# Penn & Teller **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 4, 2010, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller/534874 "2010-04-04T01:37:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![BrandonR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@BrandonR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrandonR)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2010, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller/534874/21 "2010-04-05T21:29:50Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > And we got to meet them after the show, got our pictures taken with them (on a crappy cellphone camera, but better than nothing). They are just cool guys. > > Highly recommended. They’re at the Rio. Agreed. I saw them this past summer. Had great seats (second row) and I still couldn’t figure out how a single trick was done. They’re amazing. I also liked the meet and greet (and how Penn calls everyone “boss”). ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2010, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller/534874/22 "2010-04-05T21:31:18Z")
I very desperately want a picture taken with Penn & Teller. They’re my heroes. I just hope they’re still in showbiz by the time I get around to being able to afford to go to Vegas. ---
**Author:** ![CutterJohn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/91b2a8/32.png) [@CutterJohn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CutterJohn)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2010, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller/534874/23 "2010-04-05T21:48:17Z")
> [@ArchiveGuy](#): > > I was up pretty close when I saw them at the Rio 6 weeks ago, and that was unquestionably the slight-of-hand trick that impressed me the most. One simple premise, two fishbowls, and an absolutely incredible trick. Wow. Its very impressive, but you see how unnecessarily cloudy the water in the large bowl is? Betcha 10 bucks theres a hidden stash of coins and gold fish behind that cloud. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2010, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller/534874/24 "2010-04-05T21:52:11Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > I seem to recall the Rio’s cocktail waitresses having the most amazing outfits. Boy, you can say that again! :eek: Straight out of Frederick’s of Hollywood. :gulp: I’d never been to the Rio before so I’ll admit to exploring the casino, probably lingering a little more than I ordinarily would’ve because, of, uh, well…:o ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2010, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller/534874/25 "2010-04-05T22:39:36Z")
> [@ArchiveGuy](#): > > Boy, you can say that again! :eek: Straight out of Frederick’s of Hollywood. :gulp: I’d never been to the Rio before so I’ll admit to exploring the casino, probably lingering a little more than I ordinarily would’ve because, of, uh, well…:o I wouldn’t say Fredrick’s, but the outfits (and the women wearing them) would definitely not look out of place on the beaches of Rio. Penn had a wonderful essay about moving to Vegas for the showgirls. He’s 6’ 6" tall and when a guy that tall is with a 5’ tall woman, he’s going to look like a cradle robber. And a 6’ tall showgirl is going to tower over a lot of guys. He said the most beautiful words in the English language are “Ohh! I could wear _heels_ with you!” ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2010, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller/534874/26 "2010-04-05T22:46:49Z")
They made a movie in 1989: [_Penn & Teller Get Killed._](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penn_%26_Teller_Get_Killed) ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2010, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller/534874/27 "2010-04-05T22:47:18Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > I wouldn’t say Fredrick’s, but the outfits (and the women wearing them) would definitely not look out of place on the beaches of Rio. I don’t know. [This](http://blog.vegas.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/bevertainer.jpg) looks a lot more like a negligee than a bathing suit. ---
**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:** [April 5, 2010, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller/534874/28 "2010-04-05T22:53:40Z")
> [@CutterJohn](#): > > Its very impressive, but you see how unnecessarily cloudy the water in the large bowl is? > > Betcha 10 bucks theres a hidden stash of coins and gold fish behind that cloud. I don’t know if the cloudiness is the giveaway there, but it may be part of it. Fish-tank optics are weird. I’ve looked at a fish tank from a corner, and seen the same fish through the front and the side at the same time. The tank in the trick is hexagonal. (At least the three sides we can see look like a hexagon.) I wouldn’t be surprised if the refraction leaves dead spots within the tank that aren’t visible through the sides that face the audience. Whether the coins are hidden in there, I don’t know. Teller could be loading them from a pocket on his suit, too. There’s one nice part where he’s picking coins from her hair and glasses and dropping them in the bowl. I’m pretty sure the coins are in his other hand. He’s holding the bowl with his left hand over the rim; the coins are held bewteen his fingers and the inside of the bowl. When he reaches for her glasses or her hair, and pretends to drop a coin in the bowl with his right hand, his left hand releases a coin that we hear landing in the bowl. ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller/534874/29 "2010-04-06T01:22:48Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > They made a movie in 1989: [_Penn & Teller Get Killed._](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penn_%26_Teller_Get_Killed) That movie convinced me that P & T are two people I wouldn’t want as enemies… Or friends! Fun movie, directed by Arthur Penn who also directed _Alice’s Restaurant_. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller/534874/30 "2010-04-06T01:43:14Z")
> [@ArchiveGuy](#): > > I don’t know. [This](http://blog.vegas.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/bevertainer.jpg) looks a lot more like a negligee than a bathing suit. They have…updated…the outfits. I thought they were impressive _before_. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller/534874/31 "2010-04-06T03:09:32Z")
