Science & Math Tricks

A selective history of magic squares and routines and performances which are somewhat unusual and different from the regular magic square presentation of 'give me a number and I write down a magic square of that number'.

• Brother Can You Paradigm? (Jon Racherbaumer)
• Harried History of the Magic Square
  • B.A. (Before Annemann)
  • 1930 – Present
  • Wise-Guy Square
• Kick-Starters
  • Okey-Sidokey
  • Charlier Shuffle
• Miscellaneous Matrix Trix
  • Phoning Marrakech
  • Squaring the Deal
  • Upside Down
  • Cool Things about the Magic Square
  • Harry Ending
• References

1st edition 2008, PDF 31 pages....

Quodlibet literally means "what you like, or what you prefer" and is the theme that links the two publications that bear this name, the first dedicated to an evolution of the numerical tables and a development of the principle applied to a 52-card deck, and the latter Quodlibet 2, which proposes the Tarot version.

An upturned Tarot deck is placed on the table in full view; a spectator will be asked to choose only mentally any one of the 78 Arcana, of the major or minor series as he or she prefers, and to concentrate on it. The spectator will be handed a series of seven folders depicting...

With this work I wanted to celebrate the famous number tables, protagonists of the game "Guess your age". I thought that this game, considered the 'oldest mentalism effect', could be improved and that that weak magic effect could be transformed into something powerful, without increasing the difficulty of execution. By accentuating certain qualities of the principle that governs them, I developed the new cards, the evolved version of the number tables. Everyone knows the classic version of the game: a spectator chooses a number and indicates which and how many tables it is on, the mentalist...

Containing over one hundred highly amusing and instructive tricks with chemicals.

• Chemical Affinity
• Sympathetic Inks
• Alum Baskets
• Easy Crystallizations
• To Make a piece of Charcoal appear as though it were Coated with Gold
• To Give a Piece of Charcoal a Rich Coat of Silver
• Combustion
• Chemistry of The Air
• Amateur Air Pump
• Asphyxia
• Balloon in Vacuum
• Boiling Cold Water
• A Sucking Tube
• Cupping
• The Barometer
• A Novel Barometer
• Compressed Air
• Noiseless Bell
• The Bursting Bladder
• Weight of the Air
• Spoons which will Melt in Hot Water
• Effect of Compression
• To Cover Iron with Copper ...

Containing complete instructions for performing over sixty ingenious mechanical tricks.

• The Pile of Draughtsmen
• The Decanter, Card, and Coin
• A Clever Blow
• The Obedient Coin
• To Cut a String With Your Hands
• The Rebound
• A Fiery Catapult
• To Make an Exact Balance
• The Recomposition of Light
• The Mysterious Apple
• Economical Letter-Scales
• Tracing a Spiral
• The Inclined Plane
• To Cut a Bottle With a String
• Equilibrium of a Knife in Mid-Air
• A Trick With Four Matches
• The Distance of an Inaccessable Point
• Practical Tracing of a Meridian Line
• To Measure the Height of a Mountain
• To Take...

A collection of simple and effective experiments illustrating chemical, physical, and optical wonders.

Published by the Offices of the Chemist and Druggist. 42 Cannon Street, London.

• ANCIENT AND MODERN CHEMISTRY
  • 'The Four Elements'
  • Collecting Gases
• EXPERIMENTS WITH THE GASES
  • Oxygen
  • Nitrogen
  • Hydrogen
  • Experiments With Hydrogen
  • Composition Of Water
  • Making Gas From A Bottle
  • A Model Gas Manufactory
  • Inextinguishable Flame
  • Gas Balloons
  • Musical Flame
  • Musical Tubes
  • Carbonic Acid Gas
  • Carbonic Acid Gas From The Lungs
  • Combustion And Respiration
  • Decantation Of Gases
  • Weighing...

The number 9 is, for magicians and illusionists, a truly magical number: there are countless effects based on its multiple properties. In this e-book, I have collected some effects, more or less significant, with the aim of analyzing the various principles in general terms, in order to fully understand them and be able to apply them independently in new routines.

THOUSAND AND NO MORE THOUSAND: perhaps one of the best known "numeric" impromptu effects which, however, always obtains great success: we use it precisely to introduce comments on the magical properties of number 9.

THE UNIVERSE...

A nicely produced collection of mostly puzzles, brainteasers, and some which could be performed as magic tricks. In total there are 36 problems. Solutions are provided for all of them.

1st edition 1896, 12 pages of problems, 2 pages of answers.

An entertaining monte effect where the spectator, not the performer, switches the positions of the cards (which may be borrowed).

