# Uri Geller's shenanigans **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 8, 2000, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uri-gellers-shenanigans/6041 "2000-01-08T03:28:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**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:** [January 8, 2000, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uri-gellers-shenanigans/6041/1 "2000-01-08T03:28:00Z")
I saw UG on the Tonight Show, and he reproduced the secret drawing of Tim Robbins, and made “broken” watches start running. Any ideas of how he got the drawing? I assume the watches simply were running in the first place, or else he placed some fine ones in there with the stem pulled, and he simply pushed it in while holding it. As for the drawing, it was a nice trick, since his chances without preparation are the proverbial one in a million. Did he simply get a report from someone in the room? Any magicians out there, or anyone familiar with UG and his methods? ---
**Author:** ![dasmoocher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dbc845/32.png) [@dasmoocher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dasmoocher)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2000, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uri-gellers-shenanigans/6041/2 "2000-01-08T03:49:00Z")
Where’s Dave B? This is right up his alley. I almost watched the Tonight Show for Uri, considering his last performance on it, but I needed to get to bed. Now that Johnny is gone, Uri’s got a new host to play with. I saw a new book out while I was shopping for Xmas about how Geller’s miracles are unexplained by science. I thought it might have been good as a pick from the humor section; since AFAIK these are the same bullshit experiments done at Stanford in the 70’s that have no validity. And, I’d rather not justify the book by buying it. ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_Bowe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df788c/32.png) [@Doug\_Bowe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_Bowe)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2000, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uri-gellers-shenanigans/6041/3 "2000-01-08T04:08:00Z")
It’s ironic that Geller makes an appearance on “The Tonight Show.” A long, long time ago Carson employed the help of Randi to set up some “experiments” that Uri wasn’t made aware of. Uri failed the tests on late night TV. Early in his career Johnny Carson was a magician. While he loves a good magic show as much as anyone he _didn’t_ like people representing their illusions as real. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2000, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uri-gellers-shenanigans/6041/4 "2000-01-08T04:11:00Z")
I didn’t see the show, but was the drawing trick anything like the one where the magician predicts what headline will be on a newspaper days beforehand? I know how this trick works. Usually, the magician finds out the days’s headline before the show, writes a correct prediction based on this, and uses sleight-of-hand to switch this for the WAG he made days ago. Does this sound like it could have been adapted by Geller for this trick? * * * –It was recently discovered that research causes cancer in rats. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2000, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uri-gellers-shenanigans/6041/5 "2000-01-08T13:23:00Z")
I love this stuff - discovering how these guys do their tricks is cool. I saw Uri do this trick on another show recently, and he drew a dog. The top half of the dog matched perfectly with the other person’s picture, suggesting to me he traced it quickly at some point or could see a faint image through the envelope. * * * **-PIGEONMAN-** Returning Soon! [The Legend Of PigeonMan](http://www.hotkey.net.au/~guanolad/pigeonman/) - **Watch this space…!** Great things are afoot! ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2000, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uri-gellers-shenanigans/6041/6 "2000-01-08T16:02:00Z")
the newsgroup, not the web site, alt.magic.secrets uncovers anything & everything. ---
**Author:** ![David\_B](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/51bf81/32.png) [@David\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_B)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2000, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uri-gellers-shenanigans/6041/7 "2000-01-08T16:42:00Z")
I missed the show (was informed about it some 8 hours too late), but heard a bit about it. Suffice it to say there are a number of skeptics who are really pissed off at the way Leno let him just go along happily without any threat of being exposed – unlike Carson. I need to get more info on exactly what tricks he did before I can speak more on how they were done, though. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2000, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uri-gellers-shenanigans/6041/8 "2000-01-08T21:19:00Z")
I was mad about that,too,David.It seemed like Uri was off his meds that night! ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Sheepshead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ccd318/32.png) [@Mr.Sheepshead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Sheepshead)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2000, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uri-gellers-shenanigans/6041/9 "2000-01-09T19:35:00Z")
Haven’t we had enough of this guy? Ugh. For what it’s worth [here’s a link](http://abcnews.go.com/sections/us/wolffiles/wolffiles.html) to a story about Geller suing Nintendo because of a certain anti-Geller Pokemon… what a joke. ---
**Author:** ![jane\_says](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/47e85d/32.png) [@jane\_says](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jane_says)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2000, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uri-gellers-shenanigans/6041/10 "2000-01-09T20:11:00Z")
I would like to preface this by saying two things. First is that James Randi is my hero. I have an e-mail that he sent me about a year or so ago that I reread often and treasure. Second is that I have never known my mother to tell a lie. Anyhoo, she watched Uri during his first appearance on the Tonight Show. She had one of those old “digital-look” alarm clocks that had each number on a little card that would flip over when the time changed. She had dropped it about a week earlier and could not get it to work. She held it up to the screen during his anyone-with-a-broken-timepiece bit, and she swears to God it began running again once she plugged it back in. I personally can’t guarantee that it happened, but both she and my father, who witnessed the event, truly believe it. I do know that we had that same clock for years, and I remember it seeing it as a child. My mom claims it was the same clock. What a choice - believe your own mother or the Amazing Randi. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2000, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uri-gellers-shenanigans/6041/11 "2000-01-09T20:18:00Z")
