# 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:** 25
**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 22, 2015, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015/481 "2015-08-22T04:28:32Z")
I’m starting to think he doesn’t need to insert anything in the deck. Parts of the words needed could be spread through the deck and when he removes a few cards at the beginning, and then does some manipulation while extracting the special cards, he could be assembling the words. Notice that he fans the cards to show us the edge of the special cards “is the”, “your”, and “card”, but then he closes the deck and then locates them again. So he may not be pulling out the same cards that it looks like he was showing. If all the words or parts could be done on one side of the cards only then he just has to turn over the cards that don’t belong before the reveal. However, when he spreads the cards to make the letters clearer he’s carefully just moving the cards with letters on them, so other letters can be hiding in what looks like white space. ---
**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 22, 2015, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015/482 "2015-08-22T04:31:01Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > Ah. I didn’t realize. I thought it was on a recent show. No. He invented it in 2007, but it was version 1. Version 2 is the one he does on the show and it was quite new. I think it was his appearance on the show that has made it a commercial item. John Archer also sells his envelope trick, which gained fame from being on the show. It’s called Bank Night and is also a very nice trick. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2015, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015/483 "2015-08-22T04:34:23Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Has anyone bought Bich’s trick? He sell’s an explanation of it for $1.99 on his website. He sells the deck for $50, I think. > > Just curious how it works. I’ve bought his Spreadwave trick: - yes, he invented it - it works for any card (no force needed) - it needs quite a bit of thought and dexterity to perform ---
**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 22, 2015, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015/484 "2015-08-22T04:36:15Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > I’m starting to think he doesn’t need to insert anything in the deck. Parts of the words needed could be spread through the deck and when he removes a few cards at the beginning, and then does some manipulation while extracting the special cards, he could be assembling the words. Notice that he fans the cards to show us the edge of the special cards “is the”, “your”, and “card”, but then he closes the deck and then locates them again. So he may not be pulling out the same cards that it looks like he was showing. > > If all the words or parts could be done on one side of the cards only then he just has to turn over the cards that don’t belong before the reveal. However, when he spreads the cards to make the letters clearer he’s carefully just moving the cards with letters on them, so other letters can be hiding in what looks like white space. The link I gave above, [http://www.somfv3.com/secretforums/index.php?showtopic=12647&hl=spreadwave](http://www.somfv3.com/secretforums/index.php?showtopic=12647&hl=spreadwave), has a partial explanation by someone who claims to know how it works. For the suit, if you spread it one way, you get clubs, if you instead rotate it and then spread it, you get spades. If you flip it over you can get hearts and diamonds the same way. For the numbers, you have several different packs, each of which works the same as the suits. You just have to somehow switch in the correct pack for the number, oriented properly with the suit, and then spread the deck correctly. ---
**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 22, 2015, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015/485 "2015-08-22T04:41:03Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > The link I gave above, [http://www.somfv3.com/secretforums/index.php?showtopic=12647&hl=spreadwave](http://www.somfv3.com/secretforums/index.php?showtopic=12647&hl=spreadwave), has a partial explanation by someone who claims to know how it works. > > For the suit, if you spread it one way, you get clubs, if you instead rotate it and then spread it, you get spades. If you flip it over you can get hearts and diamonds the same way. > > For the numbers, you have several different packs, each of which works the same as the suits. > > You just have to somehow switch in the correct pack for the number, oriented properly with the suit, and then spread the deck correctly. I can’t get in there. So he does have to insert extra cards into the deck to do this? ---
**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 22, 2015, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015/486 "2015-08-22T04:44:33Z")
> [@glee](#): > > I’ve bought his Spreadwave trick: > > - yes, he invented it > - it works for any card (no force needed) > - it needs quite a bit of thought and dexterity to perform How does it work? And did you get version 1 or 2? ---
