# 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:** 50
**Author:** ![ultimate11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/49beb7/32.png) [@ultimate11](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultimate11)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2016, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015/981 "2016-08-30T18:46:20Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > Episode 2: [How to Saw a Woman in Half](http://www.cwtv.com/cw-video/penn-teller-fool-us/how-to-saw-a-woman-in-half/?play=3ca7719a-f036-4bb9-a89d-f351390adde2) (link for those playing the home game) > > … > > Finally, Penn and Teller give us their performance, sawing a lady in half. They have a commercial saw a lady in half set up, with a box and a big saw blade, except they changed out the blade to a big steel blade. They have a Las Vegas showgirl come out, climb in the box lying down, then do the spinning blade down about halfway into the box and back out complete with really fake screams. And wiggling her feet. Then they put the blades in and separate the halves of the box for the reveal. > > Then Penn begins the breakdown of how the trick works, that most magicians will rush this part and then put the lady back together, because this is the most vulnerable part of the trick. So they stand there and let the audience stare. Then Penn explains that the trick starts with the trick that people don’t notice a change in height going from vertical to horizontal, that their 6’3" showgirl is suddenly 5’10" long lying down. Then they point out the table is deceptive, the edge is thin but the black parts taper to much wider to give room to hide her body. And they remove the front panel to show it’s wider, and her torso sagging in the spot where the boxes are apart under the saw blade. > > Then they turn on the saw and swing the blade down to demonstrate it doesn’t come near her body. They lift the blade, and Penn mentions that it’s safe, there’s a metal rod in place to stop the blade from coming down too far, and Teller helpfully pulls out the rod to show it off, while Penn is looking at the audience. And then Penn rocks the blade down again and OOPS, the rod isn’t in place any more, the saw is cutting through the dancer. And blood spills out, and they separate the halves and guts and stuff fall out, and it’s messy, and Penn says that it’s Teller’s fault and runs off stage. The end. They did the same trick with their previous show, “Bullshit!” years ago. Ouch! Thankfully that’s not real- right? ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2016, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015/982 "2016-08-30T19:12:10Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > They actually do try to air them as they recorded them. You can here Allyson say, “We’ve had one fooler tonight, will we get two?” and so forth. Those could easily be pickups recorded long after (or even before) all the tricks of the day have been shot. ---
**Author:** ![Lok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e8c25b/32.png) [@Lok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lok)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2016, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015/983 "2016-08-30T19:22:50Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > They actually do try to air them as they recorded them. You can here Allyson say, “We’ve had one fooler tonight, will we get two?” and so forth. They just film a few extra tricks in case anything goes wrong with a trick. > > The magicians do everything you see live, with no re-dos for failure or anything. If they screw up a trick, they can cut them out and use another. > > Penn and Teller have zero inside info. and only find out who is coming out the moment the video plays in the theater. That’s why when Kostya Kimalat was announced last year, Teller leaned over to Penn and said, “We’re through.” He was write. Kimalat blew them away more than any other trick they’ve seen. Goudeau? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Great\_Unwashed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_great_unwashed/32/4791_2.png) [@The\_Great\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Great_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2016, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015/984 "2016-08-30T22:10:59Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Kimalat blew them away more than any other trick they’ve seen. I don’t know if it’s already been discussed in this thread, but fundamentally that trick requires one “simple” (repeated) move\* – the thing is, Kimalat does this one move with such ease, grace and disguise that even armed with knowledge of the method it still takes some hard looking to see it without several replays. - It is inconceivable to me that P&T didn’t know the move, I think they just didn’t click that it could be disguised so well so many times. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2016, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015/985 "2016-08-30T22:40:17Z")
> [@The\_Great\_Unwashed](#): > > - It is inconceivable to me that P&T didn’t know the move, I think they just didn’t click that it could be disguised so well so many times. They certainly know what culling is, if that’s what you mean. But Kimlat does it so ridiculously fast, and smooth, and hides it so perfectly, that there’s no way they could have seen it in real time from where they were sitting. And the move is so astonishingly difficult that there’s no way they would have guessed it. ---
**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 31, 2016, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015/986 "2016-08-31T00:46:28Z")
Would me of you fully explain what Kimalat did? I don’t get how that trick was done. We see the shuffled cards at many stages of the routine. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Great\_Unwashed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_great_unwashed/32/4791_2.png) [@The\_Great\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Great_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2016, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015/987 "2016-08-31T12:36:40Z")
