# 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:** 28
**Author:** ![Cardinal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardinal/32/4000_2.png) [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2015, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015/541 "2015-08-25T19:51:37Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Well yeah, but I’m not going to call him that. He’s not dumb, and he is bigger than me. He’s probably even a better juggler than I am. On Alec Baldwin’s podcast, he said he went to an accountant with his notes on the money he made as a street juggler/performer, and the guy told him that the IRS would assume he was a drug dealer, making that much with that kind of story, and that he himself thought Penn was a drug dealer. He told Penn to just take the money and forget about the taxes. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_Tightlips](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/57b2e6/32.png) [@Joey\_Tightlips](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_Tightlips)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2015, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015/542 "2015-08-25T19:59:31Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > The real mystery here is the deck switch guess by P&T. Was that just a mistake and Teller wrote deck switch but he meant a card insert? Did they forget that he never showed the card faces? That’s one thing we all seem to agree on! 😃 Maybe you’re right that they thought the cards were shown at some point to be a normal deck when in fact they weren’t. All the talk about a stooge makes me wonder if he couldn’t have been using both techniques. He could have been using suggestion/taps/whatever to direct the volunteer to one of a few cards, and then he could have used the method I laid out to see if the stoogery worked. For the entire trick, he had those separate four or so cards he used to demonstrate the deal. Maybe those four were “real” and were the most common cards the suggestion leads to being picked. He could have lucked out that the suggestion worked and it would then would be trivial to get one of those separate cards into the deck of blanks. That would explain why none of us caught any kind of switch. There could have been a backup plan if something like the King of Hearts was chosen. ---
**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 25, 2015, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015/543 "2015-08-25T20:18:38Z")
> [@Joey\_Tightlips](#): > > For the entire trick, he had those separate four or so cards he used to demonstrate the deal. Maybe those four were “real” and were the most common cards the suggestion leads to being picked. He could have lucked out that the suggestion worked and it would then would be trivial to get one of those separate cards into the deck of blanks. That would explain why none of us caught any kind of switch. There could have been a backup plan if something like the King of Hearts was chosen. I wondered about those cards also. He appears to have just two. As soon as the suit is selected he’ll know the card if it’s a peek or offstage help, the camera pulls back but you can see both of his hands at the edge of the table right then. If he has to read the cards somehow he doesn’t have a lot of opportunity to insert the card. Unfortunately there are cuts in the video there so we can’t see everything that happens, but he does fumble a little to turn over the selected card, he might have the chance to do a switch then. Also, when the deck has been put down by the guest he can know the suit if the cards are marked by peeking at the top card. That gives him the chance to get ready with a smaller index when he works out the number value. And in the set up he asks the guest to think of a number of the card, which should keep out face cards. ETA: I like this trick, it can be done with a real deck that’s marked using a nose peek to reveal the actual card in the deck. ---
**Author:** ![Stephe96](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Stephe96](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stephe96)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2015, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015/544 "2015-08-25T20:47:00Z")
I don’t know if camera tricks are allowed in the pre-taped intro segments, but how the hell did Blake Vogt (I believe it was him) manage to restore the corner of a torn card - as it was held by someone else - simply by putting his mouth over it? ---
**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 25, 2015, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015/545 "2015-08-25T21:02:05Z")
> [@Stephe96](#): > > I don’t know if camera tricks are allowed in the pre-taped intro segments, but how the hell did Blake Vogt (I believe it was him) manage to restore the corner of a torn card - as it was held by someone else - simply by putting his mouth over it? It’s called Regeneration. He sells it. I don’t know how it’s done except that some type of glue is used, I think to attach a fake corner to a card to tear off. The real corner would be folded underneath around the back of the card. ---
**Author:** ![zombywoof](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/9e8a1a/32.png) [@zombywoof](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zombywoof)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2015, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015/546 "2015-08-26T02:40:39Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > The average quality of the acts was pretty high this time. I’m curious if they needed some time to book the better acts on the show. No, all the acts are filmed over a series of a few nights and through “the magic of TV” are mixed and matched into the various episodes well before the season starts - note the audience member who “lent” the dollar bill was the same guy pulled up on stage for a trick on an episode that aired back at the beginning of the series… ---
**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 26, 2015, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015/547 "2015-08-26T03:27:18Z")
> [@GeminiJ](#): > > I played along at home and I picked the 4 of diamonds. So, I don’t know if it was just dumb luck or I legitimately got picked up on something. I picked the three of clubs > [@zombywoof](#): > > No, all the acts are filmed over a series of a few nights and through “the magic of TV” are mixed and matched into the various episodes well before the season starts - note the audience member who “lent” the dollar bill was the same guy pulled up on stage for a trick on an episode that aired back at the beginning of the series… Do Penn and Teller wear the same suits every time? ---
