The Goody Bags

At this point we take a quick break from the mind reading and talk about the Bags.  Every guest gets a sealed “lunch bag” when they enter the room.  Each bag contains the same items.

A pencil, already sharpened, with eraser

A white 3x5 index card

A colored 3x5 index card (four different colors distributed randomly)

A small white envelope containing a business card

A couple small hard candies

The pencils are giveaways.  There are two effects where the spectators need to write, and “handing out” pencils seems sloppy and unprepared to me.  I’d like for these to be promotional items and have done some pricing online, but so far we’re using “Ticonderoga” brand pencils, which come pre-sharpened.  Very handy.  They are black with green and gold bands around the black erasers.  Very sharp.

The colored cards are for a Q&A using Annemann’s version of the O.M. Box.  I spend a great deal of time (a la Banachek) demonstrating exactly how they should be folded.  And then have the guests write two pieces of information: 1. A question they’d like to ask a “psychic” (if we believed in such things!), and 2. A personal fact that not everyone is aware of.  The box is passed around to collect the cards, and set on the table for later.

The white cards are a “time waster” that I thought would be entertaining while waiting for everyone to finish writing their questions.  It turned out to be a complete project unto itself, and I’m considering dropping it.  A “simple” math problem where everyone ends up with the number “9”, only it’s not simple at all.  People can’t follow directions!  I wind up moving from table to table “helping” them, and the punch-line is all but lost by the time we muddle through this.  I’ve talked to some teachers who detailed how the give instructions while waiting for the “slowest” child to catch up.  We’ll give it one more shot, just because I personally like it.  But GEEZ!

Finally we get to the small white envelopes (actually the whole reason for having the bags in the first place).  Those who have Devin Knight’s Glass Box Prediction will remember the marked paper; this serves the same purpose, but a bit more intricately.

There are 28 cards (same number as guests present).  Sixteen cards have different symbols on them, and 12 are blank.

I explain that those guests who have a symbol MAY be asked to participate of some of our experiments.  These are chosen “at random” by drawing a matching card from a clear zip-lock bag.  This sets the stage for a very powerful finale later on, giving them plenty of time to forget the setup.

Now let’s move on to our next experiment.  I reach into the bag and pull out a card.  Who has the…?

Addendum:

The bags can also contain fortune cookies (yes in the first show, no in the second).  It is entirely possible to have prewritten “fortunes” handed out not-quite-at-random.  Looking into potential effects here!