# 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:** 58
**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:** [September 18, 2016, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015/1141 "2016-09-18T01:58:25Z")
I also felt they solved the US-state-card trick. I’m not sure what they missed, actually. It’s a neat trick, though. The jigsaw puzzle trick. Magnets, but where are they and how do they come into play? No matter what, it’s comparatively not _that_ interesting of a trick. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2016, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015/1142 "2016-09-18T13:50:11Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > So, the lady with the dictionary trick. > > There is another person in the table, one who is quite thin. The table has more room than it looks, but it is not comfy for the other human in the trick. The box has a trap door, so the individual can pull the book, take the page with the word “gold”, and put it back. She positions the trickee in front of the table to look through the book. Meanwhile, the person in the table has circled “gold”, crumbled it, and handed it to the magician behind the trickee’s back. Or put it in a jar or something. > > Is that it? Absolutely. I thought this one was pretty easy to figure. The hidden person is small and/or very bendy, maybe even a young teen. The way the performer was so obviously actively blocking our view (along with the volunteer) it was clear some hanky panky was going on behind their backs. mmm ---
**Author:** ![tehownt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ee59a6/32.png) [@tehownt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tehownt)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2016, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015/1143 "2016-09-18T14:33:32Z")
> [@cluck](#): > > S03E12 > > **Brent Braun:** I watched the deck toss several times and still couldn’t catch him dropping the deck. Even so, I don’t see how he arrived at the right card at the end. Couldn’t the guy have named any number? Sorry for late reply, it drops from his pants just aside his shoe, then you can see him fumble as he tries to stay close to it while the flock of decks arrive. Do a frame-by-frame and you’ll see him pinch his pants while turning, and the deck drops: [Imgur: The magic of the Internet](http://imgur.com/djyVh1O) ---
**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 18, 2016, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015/1144 "2016-09-18T15:20:58Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > Absolutely. I thought this one was pretty easy to figure. The hidden person is small and/or very bendy, maybe even a young teen. The way the performer was so obviously actively blocking our view (along with the volunteer) it was clear some hanky panky was going on behind their backs. > mmm Plenty of room in those tables. That one more than many other magician’s tables. The top part could be a foot deep. the legs sections 6-8" across. Notice that the black sections of the leg and lower part of the top extend further than they appear right at the front of the table facing the audience. I couldn’t fit in it but there are a lot of experienced magician’s assistants in Vegas available, mostly rather small women who would fit easily inside of that table. Hot and uncomfortable no doubt. But there’s not much to do here, locate the page, rip it out, circle the word, crumble up the paper which she grabs when she takes the book out of the box. Unlike other acts this assistant gets in and out of the box back stage. The entire top probably comes off so not even any wiggling through a tiny trap door. ---
**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 18, 2016, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015/1145 "2016-09-18T15:38:47Z")
I think with the state guy P&T implied that the deck wasn’t the same as the order they returned the shuffled deck to him. Instead the cards could have been marked and he could have used them in any order making it a memory trick instead of one based on predetermined order. So by being specifically wrong about that part of it would qualify them as being fooled. ---
**Author:** ![numeroussyrup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/edb3f5/32.png) [@numeroussyrup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/numeroussyrup)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2016, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015/1146 "2016-09-18T20:51:59Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > You know, I worded this kind of ambiguously. > > Please forgive me for being a jerk and responding to obvious humor as if it was serious. Me, of all people, for cripes ache! No worries dude! Anyway I wonder if they’ll get a fourth season. A quick google search tells me it hasn’t been renewed yet. Hopefully they do a 4th season, although I did feel like there was a dip in quality this season. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2016, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015/1147 "2016-09-18T20:58:01Z")
Alyson Hannigan’s perpetual perky is wearing a little thin. ---
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2016, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015/1148 "2016-09-18T22:25:08Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Alyson Hannigan’s perpetual perky is wearing a little thin. Agreed. Jonathan Ross’s smartassery was better suited to play off of P&T. ---