**Author:** ![zombywoof](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/9e8a1a/32.png) [@zombywoof](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zombywoof)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2015, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015/548 "2015-08-26T03:38:04Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Do Penn and Teller wear the same suits every time? Same suits (no surprise there - 3 piece grey pinstripe has been their costume for decades), same shirts/ties…Jonathan Ross is also always in the same suit/shirt/tie outfit. ---
**Author:** ![cluck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@cluck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cluck)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2015, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015/549 "2015-08-26T06:24:01Z")
The “magic” of television, y’all. :rolleyes: I feel so cheated. Especially whenever Jonathan mentions that “one person” has tricked them on tonight’s program… ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2015, 10:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015/550 "2015-08-26T10:19:23Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > After he drops the watch and the ring into the envelope he shakes it so you hear them clinking. They were never in the envelope, he has a device up his sleeve to make that noise. Went back to watch again online, you are correct, there is noise sliding the items into the envelope and clink when the ring hits the watch. I think the watch is a paper folded object to give 3-D shape and fold flat. He palms out the fake watch (can see the move) and drops it into the envelope, pulls and drops the ring, puts in the bill, then mushes the envelope. That act is compressing the paper flat and maneuvering the ring out the slit in the envelope to his left hand. He’s got his watch up his sleeve where it can’t be seen, pulls up the ring, and has already swapped the wallet. > [@Joey\_Tightlips](#): > > Take another look at my post #531, it would work. He’s counting the cards down one by one into a new pile and then putting the rest of the deck on top. I think the clear distinction he makes between doing it that way as opposed to putting each card directly under the bottom of the deck lends credence to this being the likely method. You are correct. Counting off the cards reverses the order, the top card is now bottom. Then he puts that stack under the bottom, he has the bottom card, the count, top card, then the next count. > [@Joey\_Tightlips](#): > > All the talk about a stooge makes me wonder if he couldn’t have been using both techniques. He could have been using suggestion/taps/whatever to direct the volunteer to one of a few cards, and then he could have used the method I laid out to see if the stoogery worked. Now I think you are right. I watched, and yes, he does sort to the bottom of the deck quickly when going by feel for the card, and counts from the bottom. The handling is distinct enough I think you guys are right he has those. He sets up and has 8 cards and he clearly feels and counts them. I also agree a nose peek is easy with that blindfold setup. You can see the gap at the nose. But I think he got lucky and the instant stooge worked, so he didn’t have to do a card insertion, he knew where his prepped card was and didn’t have to swap it. I think the 4 of diamonds is in the deck, and also prepped by surface. When he runs through from the top, he finds that card and splits the deck, then finds the second card, splits deck, counts the bottom 8 and confirms the stooge worked, combines the deck and then by feel finds his prepped card. No swap required. He would need an index with all the others prepped and have to change it if the guy didn’t comply, but he got lucky. If he was going to have to swap, he’d need the 4 already located, which is why he found it first, the first split. That’s there so if the count is off, he can do the swap because he knows where the 4 is. I can only assume Penn and Teller thought he showed the deck at some point and thus had to swap it for the blanks. > [@Mahaloth](#): > > Do Penn and Teller wear the same suits every time? Yes, it is their performance costumes. Penn even admitted it in one of their performances, telling the audience that he didn’t have his wallet and stuff on him because the outfits were wardrobe, not his street clothes. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2015, 10:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015/551 "2015-08-26T10:23:05Z")
I still think the instant stooge was used here, because of how forceful Penn was with his “4 techniques”, and he basically nodded agreement. Also, we’ve seen instant stooge/dual reality used before from one of the UK shows. The performer had three volunteers reading answers off cards that included [your name] in the text. He clearly stated their names when he stated what the cards said, but the cards did not have their names on them. ---