Any idea if you can get day-of-show tickets for cheaper? I’ve been thinking about going, but Vegas shows are pretty damn expensive. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller/534874/32 "2010-04-06T03:21:54Z")
Crappy cellphone pix but better than nothing: [SWMBO and Penn](http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d97/Clothahump/LisaAndPenn.jpg) [![](https://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d97/Clothahump/ChuckAndTeller.jpg) ](https://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d97/Clothahump/ChuckAndTeller.jpg) **Lanzy** , the fish thing is done with mirrors. But gawds, so skillfully done! And **Mahaloth** , Teller not only talks, but he has a nice voice. Here he is giving a lecture on the [psychology of magic](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5x14AwElOk&feature=PlayList&p=88B98B88F48D1BC0&playnext_from=PL&index=10). ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller/534874/33 "2010-04-06T03:33:53Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > And **Mahaloth** , Teller not only talks, but he has a nice voice. Here he is giving a lecture on the [psychology of magic](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5x14AwElOk&feature=PlayList&p=88B98B88F48D1BC0&playnext_from=PL&index=10). Teller talks and even sings in some shows. He is the voice of Mofo the Psychic Gorilla, a voice of Houdini in their Spirit Cabinet bit. He has a very pleasant tenor voice. He just doesn’t visibly talk on stage. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller/534874/34 "2010-04-06T14:52:21Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > I don’t know if the cloudiness is the giveaway there, but it may be part of it. Fish-tank optics are weird. I’ve looked at a fish tank from a corner, and seen the same fish through the front and the side at the same time. The tank in the trick is hexagonal. (At least the three sides we can see look like a hexagon.) I wouldn’t be surprised if the refraction leaves dead spots within the tank that aren’t visible through the sides that face the audience. > > Whether the coins are hidden in there, I don’t know. Teller could be loading them from a pocket on his suit, too. > > There’s one nice part where he’s picking coins from her hair and glasses and dropping them in the bowl. I’m pretty sure the coins are in his other hand. He’s holding the bowl with his left hand over the rim; the coins are held bewteen his fingers and the inside of the bowl. When he reaches for her glasses or her hair, and pretends to drop a coin in the bowl with his right hand, his left hand releases a coin that we hear landing in the bowl. I can tell that he pulls at least some of the coins from behind the chair that the lady is sitting in; watch his left hand as he leans over sometimes to deposit coins into the fishbowl. He palms a few, turns to the tank to pretend he’s picking them up, and drops them into her bowl. My wife and I went to see them a few days after our Vegas wedding back in 2004. They were indeed extremely nice and approachable after the show. I’m a pretty big guy, and Penn is an inch or two taller than me, which was impressive. I don’t know if they still do this, but their first trick at our show was an escape from two boxes, one wood and one lucite; they encouraged people to come onto the stage before the show and examine the boxes at their leisure. I remember seeing a documentary about magic years ago, where Teller told (yes, he talked) of how he used to practice palming things: he’d take a small household object, such as a tiny wrench, put it in his palm, and basically walk around all day with it, going through his normal routine, performing everyday tasks, trying to appear as natural as possible. I reckon if you can palm something for 10-12 hours at a stretch, it gets to be second nature. ---
**Author:** ![Serenata67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/serenata67/32/10646_2.png) [@Serenata67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Serenata67)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller/534874/35 "2010-04-06T16:59:45Z")
I love them! If I get the chance to get to Vegas in the near future, I’m making sure I go see them. ---
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller/534874/36 "2010-04-06T17:09:32Z")
I have seen them twice, once at the Rio and once on tour, both times were amazing and I would go see them again in a heartbeat. The last time I saw them they picked my wife from the audience to do their knife throwing routine with them. That was, hands down, the coolest part of the whole trip. On a side note, the Rio was a great hotel to visit. I hadn’t been before then, but was very impressed and plan on staying there the next time I make it out to Vegas. We had one of the best meals of that whole trip in their coffee shop before the show. ---
**Author:** ![BrandonR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@BrandonR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrandonR)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller/534874/37 "2010-04-06T20:34:23Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > Any idea if you can get day-of-show tickets for cheaper? I’ve been thinking about going, but Vegas shows are pretty damn expensive. Not sure, but I did the opposite and booked way in advance and was able to get the “VIP seats” (basically the first couple of rows that are reserved and sold at higher prices) for the same price as normal seats. Still, there quite a few empty seats in the theater so I’m not sure if they sell those at lower costs… ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller/534874/38 "2010-04-06T23:26:09Z")
> [@BrandonR](#): > > Not sure, but I did the opposite and booked way in advance and was able to get the “VIP seats” (basically the first couple of rows that are reserved and sold at higher prices) for the same price as normal seats. Still, there quite a few empty seats in the theater so I’m not sure if they sell those at lower costs… I’m pretty sure those are held as comps for play at the casino. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Miskatonic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.miskatonic/32/310_2.png) [@Mr.Miskatonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Miskatonic)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller/534874/39 "2010-04-07T01:03:03Z")
Go on youtube and type ‘Teller Speaks’. There a bunch of stuff where he is talking. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/penn-teller/534874.md?page=1)