/08/20/how-i-got-penn-high/)** > > I’m overwhelmed by the positive response to my performance on Penn & Teller: Fool Us. Here are my answers to the most frequently asked questions. ---
**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:** [August 20, 2015, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015/438 "2015-08-20T18:23:28Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > It’s not impressive magic in itself, but it’s clever marketing, a skill possessed by the very best of magicians. That is not to say he is one of the very best, I don’t know much about him. He is a very talented magician and is quite well known. I can show you two more tricks of his that are pretty cool. [Here he is on Fool Us.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CRpz0zuAGVs) They saw him swap the deck, but still gave him a “fool us” because they don’t know how he gets the card in the sealed deck. He was going to sell this trick online, but has not and I believe he remains the only one who knows for sure how it works. I do love this one, too. [Shape of my Heart.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgVwJek-fXY)This demonstrates how skilled he is with card manipulation. He’s just great. ---
**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:** [August 20, 2015, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015/439 "2015-08-20T18:28:40Z")
> [@randwill](#): > > Some interesting insights into the show and Kostya Kimlat’s experience here: > > [“Did you really get Penn high?” And other frequently asked questions. | Kostya Kimlat](https://thinklikeamagician.wordpress.com/2015/08/20/how-i-got-penn-high/) He seems like a nice, smart guy. Making sure Penn and Teller walked through the trick step by step so they knew he had not done it in one of the ways they expected was pure genius. I like this part of his write-up > [@](#): > > The effect itself is quite old and there are dozens of different ways of doing it. There are technical, mechanical and psychological methods for performing the same perceived effect. Most of them look identical, and only a serious student of magic would know the difference. A technical secret uses sleight of hand — we’ll call it “the work.” A mechanical secret uses secret gimmicks that do the work for you. A psychological secret can be simple or complex but typically requires proper language, proper sight lines, subtlety and the faulty perceptions and memories of the audience in order to execute well. When I was deciding which method to utilize, I eliminated mechanical so there would be nothing to hide. And then combined theatrical, psychological and technical skill to create the most impactful and “fooling” version of this classic effect. I structured the layers of deception and wove multiple threads, while avoiding cheap red herrings. Distraction isn’t a method. People have heard of “misdirection,” but great magicians (as written by the magic legend, Tommy Wonder) don’t “mis-“ they just direct. So, to the best of my abilities, I directed their perceptions. I accurately anticipated what they would assume. I worked harder and acted calmer than I ever had before. That’s why I believe they were fooled. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2015, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015/440 "2015-08-20T18:39:13Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > He is a very talented magician and is quite well known. I can show you two more tricks of his that are pretty cool. > > [Here he is on Fool Us.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CRpz0zuAGVs) They saw him swap the deck, but still gave him a “fool us” because they don’t know how he gets the card in the sealed deck. He was going to sell this trick online, but has not and I believe he remains the only one who knows for sure how it works. > > I do love this one, too. [Shape of my Heart.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgVwJek-fXY)This demonstrates how skilled he is with card manipulation. He’s just great. I remember him from Fool Us. Shape of My Heart shows his skills with the cards and his ability to make art from the performance. I’m sure he’s very talented. Using YouTube for marketing is a new thing for quality magicians, they have to be able to perform their magic live as well as on a video, he could be the one to use that route to stardom. The very best magicians aren’t always the most well known, and vice versa, but getting an audience is one of the tougher tricks to pull off in the trade. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015.md?page=21) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015.md?page=23)