**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 26, 2015, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015/552 "2015-08-26T12:19:02Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > Also, we’ve seen instant stooge/dual reality used before from one of the UK shows. The performer had three volunteers reading answers off cards that included [your name] in the text. He clearly stated their names when he stated what the cards said, but the cards did not have their names on them. Yep, there is a screenshot of the cards floating around. I was shocked the guy dared to use multiple instant stooges for a TV trick. ---
**Author:** ![randwill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@randwill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/randwill)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2015, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015/553 "2015-08-28T02:58:50Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > The bottle and the bunny come from his pockets, you can tell early there’s something there, so the surprise is only in the timing of the reveal, not that something magically appears. Nope. What you’re looking for probably comes sooner than you think. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2015, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015/554 "2015-08-28T04:54:12Z")
You know, I could go study it to see if he plams them in from behind the chair backs or something else, but I don’t really care. However they get there, it’s not much of a surprise. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2015, 9:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015/555 "2015-08-29T09:51:09Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Yep, there is a screenshot of the cards floating around. I was shocked the guy dared to use multiple instant stooges for a TV trick. Got a link? I’m not finding it in the obvious Google searches. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2015, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015/556 "2015-08-29T13:47:19Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > 1. Joshua Jay - … Are you ready? It’s “instant stooge”. > > I tried to follow the flow, connecting the dialogue to the comments to see how the volunteer would read the remarks, and it’s rather extra simple. When he says to Todd something about a code to tell the audience what the cards are, he taps the guy’s hands 4 times in an uneven pattern, but clearly 4 times. Then he has the guy count out the number (4), then he assigns a number to each suit and has the guy count out cards to the correct suit (4). Then he just digs through the deck to his one planted 4 of diamonds, and the rest are blanks. Simple set up. Do others here agree that this was the technique used? It seems implausible to me. I’m trying to imagine myself in the volunteer’s position. I would not be likely _at all_ to catch on to such a coded message from the magician. And if I did catch on, it would be so obvious to everyone in the audience that I’d just caught on to something. I find it very hard to believe a magician could base a whole routine around the assumption of randomly finding a quick enough thinker with a good enough poker face to make something like that work. And I don’t see clearly four taps anyway–I count three. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2015, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015/557 "2015-08-29T13:51:10Z")
BTW here’s a very grainy video of it: [- YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oX4CRyANF1M) I’m also stumped\* by what is probably a really simple trick during the magician’s intro video. At 0:27 in the video he seems to make one card change into another card literally right there in front of my eyes, no concealing or anything. Best I can figure is he somehow makes the first card _really quickly_ drop under the deck to reveal the second card (making it look like the first one simply morphed into the second one) using his right hand as a distraction. But watching the clip over and over again doesn’t seem to reveal anything in particular along these or any other lines. \*This is why I hate magic shows with such fierce passion. _TELL ME HOW YOU DID IT_ you jerk. ---
**Author:** ![zombywoof](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/9e8a1a/32.png) [@zombywoof](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zombywoof)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2015, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015/558 "2015-08-30T21:07:24Z")
> [@cluck](#): > > Anyone know if next week’s ep is the season finale? (That would make it 9 episodes, same as the first season.) According to [this site](http://www.thefutoncritic.com/showatch/penn-and-teller-fool-us/listings/) a 10th episode will air September 14th, and there will be a total of 13 for the season. ---
**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 30, 2015, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015/559 "2015-08-30T21:40:17Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > BTW here’s a very grainy video of it: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oX4CRyANF1M](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oX4CRyANF1M) > > I’m also stumped\* by what is probably a really simple trick during the magician’s intro video. At 0:27 in the video he seems to make one card change into another card literally right there in front of my eyes, no concealing or anything. > > Best I can figure is he somehow makes the first card _really quickly_ drop under the deck to reveal the second card (making it look like the first one simply morphed into the second one) using his right hand as a distraction. But watching the clip over and over again doesn’t seem to reveal anything in particular along these or any other lines. > > \*This is why I hate magic shows with such fierce passion. _TELL ME HOW YOU DID IT_ you jerk. It’s a video close-up so there are a lot of possible ways it can be done, but your guess is probably right. He actually bends the card as he passes his hand over it which hides him sliding the top card back under the deck. He might also be inserting the new card palmed from his other hand. Expert card manipulators usually aren’t doing incredible complex moves, they just perform simple moves at great speed with excellent timing, and they’re practiced at making their movements look natural while they do it. ---
**Author:** ![JSexton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@JSexton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JSexton)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2015, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015/560 "2015-08-31T21:33:40Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > has already swapped the wallet. No need to swap wallets, you just gimmick one to be able to fold out two ways. Starts with two sections, each with a bill, ends the act showing the other section. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015.md?page=27) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015.md?page=29)