A few months back, I had an idea for a simple “synchronicity” demonstration, using dice and dominoes. I bought the necessary gimmicks (had to build one of them because they don’t exist in the outside world), and started practicing.
The effect is this: I hand a pair of dice to one of my spectators. Another gets a box full of dominoes. By repeatedly dumping the dominoes onto the table, they are eliminated until only one remains. Then the first spec rolls the dice. The pips on the dice exactly match the pips on the dominoes. Amazing!
Problem is that even with the necessary “special” items, it still requires quite a bit of handling on my part, including a servante to switch in and out the necessary props. It’s definitely a sit-down effect, but lapping isn’t practical. If I proceed with this for the restaurant show, I’m going to have to design something portable that can be locked unobtrusively onto whatever surface is available. That will also affect where any volunteers can be positioned, as I don’t want them seeing anything they shouldn’t.
In my testing, the effect has been powerful in the minds of the participants. The dice and the dominoes are black with white pips, as nearly alike as I can get them, and that greatly helps the image. When the dice are held side by side, the top sides very much resemble a domino. This can’t be missed by those who see it.
Another thing is that it allows for discussions of probability. For rolls of the dice the odds of most combinations of numbers are 1 in 18. For a particular domino, it’s 1 in 28. When considered together, that’s one chance in 504, which can be stated as an impressive sounding “less than two tenths of a percent!”
I really like this effect. Now I just have to determine how (or if) it can be used in the restaurant show. In other words, if the positioning of the necessary equipment for this one effect will alter the positioning of other things (including volunteers) for the rest of the show, it may not be worth the sacrifice.
Still thinking…
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