> [@](#): > > …a story about Geller suing Nintendo because of a certain anti-Geller Pokemon… LOL! Geller thinks the Pokemon “Kadabra” looks like him? Hmm…Kadabra has the psychic power to induce headaches in opponents. Geller has the power to induce headaches in critics by trying to pass of stage magic as actual paranormal activity. On second thought, he may have something. * * * –It was recently discovered that research causes cancer in rats. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2000, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uri-gellers-shenanigans/6041/12 "2000-01-10T05:09:00Z")
James Randi also wrote a book called The Truth About Uri Geller (updated from The Magic Of Uri Geller). ISBN0-87975-199-1 Randi’s web site is [http://www.randi.org/](http://www.randi.org/) ---
**Author:** ![David\_B](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/51bf81/32.png) [@David\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_B)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2000, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uri-gellers-shenanigans/6041/13 "2000-01-10T17:57:00Z")
Jane, there is no reason you can’t believe you mother _and_ Randi. Just because she did everything she said doesn’t mean Geller’s magical powers healed the clock. Lots of problems like that are caused by something just jolting out of place, and handling the clock can fix it. For example, I have a tape recorder we use to play lullabyes for my son. Sometimes it stops working. I jiggle it a bit and it works. If I had just said, “Oh, it’s broken” and put it away 'til Geller came on TV, when I picked it up and took it to the TV, it might have worked just as well. This is the deal with many of his “watch” tricks as well. A lot of watches will stop, but will start up again when handled. Funny how often he uses watches to show his powers, eh? ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2000, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uri-gellers-shenanigans/6041/14 "2000-01-10T19:02:00Z")
Ah,but can Uri make David B. be nice to Phaedrus? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2000, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uri-gellers-shenanigans/6041/15 "2000-01-10T23:58:00Z")
My mom has basically the same story of Geller “fixing” her watch. The way I think of it is that there must have been thousands of people handling their 'pieces in front of the set during that moment. Some are going to start working as David B described, and those people are going to remember that event very clearly. Much fewer people for whom nothing happened are going to remember it. Yes, some will, I know. But it will be a smaller percentage. ---
**Author:** ![dasmoocher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dbc845/32.png) [@dasmoocher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dasmoocher)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2000, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uri-gellers-shenanigans/6041/16 "2000-01-11T03:06:00Z")
With regard to pychically reproducing a drawing done by a subject, I seem to recall that Gellar watches the person’s pencil while they’re drawing it. The drawing might be hidden, but the pencil’s eraser is in view. I’m not sure if this is how he does it, but if the drawing is simple enough, he might be able to come up with a “reasonable” facsimile. He’s not reproducing M.C. Escher here. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Angel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d26b3c/32.png) [@Johnny\_Angel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Angel)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2000, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uri-gellers-shenanigans/6041/17 "2000-01-11T03:46:00Z")
Funny how the study of magic tends to produce skeptics. I discovered at a young age that slight of hand and a glib tongue could produce a sense of miracle in others. I never trusted miracles after that. And I think that’s why the great opponents of these hokum artists are the magicians like Randi or Houdini. It’s no coincidence. ---
**Author:** ![Alphagene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Alphagene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alphagene)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2000, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uri-gellers-shenanigans/6041/18 "2000-01-11T05:45:00Z")
Kadabra and Geller, separated at birth? [http://www.tcom.co.uk/hpnet/gallery/pics/uri2.jpg](http://www.tcom.co.uk/hpnet/gallery/pics/uri2.jpg) [http://www2.pokemon.com/pokedex/images/char\_064.gif](http://www2.pokemon.com/pokedex/images/char_064.gif) The spoon’s a nice touch, IMHO. * * * I’m not perky. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2000, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uri-gellers-shenanigans/6041/19 "2000-01-11T14:32:00Z")
OK, serious question: Why do people get so worked up over Geller? People haven’t historically gotten upset with psychic entertainers/magicians: Houdini, Kuda Bux, the Blackstones, Henning, Copperfield, Kreskin, etc. What’s different with Geller? ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2000, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uri-gellers-shenanigans/6041/20 "2000-01-11T14:40:00Z")
**Mjollnir** , it is because Geller does not present himself as a magician or an illusionist. He is a piss-poor conjurer as it stands, but what rankles folks is that he claims to have _real psychic powers_. ## He managed to bamboozle a few scientists back in the 70s, but I had thought he was thouroughly discredited years ago. Strange how his inexplicable powers vanish in the presence of people who know stage magic. Must be the Observer Effect or Psi-Shyness. Dr. Fidelius, Charlatan Associate Curator Anomalous Paleontology, Miskatonic University “You cannot reason a man out of a position he did not reach through reason.” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uri-gellers-shenanigans/6041.md?page=2)