Here's another mental stunner by Bob Hummer and it's one of the most baffling he's ever released. Briefly, it can be done with any deck, and only three cards are used - any three cards. The performer does not switch the cards around, as in the regular monte. It's the spectator who mixes the position of the cards - while the performer's back is turned. After the cards are mixed as much as desired, the spectator peeks at one card, remembers it, and then makes a...

"Chance does not exist, and what seems to us casual springs from the deepest sources" (Friedrich Schiller).

Surely it has happened to you that a book or an advertisement gave you the answer to that doubt that was hammering you or you happened to call a person on the phone at the same moment in which he was calling you or to have had an unexpected meeting in an unexpected place or meeting just the person you needed at that exact moment. These are not randomness, but synchronicity, one of the most enigmatic and surprising aspects of this universe.

According to Carl Gustav Jung, the term...

Leonardo Pisano known as Fibonacci (Pisa, ~ September 1170 - Pisa, ~1242) was an Italian mathematician, and is known above all for the sequence of numbers identified by him and known, in fact, as the "Fibonacci sequence" - 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89 ... - in each term, apart from the first two, is the sum of the two preceding it.

A peculiarity of the Fibonacci sequence is that the ratio between the successive pairs of terms tends very rapidly to the number 1.61803 ..., known as the golden ratio or golden section. The applications are innumerable: in chemistry, botany, the human...

A university professor of mathematics takes on tricks based on math.

From the preface:

Six poker chips, bearing the numbers 0 to ten are examined and mixed by a spectator. The spectator lays them on a table with no interference from the mentalist. While the performer's back is turned, the spectator turns over some chips. Three more are turned over and covered with a playing card, business card, or beer coaster. The performer turns around and, with no false moves or skulduggery, announces the total of the chips beneath the cards. It's that clean. And, surprisingly, it can be instantly repeated, with a different result.

Just the thing for parties, get-togethers, and bars, while...

A proposition bet is one which appears to give the taker an even chance and at times the best of it, but does just the opposite. Like con men, proposition gamblers pretend to be pleasant, friendly, easy-going, good fellows who would never think of double-crossing anyone. They also usually pretend that their prepared proposition bets are something they just happened to think up on the spot. They take great pleasure in beating seasoned gamblers; money is not the main objective. It's the prestige and self-satisfaction they derive from having outsmarted a top gambler, be he friend or foe.

While...

A new method to quickly and secretly arrange cards from a small pack all the way to a full deck. No math needed unless you want to understand why it works.

Within magic, no mind approaches Bob Farmer's. Outside magic, Machiavelli came close. The evidence is presented in "The Bammo Tarodiction Toolbox." - Stephen Minch

Bob Farmer's Bammo Tarodiction Toolbox is both a great trick and a genuinely new method for secretly arranging cards quickly, accurately, and right in front of the spectators' noses. - Matthew Field

About what you'd expect from the guy who invented that stupid little hand trick. -...

Geometry is one of the most logical human pursuits. Geometry can also be deceiving, and magicians use it to create the illusion of magic. This ebook discusses magic tricks based on geometric vanishes, also known as the Missing Square Puzzle. These magic tricks have recently become wildly popular with millions of views on YouTube.

These magic tricks evolved from a mathematical error to an apparent paradox. Magicians have added layers of deception to turn mathematics into a piece of theatre. This ebook discusses the history and principles of the three types of geometric vanishes:

• The Vanishing...

This is an impressive prediction. It has fried the minds of lay people and fooled almost every magician or mentalist, I have shown this to. Many magician's say they can't fool their wives. I guarantee this is one effect she will be totally baffled by. This effect is so amazing, that you will fool yourself each time you do it wondering how such a thing is possible. Yet the effect is completely self-working with no skill or sleights.

EFFECT: Using a borrowed deck (if desired) the mentalist instructs a spectator to deal a poker hand consisting of a straight hand in a horizontal row. For example;...

Mental mathematical magic

A slim book, yet it contains some of the most entertaining effects with numbers ever devised. An ebook devoted to an entirely different branch of magical entertainment that, prior to its release, had never been published before. This ebook opens up a new and unique field to any entertainer. Any person of average intelligence can perform the various effects. No apparatus necessary, except for a blackboard, white board or flip chart and a writing utensil. With this ebook, anyone can produce both laughter and surprise and create a riot at any evening party with the...

A spectator populates a row of a 4x4 square with any four numbers. You fill out the remaining 12 squares in seconds to construct a magic square. Does not require any math.

This has become my favorite impromptu magic square effect, because it is easier than a classic magic square - there is literally no math, unless you consider counting up or down by one math - and it produces a stronger effect with spectators. Thus a win-win all around.