> [@The\_Great\_Unwashed](#): > > That looks \*very \*like a force. > [@Mahaloth](#): > > Would me of you fully explain what Kimalat did? I don’t get how that trick was done. We see the shuffled cards at many stages of the routine. Hard to do without diagrams, but if I can tell you first how the force I mentioned above is done, a future explanation of what Kimalat does will be all the more clear. The card to be forced is played in fifth position in the pack. The cards are partially fanned face down and fed from left to right hand (the mark is asked to touch any card), as the fifth and sixth cards are fed a finger from the right hand drags the fifth rightwards so that its left hand edge frees itself from the sixth card, and in fact falls underneath it. All subsequent cards get fed in between the sixth and the fifth card (the fifth being now below the sixth). When the mark points to the back of a card, the magician seperates his two hands, in the left are all the cards beneath the chosen card, in the right hand all the cards above the chosen card but hidden beneath all of them is our fifth card. The right hand half-deck is squared and the bottom card is shown to the mark who thinks he has chosen freely. If you watch the video lined by **numeroussyrup** , this clumsy explanation might be more comprehensible. ```auto Two things, **One** having seen how well this move can be done, I am really going to work on it. **Two** I'm starting to feel a bit itchy about just blurting out methods used, I kind of like to show off, but then isn't it a bit naff. What say you all? ``` ---
**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 31, 2016, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015/988 "2016-08-31T13:57:15Z")
> [@The\_Great\_Unwashed](#): > > \*\*Two \*\*I’m starting to feel a bit itchy about just blurting out methods used, I kind of like to show off, but then isn’t it a bit naff. What say you all? I used to feel like I had to maintain the code, but that’s not what magic is about anymore. Early in this thread we used spoilers, as if that mattered anyway. Might as well just discuss things openly, Kimlat is a great case for this, knowing how it’s done isn’t much compared to his skill at doing it. If we don’t talk about here anyone interested will just go look at the rest of the internet and find the reveals. ETA: I don’t do much magic at all, but I started hanging around real magicians when I was teenager so I got some inside look at the art that way. Actually kind of spoiled it for me. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Great\_Unwashed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_great_unwashed/32/4791_2.png) [@The\_Great\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Great_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2016, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015/989 "2016-08-31T14:28:59Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Kimlat is a great case for this, knowing how it’s done isn’t much compared to his skill at doing it… Okay, agreed, I’ve got over myself already. > [@TriPolar](#): > > … I don’t do much magic at all, but I started hanging around real magicians when I was teenager so I got some inside look at the art that way. _Actually kind of spoiled it for me_. I just agreed, and now you’re giving me reasons not to agree again Perhaps spoiler tags are called for, but I don’t know how many realise what they are giving up. I might start a thread one day about why I got into magic – it didn’t work out at all. But at least I can bore my enemies senseless with card tricks. ---
**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 31, 2016, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015/990 "2016-08-31T16:34:46Z")
> [@The\_Great\_Unwashed](#): > > I just agreed, and now you’re giving me reasons not to agree again > > Perhaps spoiler tags are called for, but I don’t know how many realise what they are giving up. > > I might start a thread one day about why I got into magic – it didn’t work out at all. But at least I can bore my enemies senseless with card tricks. I should have said “spoiled it for me _at the time_”. I was pretty young and quite naive, not believing in sorcery but thinking that where was much more complexity to it all. Going back to the first part of that, realizing the skill involved is much more valuable, I’m glad I didn’t turn into a guy who scoffs and says “I know how that’s done”, to which now I reply “Ok, if it’s so simple then let me see you do it”. Might as well look at a Rembrandt and say “Oh, he just used a brush and paint to make those pictures”. ---
**Author:** ![cluck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@cluck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cluck)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2016, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015/991 "2016-09-01T11:44:12Z")
S03E08 **Matthew Laslo:** I found the kid way too cocky and ingratiating (and over-rehearsed). Also, the card piece at the end didn’t quite fit the card on his shirt. “Perfect match” my ass. 😛 (Yeah, he’s 15, I’ll cut him some slack.) **Crispin Glover** – I mean, **Zabrecky:** I always get a kick out of mentalism. Is this technique similar to the trick a couple of episodes ago with the underwear guessing? (Some sort of marked cards or markers?) I think the dude was more entertaining than the routine. **David Garrard:** I don’t have much to say about the minister. Moxie is a little cutie, though. **Wayne Hoffman:** The featured fooler of the week. Any idea how he “embossed” the info onto the card? Or got the name Carlos in the letter, for that matter? It was funny when Teller accidentally dropped the “real” rabbit into the wood chipper for the second time. I wonder if the producers tell the audience to ham it up like that. Do they really think he’d kill the rabbit? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![cluck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@cluck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cluck)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2016, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015/992 "2016-09-01T11:55:21Z")
> [@cluck](#): > > **Zabrecky:** I forgot to mention, the dude really is an actor. I saw him in this weird, dark little horror-drama called Decay. He also had a band in the '90s called Possum Dixon. I knew he looked familiar. ---
**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:** [September 1, 2016, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015/993 "2016-09-01T12:27:56Z")
I assume Hoffman has a device in his jacket pocket. Something like the old label makers that can emboss plastic. It took him some time to pull that card from his jacket pocket. Zabrecky was doing that very simple trick but he was very entertaining. The kid was annoying, but he’s a kid, rather polished for his age. At least he knows the real secret of magic, hot assistant chicks. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2016, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015/994 "2016-09-01T14:37:25Z")