**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:** [September 18, 2016, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015/1149 "2016-09-18T22:48:16Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Alyson Hannigan’s perpetual perky is wearing a little thin. I liked her. I prefer Jonathan Ross a lot, but I do like her. ---
**Author:** ![Duke\_Sweden](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f07891/32.png) [@Duke\_Sweden](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_Sweden)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2016, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015/1150 "2016-09-19T03:07:56Z")
> [@cluck](#): > > S03E13 > > **Anthony Asimov:** Cracking nuts. Similar to Brent Braun’s card trick earlier this week, was the four of diamonds a free choice or a force? According to Penn (who mentioned use of a “nut index” and a passing reference to Banksy), while he was distracting us with Pickle the Alien, he was also doing something underneath the table. Loading and/or planting the nut? I watched it again but couldn’t catch the switch. I can’t make heads or tails of it. > > **Angela Funovits:** **\<333** Okay, so I’m easily distracted, but I could tell while the guy was looking through the dictionary, she must have had her hand firmly inside of the jar. Penn’s hint was that there was a second person “willing to suffer,” so was there someone hidden in the table or something? I don’t even know how that would work. > > _Side-note:_ It’s interesting what Penn says here about pre-show work not being allowed. That makes me reconsider the mentalism couple that was on a couple episodes ago. > > **Ivan Amodei:** I thought this trick was pretty incredible until the end, where he doesn’t even name off Penn’s card (I could see the disappointment in Penn’s face too). It seems strange to end a cool trick like that on such a lame joke. I was confused by the back and forth talk about clumping, but suddenly the judges swooped in and saved the day! Never seen that happen before. > > **Vince Charming:** These tricks are really doing my head in. How did…what did…? 😕 I looked at it again and the piece she picked off the table looked awfully close to the piece missing from the puzzle in the end. Since he handled it at the end, there must have been a quick sleight of hand swap. How exactly do magnets come into play here? > > Can anyone find the clip of P&T where Penn lights his head on fire? > > **Penn and Teller:** This trick and the entire performance afterwards was a really fun closer to the season. I love how they couldn’t “fool” themselves. I could see where Teller was handling the cards, but I did not see him place it in his mouth. I think they must have cut away, which seems a bit like cheating. :dubious: > > And that’s a wrap on season 3. > > A few thoughts about this season. I wasn’t really sure about Alyson Hannigan at the start, but she really won me over by the end. Her cute awkwardness is a perfect foil for the amazing magic surrounding her and she’s not just copying what Jonathan Ross was doing. I’ll be interested to see how they proceed from here…given the series gets renewed, of course. > > Also, hope Irishman is okay. He’s been MIA all season. > > See you all next year. I’m going into hibernation. **Anthony Asimov:** Cracking nuts. I love how the guy thought he was too swift for Penn and Teller and pushed them to explain how he did some “amazing” part of his trick, which pissed off Penn, and he goes something like “You want more, ok. We SAW you reach under the table, we SAW how you…etc”. Put the guy in his place. **Angela Funovits:** She used to be one of the “celebrity magicians” on Wizard Wars with Penn & Teller so I was surprised to see her here. She is a very accomplished person but I could not believe how amateurish her act was on Fool Us. Almost like a girl showing off a cool trick her boyfriend taught her and stumbling through it. But other than that I love her funny looking hotness. **Ivan Amodei:** Agreed. I don’t know why he didn’t name Penn’s card at the end. I also was not too crazy about the violin “playing”. I hope they give Allyson Hannigan more money for wardrobe next season. Guys can wear the same suit for 40 years but women are funny about wearing the same dress and, in fact, there are a LOT of message boards with people asking why the same dress every week. It’s just odd. ---
**Author:** ![TheHYPO](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a698b9/32.png) [@TheHYPO](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheHYPO)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2016, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015/1151 "2016-09-19T03:54:36Z")
> [@cluck](#): > > Given the method you guys described this trick was done, when everyone was shouting out their card, all Ivan had to listen to was Penn’s state. (He works out the rest of the trick later as process of elimination.) I think he was probably trying to zero in on Penn’s voice at that moment, but he failed (and that’s why he asked to confirm that Penn actually shouted it). > > I guess that part that confuses me most is the fact that P&T seemed to guess the method how it was done, but the producers still jumped on it and gave him the win. I guess what Penn was saying about a deck switch when his back was turned was wrong and Ivan separated out the cards a different way. As I said, I think the issue was that P&T had not accurately figured out how he had (despite P&T shuffling) known which of the final six states went with each group. He clearly knew one state that was in each group of cards he handed out, and then just had to match that state with the person left from each group. But they didn’t work out how he managed to know which of the remaining states each group got. He didn’t peek when handing out the bundles. As I previously, I’d assume a marked deck or a deck swap. ---
**Author:** ![TheHYPO](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a698b9/32.png) [@TheHYPO](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheHYPO)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2016, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015/1152 "2016-09-19T03:58:06Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > The box has a trap door, so the individual can pull the book, take the page with the word “gold”, and put it back. > […] > Is that it? Yes, that appears to be it exactly. I will slightly nitpick that I don’t actually think there even has to be a trap door, because I don’t think anybody but the magician goes or looks into the box. It could just be completely open to the inside. ---
**Author:** ![zombywoof](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/9e8a1a/32.png) [@zombywoof](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zombywoof)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2016, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015/1153 "2016-09-19T04:03:59Z")
> [@Duke\_Sweden](#): > > there are a LOT of message boards with people asking why the same dress every week. It’s just odd. As mentioned earlier, for the same reason Jonathan Ross (and P&T) wore/wear the same suit/shirt/tie every episode (which far fewer people seem to notice, much less make a fuss about) - so that the tricks from the in-theater performances (recorded in a batch over a few days) can be mixed and matched into the “weekly” episodes that eventually air on TV (you didn’t think they actually got together and recorded a new show once every week, did you?) ---