The effect: Take any piece of paper, for example the backside of a restaurant receipt, and draw an empty 4x4 square. Then ask a spectator to fill in any...

All 9 ebooks on magic squares by Werner Miller.

Find any card a spectator takes from a borrowed and shuffled pack.

EFFECT: The magician tells his audience he has trained his mind to work like a computer. To demonstrate its computer-like capabilities, he asks a spectator to shuffle a pack of cards then, without looking at it, remove one card and place it in his pocket. Taking back the pack, the performer runs through it quickly, then goes through it again even more quickly and pulls out one card which he places face down on the table. The spectator removes his card from his pocket and places it face-up alongside the magician's card, then...

In this volume Werner Miller discusses in particular the so called perimeter magic squares. He even invented a new type the Siamese perimeter magic square - only here with Werner 'magic square' Miller.

1st edition 2018, 14 pages.

An apparent demonstration of superior brain power.

Any number between 1 and 100 is cubed by a spectator, and the final result called aloud. The performer immediately extracts the cube root of this number without the use of electronics, stooges, or gimmicks. The calculation is performed immediately and entirely in the performer's mind, thanks to the secret master key.

This feat, performed on paper after a lengthy effort by a spectator, is considered quite an accomplishment, but performed instantly, it is a sensation. Performer knows only the number submitted by the spectator, and immediately...

There would hardly be any mentalist or magician who would not be familiar with the old and well known 1089 force. At the same time, there would also hardly be any mentalist or magician who still uses this force in the old standard manner. In that sense this force seems dated.

But throughout the history of magic, this unique force has been extremely fascinating both mathematically and magically.

Here are some fresh and novel ideas related to this force which you can actually go out and use right today. There are 6 different ideas which are innovative and allow you to create full routines...

A classic treatise on magic squares and related arrangements of numbers.

• Publishers' Preface
• Introduction
• Chapter I. Magic Squares
  • The Essential Characteristics Of Magic Squares
  • Associated Or Regular Magic Squares Of Odd Numbers
  • Associated Or Regular Magic Squares Of Even Numbers
  • The Construction Of Even Magic Squares By De La Hire's Method
  • Composite Magic Squares
  • Concentric Magic Squares
  • General Notes On The Construction Of Magic Squares
• Chapter II. Magic Cubes
  • The Essential Characteristics Of Magic Cubes
  • Associated Or Regular Magic Cubes Of Odd Numbers
  • Associated Or Regular...

Stage, parlor and impromptu scripts, handlings, and a spreadsheet calculator for the Magic Matrix. A devilishly clever was to force numbers.

"Ognib" is "Bingo" in reverse, is a method also known under the name "Magic Matrix" (see Martin Gardner).

A complete script, handling, and a spreadsheet calculator. Handlings included for stage, parlor and impromptu.

The magician shows a handful of printed numeric grids. The magician then has 4 spectators decide on one of the grids. Using the chosen grid, they then pick 4 numbers from the grid. The 4 numbers that were chosen - when added together - totals up...

Among other effects, Werner Miller explores the old age cards trick and stretches it into new and so far unexplored directions including versions where the spectator is allowed to lie.

• Leporello
• Ternary Number Compass
• Binary Number Compass
• Binary Card Compass
• Binary Card Cube
• Aside From Binary and Ternary
• Extensions
• OWLright
• Four Questions
• Seven Questions
• Four Ins, One Out
• Off-Form Psychic
• No Milk Today
• ESPiatnik
• Do You Play Cards?
• Lady First
• amBiguous
• Instant Sudoku
• Swindle Sudoku II
• 2ZZ

1st edition 2018, 44 pages.

This is a wonderful book covering several classic math based tricks, such as magic squares, day for any date (calendar calculations), and also several uncommon ones. It also includes the first publication of the Fitch Cheney Five Card Trick under the effect name "Telephone Stud".

• Preface
• I Cryptesthesia
• II The Magic Square
• III Mnemonics With Figures
• IV Spelling The Cards
• V Bank Night With Seven Cards
• VI Some Odd Formulas
• VII New Dresses For Old Tricks
• VIII Fakerithmetic
• IX Multiplying On The Fingers
• X Mind Reading At The Blackboard
• XI Match Puzzle
• XII Spelling Thoughts
• XIII Casting Out The Nines
• XIV Telephone...

Even more magic squares with playing cards.

1st edition 2017; 12 pages.

Even more effects with magic squares.

1st edition 2017; 13 pages.

Providing the weekday for a given date has never been easier. Day For Any Date for the Million selects ideas from different methods to achieve a synthesis that renders a difficult process absolutely simple. The inclusion of a prop that can be accommodated on the back of a business card does away with the cumbersome and numerous steps that were usually necessary.

