The Big Book of Boy Stuff

by Bart King

  When they’re done, take 1 of their piles and quickly look through it for the card that doesn’t belong. It will be easy for you to spot the cards they chose; there is only “round” card in the “non-round” pile, and vice-versa for the other pile! Set the card aside without showing it. Now do the same thing with the other pile. When you have both cards, dramatically lift them up! Wow!

  Variation: Before doing the trick, separate the deck in 4 piles in this order: Ace, Two, Three, (and so forth) up to King. Then combine the four piles. (Don’t shuffle!) Now, for the trick, have someone pick a card. Have them memorize it and put it back anywhere in the deck. You can close your eyes while they put it back in. Then look through the deck (but don’t spread it out so they can see) and find the card that is out of order...their card!

  The Bottom Feeder Trick

  This is one of the classic ways to find a card. Here’s how to do it. Shuffle the deck once or many times, or let a volunteer shuffle it. Then have your volunteer pick a card from the deck. Don’t worry about what card this is.

  You need to know what the BOTTOM card on the deck is. You can do this by slyly peeking at the bottom card as you pick up the deck. Another way is to pick up the deck and turn your back to the person who has picked the card, saying, “I want to make sure I don’t see your card.” While your back is turned, glance at the bottom card of the pile. Don’t forget this card! (For an example, let’s say the bottom card was the Ace of Spades.)

  You then turn around again and have the person put their card on the top of the deck. Then “cut” the deck yourself. (This means you remove the top part of the deck and set it next to the bottom part. You then pick up the bottom and put it on the top.) Make sure to do this yourself, but in plain sight of everyone. By cutting the deck like this, do you see what happened?

  The Ace of Spades was on the bottom. Now, after cutting the deck, it is right on top of the card the person picked! All you have to do is take the deck and start turning the cards over in front of the person. A bad magician will race through the deck until they get to the Ace of Spades. He then turns the next card over and says, “Ah ha! This is your card!” No fun.

  The good magician will make it seem like magic! This means some creativity is in order. For example, you could tell your volunteer that every time a person touches a card, it gets a little heavier. As you turn the cards over, you pretend to weigh them with your hand. When you come to the card after the Ace of Spades, you almost go past it, but then you hold it in your hand and say, “This seems a little heavy. Is this your card?” Much more impressive!

  Other ways to do the same trick: Pretend you are scanning for the person’s fingerprints on each card, or pretend you can spot the person’s card by watching their reaction to each card.

  Down Is Up

  This is a trick where your volunteer picks a card and then puts it back in the deck. You will put the deck behind your back for a moment, and when you bring it back around, the person’s card is magically the only card that is turned over in the deck!

  All you have to do for this trick is turn over the bottom card in the pile before you begin. Hold the deck in your hand and then have the volunteer pick their card from the deck and memorize it. (Don’t let them see that the card on the bottom of the deck is turned over.)

  Now, you need to turn the deck over so that the bottom, upside down card is on the top of the deck. Try turning your back to the volunteer, saying, “I want to make sure I don’t see your card.” While your back is turned, turn the deck over.

  Turn back around with the deck upside down. Have the volunteer put the card into the pack, but don’t let them take the deck of cards and don’t let them spread the cards. They have now put their card in upside down.

  Now put the deck behind your back and say a magic word. While you say it, turn over the top card of the deck. Now ALL cards in the deck are facing the same way. Bring the deck around and start to spread the cards out on a table. Spread the cards facedown on the table. Feel free to make it dramatic with magic words or pauses. No matter how you do it, your volunteer’s card will be faceup!

  Special Feature: Playing Cards

  Here’s a piece of card trivia you may not have known: If you add up all the letters in the words “Ace,” “Two,” “Three,” “Four,” and so forth, up to “King,” you get the number 52. That’s how many cards there are in a deck!

  Now, there are 52 cards in a deck of cards and there are 365 days in a year. That means that for every card in the deck there is one week, because 52 x 7 = 364. What about that extra day? It’s Joker Day, April Fool’s!

