Science & Math Tricks

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...

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...

I rarely get to work on my own creations these days. 911 Summing is one of those rare occasions. It is an effect and method I have created more than 20 years ago. Both the effect and the method are to the best of my knowledge completely new and have never been published before.

This is a math effect I have had a lot of fun with. It can even be performed as puzzle challenge rather than a magic effect. I have performed this for people twice as smart as myself - engineers, scientists, researchers, professors - you name it. Not once has anybody figured out how it is done, even though, the principle...

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.

With contributions by Werner Miller, Max Maven and Shigeo Futagawa.

The day was March 6th 2011 when Werner Miller sent me his Da Capo 3 and Da Capo 4 ebooks. Whenever I receive something from Werner I make time to read it. He has a knack to incorporate new twists and takes, or entirely new principles which stimulate my own grey cells.

Browsing Da Capo 3 I stumbled on an unusual effect which Werner titled "Pointing the Way". It was first published in 2001 in Club 71. This effect consisted of two parts. One was a printing effect where blank cards were shown, which later had arrows printed on them. This part of the effect was nothing special, the usual...

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...

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...

Do-It-Yourself: "Trick-Out" Your Calculator

With a Psychic Calculator you can create endless mind-reading, prediction, and magic effects - a mentalist dream come true.

Don't pay up to $300 or more for a Mentalist or Psychic Calculator when you can make your own in less than 30 minutes, for under $10 (including the price of the calculator!), plus the use of just a few common household items. No knowledge of electronics needed - just the proper know-how.

This ebook will give you the "details in detail" with over 20 step-by-step photos and illustrations that will guarantee your success. ...

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...

"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.

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...

The classic "Day For Any Date" feat has been updated!

Day One is a new approach to appearing as a human calendar. You ask for the year and month of the spectator's birthday, and instantly create that month's calendar for them on the back of your business card.

Day One is designed to be simple to learn, as well as quick and impressive to perform.

The role of math and mnemonics has been greatly simplified and minimized, and you don't need any previous experience with other mnemonic systems. Entire centuries are covered with less than a third of the mnemonics required by other approaches....

This is a magic square effect where spectators freely enter numbers in the main diagonal and you quickly fill out the rest of the numbers producing a perfect magic square.

Alternatively you could perform this the classic way that a spectator calls out a number and you fill in all the numbers to form a magic square. But the effect is stronger if your audience can freely choose not just the sum but several numbers in the square. In a variation Werner shows you how spectators can even select the squares where you should next enter a number during your fill-out sequence.

The method is so simple...

All 9 ebooks on magic squares by Werner Miller.

Here Werner Miller attacks the 4x4 square. (E-Z Square 1 deals with the 5x5 square.). You will learn a new and easy method to construct a 4x4 magic square starting with two or four given numbers.

The real gem in this manuscript is the bonus routine. It is a unique presentation which makes your work simpler and allows you to predict the sum of the square. The effect is as follows:

Take out a soft measuring tape of the kind tailors use (which has centimeters or inches marked on both sides), and a prediction. Give the prediction to a spectator for safekeeping. You will never touch it again. Have two...

How to complete a 4x4 grid to get a magic square, when the four center numbers or the four corner numbers are given? You will learn two methods, applications and an interesting take on the birthday square based on an idea by Nico Reuter.

1st edition 2011; 21 pages.

"The hallmark of all the E-Z Square is their clarity of magic square instruction, as well as a selection of variations that's enough to start your mind racing with presentational possibilities." - Scott Cram

1st edition 2011; 16 pages.

After seeing a performance of Richard Wiseman's Grid, which shares some commonalities with Chris Wasshuber's The Ultimate Magic Square, Werner Miller was inspired to come up with his take on 'magic squares made from cards' ...

The spectator decides on a number, and you produce instantly a magic square that has the spectator's number as its constant – simply by dealing out 16 or 25 ordinary playing cards.

As an example here is the detailed effect for variation 2: Take out a deck of cards, give it a quick shuffle and then offer the spectator the deck for a cut. The spectator cuts off a portion of the deck and counts the amount...

This will most likely be Werner Miller's last installment in his E-Z Square series. In this ebook he revisits several of the routines he published before, but finds ways to simplify them further or structure them in a cleaner and clearer way. He does that with a Birthday Square, a routine involving a measuring tape, and magic squares using cards.

As a bonus Werner includes several magic square puzzles.

1st edition 2013; 15 pages.

Even more effects with magic squares.

1st edition 2017; 13 pages.

Even more magic squares with playing cards.

1st edition 2017; 12 pages.

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.

This was Werner Miller's first English publication and it holds 51 astonishing tricks, all based on clever mathematical principles. You will find next to tricks with cards, numbers, and dice also topological tricks with paper and cardboard.

One of my favorite tricks is called "Quick Change Square" where a 4x4 square changes from a non-magic square to a magic square in a flash. In "Crazy Square", Werner combines the olde "Chinese Compass" with the "magic square" and produces a witty, lively piece. In "Aeolic Prelude", Werner takes a compass and an ESP deck to produce a nice little bit of ritual...

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...

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 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;...

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...

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...

The best way of learning new things is doing them. Magical Experiments or Science in Play is a fascinating collection of kitchen table top experiments with every day household goods. Many of which have a 'magical' twist to them, in the sense that it is for the unfamiliar observer not quite clear how these tricks are performed, or what the physical mechanisms behind them are. More than 150 experiments are described with gorgeous lithographs. This book was originally written in French and later translated to English. This in itself is a proof of quality, otherwise the translation would not have...

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...

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...

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

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...

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...

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

From the preface:

Over twenty ideas and tricks covering cards, rope and mentalism often using a topological method. Terri is a great lateral thinker. Enjoy her creations.

1st edition 1988, original 80 pages, 57 pages.

Table of Contents

4. Contents
5. Introduction
6. Sum Sum
9. Rope Disaster Of 1984
14. Always In The Middle
17. Ring In Egg Timer
19. The Echo Count
21. Mouse-Fish-Teers
24. Hummerous Phoney Telepathy
26. The Spirit Moves
30. Off Key Magic
34. Jiggery Pokery
36. False Witness
40. Kidnapped
43. Grab Gamble
45. Squaring: The performer shows a plastic disc with a hole through its centre. It's about the size of a 45 record disc. Without...

Mostly Perfect is an instant 4x4 magic square presentation for any named total that simplifies the computational method originally developed by Orville Meyer (and which has also been published by Mark Farrar, Bill Fritz and Harry Lorayne, among others). Mostly Perfect also produces even more balanced and elegant squares than those produced by the Meyer method.

The ebook also comes with a browser application (no Internet connection needed) to facilitate learning of the method.

Download a free extract.

"Mostly Perfect creates the most well-balanced magic square I've ever seen ... And it's not even hard to do ......