"The Day For Any Date is a classic effect that warrants the best methods available. Federico provides them with an innovative prop and clear instructions on how to succeed with accuracy, quickness and ease. The result is a comfort...

"I just got this today, it's great! Sometimes, the simple tricks are the best. I've already shown it to some people, and it really DOES get a big laugh. Thanks!" - Dave D.

The date 1514 A.D. means something to you? It's possible to construct lightning-fast a magic square on the backside of a business card and hand it out as giveaway. This is by far the best ebook on magic squares for the mental entertainer. Melencolia I - Magic Squares for the Mental Entertainer becomes a modern classic. It is without a doubt an essential work in this field of mentalism on mostly unknown, smart and unforgettable methods for 4x4, 5x5 and 6x6 Magic Squares.

Table of Contents:

• Introduction
• Part I - Dürer-type magic square
  1. Construction of the Dürer magic square

Two ebooks on instant magic square effects for one low price.

In this sequel to his 2011 ebook Mostly Perfect, Michael Daniels presents a new 'Instant Magic Square' method that makes the effect even easier to perform.

Effect

Performer instantly creates a 4x4 Magic Square for any total freely chosen by the spectator. The total can be obtained from the magic square in at least 36 different ways.

• Completely impromptu. No set-up, gimmicks, or cribs.
• New, improved method - minimal memory and the simplest of calculations.
• Suitable for close-up or stage performances.
• Produces elegant magic squares.
• Can be immediately repeated for different totals.
• Includes a...

The owners of Square Thrills can get this ebook for half price.

This is not about construction of a magic square. This is about presenting and representing a magic square in such a manner that the audience cannot uncover your secrets by doing a simple search on the internet, which is what is happening to most of the magic square routines these days.

5 solutions for alternative presentations/representations for a magic square are provided along with some bonus ideas.

A novel and self working routine is included which uses the magic square principles in a clever and unconventional manner but does not...

The performer selects a participant from the audience (no stooges, no pre-show) who is asked to think of a significant date in his/her life (nothing is written down nor told to anyone).

The participant divides three numbers into the thought of date and the performer interprets the results as Pythagoras (the Father of Numerology) would have to reveal aspects of the participant's past, present, and future. Then, he surprises every one by revealing the thought of date!

This is one of several presentations described in this e-book, including one contributed by the Unknown Mentalist. The method is a sophisticated...

Bruce Carlley is going to show you a number of games that the magician or gambler plays against a spectator one on one. The spectator gets a free choice of the objects that are used in the gambling game. (Some games use cards, dice, pieces of paper, spinners, etc.) For example, say the spectator has a choice of four dice. Spectator picks one die and the magician picks one die. Each rolls their die, and the high number wins. Whoever wins a best of 12 game match wins the game. Unfortunately for the spectator, the magician will almost always win the match. The probability will ALWAYS be in the...

From the introduction:

Amusing Experiments in Physics, Chemistry and Geometry

The title is a little bit misleading, because there are no real magic tricks in this book, at least not the kind that a magician would assume. It is essentially a book of 'kitchen' science experiments. Some of these experiments can of course be presented like a magic trick. But the majority of them are simply interesting or surprising science experiments which can be done at home with a little bit of preparation.

From the preface:

This ebook describes a host of chemical experiments which can be presented as magic tricks or surprising science experiments. It is a reproduction of an old book and therefore some of these experiments require exotic chemicals, some of which are toxic or can be harmful in many other ways. If you intend to replicate any of these experiments you must follow all laws and regulations and you are on your own in terms of any liabilities. We are reproducing this book for historic and information purposes.

Contents:

• Wine and water and other transmutations of liquid colors
• Disappearing and reappearing...

When this idea popped into my head I could not wait to try it out. I had a show the very next day and put this routine in. It was a storming success. You will not find any new methods here, although the principles in use are very well hidden. What you will find is a concept and presentation that I think is VERY special.

Recently thoughts regarding my own act have turned to making the whole performance more of an experience for EVERYONE in the audience. Performers who use any Q&A routine know that one of the appeals of such a routine is that it is a "Macro" effect. In other words everyone...

Proof is a collection of strange mathematical proofs where you can show, convincingly, that things are not always what they seem. To most people, the idea that 'minus one' is equal to 'one' might sound barmy, or that Pi=2, or 4, or that 4=5, but that is what you will be able to prove with this video.

Ian has been using some of these diversions for well over thirty years, and he can attest to how much fun they are to demonstrate. They are not 'performance pieces' - by that he means that they would not fit into a traditional magic show, but as an impromptu moment of strange, they are perfect....