**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 22, 2015, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015/487 "2015-08-22T05:09:27Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > I can’t get in there. So he does have to insert extra cards into the deck to do this? I just realized that there is a second page to that thread where some further explanation is given. > [@](#): > > You can spread a deck of cards 4 ways (face up to the left, face up to the right, face down to the left, face down to the right). There are “banks,” or chunks, of cards that say different things. I.e. Bank A is 2-5, bank B is 6-9, bank C is 10-13 (“ACE” is written on the back of the “Your Card Is” cards) and bank D is the suit. Each bank is separated by a short card. Each card is also marked on the back and face with a number (order in the deck), a letter (which bank it is in), and a circle or square (square for “back” and circle for “face”). These circle/square, number, and letters in the center help you put the cards back in order and setup for the effect. That’s really all the explanation that is there. I think you must have to position the proper banks with the proper orientations and place the unused ones in a spot that doesn’t get spread; probably at the beginning or end of the deck. If they choose an ace then there’s an alternate out where instead of the number showing in the spread, you turn over the “Your Card Is” cards to reveal that they spell out A C E. Beyond that I suppose that it doesn’t help much to know the exact handling since it would be difficult to make the trick yourself and easier just to buy it. You can sign up for that site if you want to read the thread. It’s a fun site if you’re into magic. ---
**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 22, 2015, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015/488 "2015-08-22T05:17:59Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > I just realized that there is a second page to that thread where some further explanation is given. > That’s really all the explanation that is there. I think you must have to position the proper banks with the proper orientations and place the unused ones in a spot that doesn’t get spread; probably at the beginning or end of the deck. If they choose an ace then there’s an alternate out where instead of the number showing in the spread, you turn over the “Your Card Is” cards to reveal that they spell out A C E. > > Beyond that I suppose that it doesn’t help much to know the exact handling since it would be difficult to make the trick yourself and easier just to buy it. > > You can sign up for that site if you want to read the thread. It’s a fun site if you’re into magic. That all makes sense. The short cards make the manipulations easier. I think it’s an impressive trick because he takes us out of the normal card trick reveal by spelling out the card. Quite surprising to see for the first time. ---
**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 22, 2015, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015/489 "2015-08-22T05:31:16Z")
It is surprising and I can see how P&T were fooled if they hadn’t seen it before. It was obvious to me that the deck had to be printed so that it could be rearranged to spell out any card, but I was stymied by how you could possibly manage 52 different arrangements! For some reason I never thought about breaking it down to only four possible arrangements in one part and 12 possible arrangements (and the out for aces) in the other. That makes it much more manageable. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2015, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015/490 "2015-08-22T21:10:46Z")
> [@Moe](#): > > Penn and Teller doing the same trick that fooled them just last month on [The Today Show](http://www.today.com/popculture/penn-teller-perform-baffling-card-trick-today-t29866). No, it’s a different trick. For starters, they select the card, the Teller palms it prior to all the manipulations, then slams it on top for the reveal. Penn’s ordering is also different. It’s similar, but different enough to fool them. ---
**Author:** ![cluck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@cluck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cluck)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2015, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015/491 "2015-08-22T23:49:44Z")
Is there a thread for CW’s “Masters of Illusion”? I’m curious about Jonathan Pendragon’s “Clearly Impossible” routine where he slides a woman’s body in half in clear view of a spectator (and showing from all sides of the camera). Obviously I know the classic “sawing in half” trick, but I’m baffled at how he was able to pull this one off (no pun intended). Sorry, I don’t have a link to the performance, but it was last night’s episode (S02E07). Here’s a screenshot: [http://s30.postimg.org/sa3z2p933/pendragon.png](http://s30.postimg.org/sa3z2p933/pendragon.png) It’s a vertical box and it’s spun around a couple of times in full view of the camera. The spectator also examines her feet and they appear to be real (it could be a twin, but there doesn’t seem to be enough room – a DWARF?!?). Obviously there’s a bit of extra space (and the key must lie in the areas of the box that are not exposed), but outside of the assistant being a contortionist, I can’t figure it out. Or maybe it’s as simple as that. (Sorry for being such a newb, please don’t yell at me.) ---
**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 23, 2015, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015/492 "2015-08-23T00:17:48Z")
I don’t know of any Masters of Illusion thread, but this one is good enough. And it is as simple as that. ---
**Author:** ![cluck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@cluck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cluck)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2015, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015/493 "2015-08-23T00:33:14Z")
So which part of her goes where? She pulls herself up into the top box and it’s a falsie bottom? Or is there a little bit of bendage going on? (Underneath the top box, there’s a little bit of extra room.) It’s just so damn seamless, and the guy sees her enter and exit the box, too. ---