**Author:** ![TheHYPO](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a698b9/32.png) [@TheHYPO](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheHYPO)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2016, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015/1154 "2016-09-19T04:06:18Z")
> [@Duke\_Sweden](#): > > **Ivan Amodei:** Agreed. I don’t know why he didn’t name Penn’s card at the end. I also was not too crazy about the violin “playing”. > > I hope they give Allyson Hannigan more money for wardrobe next season. Guys can wear the same suit for 40 years but women are funny about wearing the same dress and, in fact, there are a LOT of message boards with people asking why the same dress every week. It’s just odd. He didn’t name Penn’s card because he obviously had no way of knowing what it was .Penn pulled a random card from a deck and put it in his pocket. The magician had no access to the card, and thus pretty much no way to know what he picked. Just seems odd that he had Penn pick a card at all. Perhaps he thought it would be funny to just ask Penn and not guess, but it wasn’t. As discussed earlier in this thread, this is not uncommon on this kind of show. The producers want to be able to edit the acts from one episode to another or use shots from one episode in another. Dragon’s Den (Canada’s Shark Tank - and I’m assuming shark Tank itself as well) does the same thing - in one season, the cast wears the same outfit all season because they don’t want to be locked into being unable to mix and match acts between episodes. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2016, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015/1155 "2016-09-19T04:52:11Z")
With the puzzle guy, did anyone else notice that when the puzzle was first revealed there was a _second_ missing puzzle piece, but then when they cut back to it after the trick was over, the piece was back? I’m guessing that was a mistake and two came off when he removed the cover, it was weird that it was then back in the puzzle after the trick. ---
**Author:** ![allenhuffman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/allenhuffman/32/10361_2.png) [@allenhuffman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/allenhuffman)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2016, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015/1156 "2016-09-19T20:29:48Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > So, the lady with the dictionary trick. > > There is another person in the table, one who is quite thin. The table has more room than it looks, but it is not comfy for the other human in the trick. The box has a trap door, so the individual can pull the book, take the page with the word “gold”, and put it back. She positions the trickee in front of the table to look through the book. Meanwhile, the person in the table has circled “gold”, crumbled it, and handed it to the magician behind the trickee’s back. Or put it in a jar or something. > > Is that it? If you re-watch, notice that when she first picks up the mug/cup thing, it appears to not have a bottom. I noticed that the first time I wanted it, and it made more sense at the end since someone below would have to get the swapped page up from the table “in” to the mug. ---
**Author:** ![tehownt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ee59a6/32.png) [@tehownt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tehownt)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2016, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015/1157 "2016-09-20T02:01:38Z")
I watched the episode with **Ivan Amodei** and there’s definitely a pre-set deck that gets picked up when he picks the cards back from the stool, look at the way his second hand (away from the audience) goes underneath it to slide something, and then he flips the cards upside down. Then it’s just a matter of giving the right cards to the right “group” of people and then “blind naming” 2 out of 3 state per grouping, then guessing the last one since you controlled distribution. ---
**Author:** ![aktep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f0a364/32.png) [@aktep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aktep)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2016, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015/1158 "2016-09-20T04:41:55Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > With the puzzle guy, did anyone else notice that when the puzzle was first revealed there was a _second_ missing puzzle piece, but then when they cut back to it after the trick was over, the piece was back? I’m guessing that was a mistake and two came off when he removed the cover, it was weird that it was then back in the puzzle after the trick. I’m watching it on [CWTV.com](http://CWTV.com) and that doesn’t appear to be the case. There is some bright light shining on a part of the puzzle or two that might look like a missing piece, but it looks like 999 pieces are there. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2016, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015/1159 "2016-09-20T05:31:20Z")
> [@aktep](#): > > I’m watching it on [CWTV.com](http://CWTV.com) and that doesn’t appear to be the case. There is some bright light shining on a part of the puzzle or two that might look like a missing piece, but it looks like 999 pieces are there. After he puts the puzzle piece into place, watch his right hand. He moves his arm back and there is clearly a missing piece behind his arm. ---
**Author:** ![aktep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f0a364/32.png) [@aktep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aktep)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2016, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015/1160 "2016-09-20T05:47:11Z")
Ah, I was looking at the puzzle at the beginning of the trick, when only the correct piece is missing. It does look like his watch / bracelet must pull off another piece accidentally during the big reveal of the other piece fitting into its place. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015.md?page=57) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller-fool-us-us-run-on-cw/695015.md?page=59)