TELLER AND THE JELLY DOUGHNUT. Adam Gopnik takes note in the article that I linked to yesterday that it is a cardinal sin for a magician to reveal to a layman how a trick is done. Nevertheless, I love finding out how a trick is done, and knowing how it is done makes me enjoy it more the next time I see it. I know how to saw a lady in half, but I still enjoy seeing it done. There was a much-hated TV show that revealed how some famous illusions are done. The timing, coordination, mechanical skill, and diversion of the audience’s attention required for each trick was wonderful. I once saw Penn and Teller perform a trick in which Teller was run over by an 18-wheeler in Times Square. Penn demonstrated how the trick would work, using a toy truck and a jelly doughnut which represented Teller. What made the trick for me was the multiple choice they provided, which gave as one of the choices “It’s a fake truck.” This was the correct choice. Penn and Teller showed how they had dummied the air pressure of the tires and filled one side of the body of the truck with concrete blocks so that all the weight of the truck was on the wheels on the other side from Teller. The presentation and the explanation made the trick work for me. Of course, I also enjoy the denouements of detective stories and criticism that explores how poets achieve their effects.
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When I was little there was some rogue magician that showed how tricks were done wearing a hood. I think this was on the fledgling Fox network.
I don’t have anything to add about Penn & Teller other than I love them. I’m obliged to mention the brilliantly comedic minigame “Desert Bus” that was on an unreleased Penn & Teller videogame. Copied from Wikipedia:
“The objective of the game is to drive a bus from Tucson, Arizona to Las Vegas, Nevada in real time at a maximum speed of 45mph, a feat that would take the player 8 hours of continuous play to complete, as the game cannot be paused.
The bus contains no passengers, and there is no scenery or other cars on the road. The bus veers to the right slightly; as a result, it is impossible to tape down a button to go do something else and have the game end properly. If the bus veers off the road it will stall and be towed back to Tucson, also in real time. If the player makes it to Las Vegas, they will score exactly one point. The player then gets the option to make the return trip to Tucson—for another point (a decision they must make in a few seconds or the game ends). Players may continue to make trips and score points as long as their endurance holds out. Some players who have completed the trip have also noted that, although the scenery never changes, a bug splats on the windscreen over halfway through the first trip, and on the return trip the light does fade, with differences at dusk, and later a pitch black road where the player is guided only with headlights.”
I remember reading about that game. What a hilarious idea.
I also remember that rogue magician. It was on Fox. I think they took his hood off at the very end. It seemed like every trick was more about complicated equipment than anything else.
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