**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 23, 2015, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015/494 "2015-08-23T00:35:30Z")
You can always start a thread yourself. ---
**Author:** ![cluck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@cluck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cluck)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2015, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015/495 "2015-08-23T00:44:07Z")
Yeah, but clearly all the experts are in here. 😉 Besides, doesn’t seem like anyone else watches it but me. While I’m at it, I should open up a Dynamo thread. Clearly there’s something’s going on with that guy. ---
**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 23, 2015, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015/496 "2015-08-23T00:46:52Z")
The legs behind the door are fake. She can put her real feet in the bottom and she has plenty of room to shift her body over with the top of the box when he slides onto the table. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2015, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015/497 "2015-08-23T00:48:48Z")
> [@glee](#): > > I’ve bought his Spreadwave trick: > > - yes, he invented it > - it works for any card (no force needed) > - it needs quite a bit of thought and dexterity to perform > [@davidm](#): > > The link I gave above, [http://www.somfv3.com/secretforums/index.php?showtopic=12647&hl=spreadwave](http://www.somfv3.com/secretforums/index.php?showtopic=12647&hl=spreadwave), has a partial explanation by someone who claims to know how it works. > > For the suit, if you spread it one way, you get clubs, if you instead rotate it and then spread it, you get spades. If you flip it over you can get hearts and diamonds the same way. > > For the numbers, you have several different packs, each of which works the same as the suits. > > You just have to somehow switch in the correct pack for the number, oriented properly with the suit, and then spread the deck correctly. That explanation is wrong - there is only one pack. > [@TriPolar](#): > > I can’t get in there. So he does have to insert extra cards into the deck to do this? No, he uses a deck of about 50 cards - apparently blank apart from 3 cards reading ‘Your’, ‘Card’ and ‘Is’. > [@Mahaloth](#): > > How does it work? And did you get version 1 or 2? I don’t want to give away the full answer because Monsieur Bich deserves to earn a living from his cleverness. I repeat that he can do any card in the deck (no force necessary), there is a single deck of almost all ‘blank’ cards (no extra cards are used) and that the trick requires some skill to perform. ---
**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 23, 2015, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015/498 "2015-08-23T01:55:19Z")
> [@glee](#): > > That explanation is wrong - there is only one pack. > > No, he uses a deck of about 50 cards - apparently blank apart from 3 cards reading ‘Your’, ‘Card’ and ‘Is’. > > I don’t want to give away the full answer because Monsieur Bich deserves to earn a living from his cleverness. > I repeat that he can do any card in the deck (no force necessary), there is a single deck of almost all ‘blank’ cards (no extra cards are used) and that the trick requires some skill to perform. There’s a single deck but I think there are different smaller packs of cards within that one deck that are arranged according to the card to be revealed. Those aren’t “extra cards”. They’re all part of one deck. And yes, of course he can do any card without a force. That’s understood. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2015, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015/499 "2015-08-23T02:04:07Z")
> [@cluck](#): > > Is there a thread for CW’s “Masters of Illusion”? I’m curious about Jonathan Pendragon’s “Clearly Impossible” routine where he slides a woman’s body in half in clear view of a spectator (and showing from all sides of the camera). Obviously I know the classic “sawing in half” trick, but I’m baffled at how he was able to pull this one off (no pun intended). > > Sorry, I don’t have a link to the performance, but it was last night’s episode (S02E07). Here’s a screenshot: > > [http://s30.postimg.org/sa3z2p933/pendragon.png](http://s30.postimg.org/sa3z2p933/pendragon.png) I watched season 1. I haven’t been watching season 2. That screenshot shows everything. There’s enough overlap under the torso segment in that grill section for her to fit. The head and arms are real, but her torso is fake. Her feet are real, but legs are masked. She is standing at an angle. I think I posted about one he did last season, lady in a box lying down. It was not the traditional box, and seemed impossible on first watch. I had to really study to figure it out. Same tricks, but masked so well even an informed audience (me) had trouble seeing how he could do it. ---
**Author:** ![cluck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@cluck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cluck)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2015, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015/500 "2015-08-23T02:13:00Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > The head and arms are real, but her torso is fake. Her feet are real, but legs are masked. She is standing at an angle. Yeah, I thought the torso looked a bit off as well (her face looks a little pained). Once you eliminate the torso bit and her legs, you can imagine the curvature of her body (all twisted up!). Thanks for all the replies, guys. And now back to our regularly scheduled program… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015.md?page=24) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015.md?page=26)