Another bar bet: (this one is not always a sure thing–you should do some research first!) Point at an expensive bottle of wine or champagne, and make a bet that you can drink from the bottle without opening it.
When someone takes you up on it, ask for the bottle. Turn it over, pour some water into the dimple* on the bottom. Take a drink, and collect your money.
*aka punt or kick-up
You need three pint glasses (or any heavy glass), three knives, and something else that’s heavy (a ketchup bottle or a fourth glass. Position the three glasses such that they are in a triangle, just slightly further apart than a knife-length. Bet someone that you can support the object in the air, in the middle of the glasses, using only the three knives. (You can make it a challange instead of a bet.)
There is no “magic” trick - it’s just engineering. You need to be able to “weave” the ends of the knives together so that they form a small triangle, with the rest sticking out. (Tip under one knife, 2 inches back from that knife’s tip, for all three knives.) You should be able to rest the “bridge” on the three glasses, then place the remaining one on top.
I love Penn Gilette and his partner Teller, but those tricks didn’t originate with them. I 've seen them in plenty of books.
I DID learn the following trick from Penn and Teller.
You need at least two old keys, ones that you don’t need anymore. Pass the keys around, invite the audience to study them both to be sure that they haven’t been altered to make the trick work, and to be sure that you don’t substitute a second set of keys for the “after” set.
Explain that you have psychic powers. Claim that you can bend metal with your mind. Put the keys in one hand and close your fingers over them. When you do this, subtly arrange the keys so that end of one key is in one of the holes on the head of another key.
Fake a chant. Close your eyes and grunt. Ask the audience to chant and concetrate with you. As you do all that, slowly squeeze down on the keys.
Pull the keys loose from each other, and open your fingers.
This is one from Harry the Hat…
Go to a bar (perhaps one where everyone knows your name…) and have the bartender pour a shot for you and leave it on the bar. Put your hat over it, covering it from view, and bet your mark $10 that you can drink the glass empty without touching the hat. When someone takes the bet, kneel down below the bar and make “Glug glug glug” sounds.
Stand up again, wiping your mouth and smacking your lips and proclaim that it was an excellent drink. You will immediately be told “You didn’t drink anything”
Shrug, point to the hat and and say “See for yourself.”
Your victim (if he’s not smart) will confidently pick up the hat, revealing your undrunk drink. You simply pick up the glass at that point and drink the glass dry, never touching the hat. Collect your winnings.
If you’re feeling generous and want to have a little more fun, challenge your victim to the same bet, but let him do it. Pour the drink, and cover it with the hat as before. When your victim ducks below the bar to have his drink (glug glug glug) quickly pick up the drink, shoot it, and replace the empty glass back under the hat.
When the victim stands up again, confidently pick up the hat – and look STUNNED at the empty shot glass. Tell him “I don’t know how you did that, but it was certainly worth $10…”
Cheers,
EZ
I would if I had even known they did them. But, I learned all of those tricks sitting in a booth at Village Inn nightly over 3 years of high school, either through experimentation or from others.
But I will say that Penn & Teller are the best performers I have ever seen in my life and I recommend others to find out all about them. You like tricks? They gots them some great ones!
-Tcat