  A version of playing cards was “invented” in China, but the Chinese cards did not have jokers in the deck. “Joker-less” playing cards were used in Europe in the 1300s, where each card had to be drawn and then painted by hand. (They didn’t have printing presses back then.) This meant that each card was a real work of art.

  In Holland (as the story goes), it was common for the artist of the cards to include one extra card that was a self-portrait. A popular card artist in Holland was Johann Emmanuel Juker (yoo-ker). Juker’s cards became so widespread, that his style was imitated and the extra card in the deck came to be known as the “Juker” card. It was mispronounced as “joo-ker” by English speakers, and was finally just called the “Joker” card. Since it was called a Joker, card-makers naturally put a Joker on that card. By the late 1800s in the United States, it was common practice for Mississippi gamblers to have an extra “Joker” card in their decks.

  What about the kings? In France, all four kings in a deck were based on a real historic king. The King of Spades was King David, the King of Diamonds was Julius Caesar, the King of Clubs was Alexander the Great, and the King of Hearts was King Charlemagne. All of the kings have beards, but only three have mustaches. The one without a mustache is King Charlemagne (or “Charles the Magnificent.”)

  I Read Your Mind

  For this trick, you will tell a person what card they were thinking of. Here’s how you do it. If you ask a man to think of a card, most men will think of the Ace of Spades, and then the Seven of Spades. Most women will think of the Queen of Hearts, and then the Seven of Hearts.

  Take these 4 cards out of a deck of cards and put them in your pockets. (If you have more than four pockets, also pull out the Four of Spades and the Seven of Hearts. Remember which card is in which pocket!

  Hold up the deck. Ask your person to quickly think of a card. Now, you can do this trick a couple of ways. If you are feeling sure of yourself, just pull out one of the cards in your pocket. If it’s not the card, no big deal. Or, you can ask them to name the card. If they name any of the cards in your pockets, just reach in your pocket and pull it out!

  If they didn’t pick any of these cards, just smile and say, “That’s nice!” Then run away.

  21-Card Salute

  This is also sometimes called the “21 Card Trick.” In this trick, you will find a hidden card in a different way than the “Key Card Trick.” This is an easy trick that works every time!

  Start with 21 cards from your deck and a volunteer. With these 21 cards, you will deal 3 columns of 7 cards each. Deal from left-to-right, 1 card to each column as you go.

  When the columns are complete, ask the volunteer to pick a card without telling you what it is. He needs to remember this card. After he has done this, straighten each column into a pile, so that you have 3 piles of cards.

  Ask the person which pile the card they picked is in. Whichever pile they point to, pick it up and set it on another pile. The third pile then goes on top of the other 2, for 1 pile of cards. (Just to be clear, the pile in the middle has the card your volunteer selected.)

  Now, do the same thing again. Make 3 columns again, dealing left-to-right. Ask the person to find their card, then straighten up the piles. Whichever pile the volunteer points to should be picked up and set on another pile. The other pile goes on top of it, just like the first time.

  Now deal out your 3 colu
mns again, and stop. Ask the person what column their card is in. Whichever column they point to, you now know their card. Their card is the fourth card down from the top of that column! (This is always true!)

  A rookie magician will point to the fourth card and say, “This is your card.” They will be right, but that’s not much fun. A good magician will do something more creative. Here is one good way to end the trick. Organize the columns into piles one last time. (The pile with the “magic” card is picked up and set on another pile, with the other pile on top.) The “magic” card is now the 11th card down from the top of the pile.

  Pick up the pile and spell out a magic, 10-letter phrase like “mumbo jumbo” or “stinky poop.” With each letter you spell, throw down a card. When you are done, the next card you turn over will be the magic card!

  Tricky Magic

  The following tricks require the assistance of another person.