> [@cluck](#): > > It was funny when Teller accidentally dropped the “real” rabbit into the wood chipper for the second time. I wonder if the producers tell the audience to ham it up like that. Do they really think he’d kill the rabbit? :dubious: Well, what did you expect in a magic act, a happy ending? ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2016, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015/995 "2016-09-01T18:55:05Z")
> [@cluck](#): > > Or got the name Carlos in the letter, for that matter? Instant stooge. The letter didn’t have his name on it; it had a request for Carlos to say his name after “Dear”. ---
**Author:** ![magnusblitz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@magnusblitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magnusblitz)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2016, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015/996 "2016-09-01T19:00:58Z")
> [@psychonaut](#): > > Instant stooge. The letter didn’t have his name on it; it had a request for Carlos to say his name after “Dear”. That’s what I figured, but at the same time, that seems to run the risk of someone literally saying “Dear Say Your Name Here” and ruining it. I wonder what his ‘out’ would be for that situation. I thought the card printer/embosser might even be in the wallet, didn’t look closely enough, but technology can be pretty damn small these days. Was a bit surprised when P&T went all-in on the table theory. I agree Laslo felt over-rehearsed and annoying. What I found interesting was that the shirt pull was completely unnoticeable on TV, even after knowing when to look and slowing it down. There is a cut during it so I wonder if the producers shaved off a couple frames there to make it look better on TV. Zabrecky was entertaining, which is good since the trick is pretty easy (just some sort of markings on the cards). Garrard’s was very ho-hum. The ‘bunny’ jumping in was well-done in the P&T bit. Boy, their early stuff was certainly very bloody, wasn’t it? Snake cut in half, woman sawed in half, bunny shredded… ---
**Author:** ![sohvan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/96bed5/32.png) [@sohvan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sohvan)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2016, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015/997 "2016-09-01T21:47:46Z")
> [@psychonaut](#): > > Instant stooge. The letter didn’t have his name on it; it had a request for Carlos to say his name after “Dear”. It’s possible that his name wasn’t really Carlos, and the birthday wasn’t right either. He could just swap the Carlos license for the real license. It’d explain why he only asked for male volunteers, and why Carlos had a strange expression at the end. That would make it a very simple trick, though. ---
**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:** [September 1, 2016, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015/998 "2016-09-01T21:52:28Z")
> [@sohvan](#): > > It’s possible that his name wasn’t really Carlos, and the birthday wasn’t right either. He could just swap the Carlos license for the real license. It’d explain why he only asked for male volunteers, and why Carlos had a strange expression at the end. That would make it a very simple trick, though. Instant stooge did occur to me, and it’s always the easy answer, but I don’t think it’s that difficult for him to have an embossing device in his jacket. When you want someone’s driver’s license and birthday it’s best not to ask a woman to volunteer. If he had a card prepared ahead of time he wouldn’t need to fumble around in his jacket like that for so long, but once again we don’t know what the magicians will do to throw off P&T. ---
**Author:** ![numeroussyrup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/edb3f5/32.png) [@numeroussyrup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/numeroussyrup)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2016, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015/999 "2016-09-01T23:49:49Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Would me of you fully explain what Kimalat did? I don’t get how that trick was done. We see the shuffled cards at many stages of the routine. The magic is occurring when he gets Penn and Teller to select a card. He shows them every single card. if you watch the youtube video at 3:50, watch his right hand. As he moves through the cards, he is doing a cull move on every card. If youtube cull magic you will find videos of this technique. There is also a youtube video of the road runner cull (which is the trick Kimalat invented) which shows, poorly, what is done. What makes it so impressive is how smooth and fast he does it. I love the trick way more since I know how it’s done and how hard it is to do flawlessly. Plus even if you know how it’s done you aren’t really gaining much. It’s like knowing the secret to a good 100m, run fast. I personally love magic way more when I know how the trick is done. When you see someone like Kimalat work, you are in awe because you know how hard it is to do what he does. Kind of like how pros make everything look so easy. Only because they have practised for thousands of hours to make it look effortless. Incidentally, it’s also why my favourite area of magic is card tricks and sleight of hand. Something so pure about it. ---
**Author:** ![zombywoof](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/9e8a1a/32.png) [@zombywoof](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zombywoof)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2016, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015/1000 "2016-09-02T01:42:14Z")
> [@cluck](#): > > **Wayne Hoffman:** The featured fooler of the week. Any idea how he “embossed” the info onto the card? Or got the name Carlos in the letter, for that matter? I agree with instant stooge for the letter - there are a couple of moments where (if you freeze a high def video) you can see there’s nothing printed after “Dear”, and likely some written instruction (note the magician quickly turns the letter away from the camera/audience every time the guy points it that way). As for the embosser, I also assume it was some sort of device in his inner jacket pocket. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015.md?page=49) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015.md?page=51)