  The Restaurant Trick

  This trick is incredible! Use it when you are going to any restaurant with a group of 3 or more people. One of these people will need to secretly work with you.

  You Need:

  pen or pencil

  1 piece of paper or index card for each person eating (a small pad of paper would be perfect)

  The idea of this trick is simple: You will magically figure out what each person in your group is ordering without them knowing it!

  To do this trick, you need to know one thing BEFORE you sit down at your table. You need to secretly have your secret assistant tell you what he is going to order.

  Once you know this, you announce to your group that you will try to figure out what everyone is going to order. You will be asking them some questions about themselves to help give you the magic insight to do the trick.

  Pull out your paper and pencil, holding them so that nobody can see what you are writing. You can start with anyone, but not the person who is your helper. Ask the first person a couple of questions about food; make them general. “Do you like meat? What is your favorite meal?” That sort of thing. Ask the person if he has decided what he is going to order. (Wait until he has decided!)

  When they have decided, write down the name and meal choice of your secret assistant on your piece of paper. Then fold it in half and set it near you. Don’t let anyone grab it or look at it. See, they think you just made your guess for the person you were interviewing, but you didn’t.

  Now ask your first person (let’s call him Leroy) what it was that they ordered; it’s safe now, and you would like to confirm your guess. Leroy tells you he ordered the Spamburger. Just nod and smile. Then turn to the next person. Ask them some questions. (As you know, the questions don’t matter!) When you are ready to make your “guess,” write down the name and menu item of your first volunteer! In this example, you would write down, “Leroy: Spamburger.”

  Fold the paper and set it down. Ask the person to confirm what she decided to order. She tells you. You nod and smile and go on to the next person. Keep using the same method. When you come to yourself, write down your name and selection. You’re ready!

  If you want to be cocky, call the waiter over and say that you’re ready to order. Then pick up the pieces of paper, say the person’s name and their choice, and watch the amazed expressions form!

  Note: Make sure to give your secret assistant a tip for helping out!

  Mind Reading

  This is another secret assistant trick. Your audience can be 2 people or many, but remember that you need a secret assistant that you have talked with beforehand. Offer to show the audience a mind-reading performance. You will leave the room and a volunteer will touch any item in the room. You will then come back in and be able to identify the object.

  Here’s how to do this: When you come back in to the room, ask for a second person to help by pointing at different items in the room. Remember: you must pick your secret assistant for this job!

  Tell your secret assistant to start silently pointing at different, random items in the room. Ask him to avoid looking at you or talking to you while he does so. What nobody else knows is that right before your assistant points to the secret object, he will first point to something that is black!

  Once you see your assistant point to something black, you know the next item is your “secret” item. When that item is pointed out, frown a little, but let your assistant continue. Then slowly walk to the secret item, touch it, and look at your first volunteer.

  “I sense that this is the item you picked. Is that right?” Of course it is, and they will be amazed!

  Variation: You can make up all sorts of tricks with this tactic. For example, seat a group of people at a table. Make sure that your secret assistant sits next to you. Take a deck of cards and have anybody or everybody shuffle the deck.

  Now, leave the room. From the other room, have someone pick a card from the deck and show it to everyone in the room so they all know the card. Have them put the card randomly back in the deck.

  Come back in the room, pick up the deck and put it on top of your head. (Careful! Don’t drop it!) Tell the group that you will pick a card off the deck, hold it over your head, and be able to identify the card simply by reading their minds. (You can even do this with your eyes closed.) The reason you can do this is because your secret assistant is going to nudge your foot with his when the card comes up! As long as you’re not seated at a glass table, it should work fine.

  Follow-Up Activity

  As a part of your magic act, mock Harry Potter as a fraud and a fake. If Harry Potter magically appears, deny everything and offer him some freshly made Kool-Aid.

  Making Faces! Making Sounds!

  Making Faces

  Tarzan was not only the king of the jungle, he was also the king of making faces. In the books about Tarzan by Edgar Rice Burroughs, Tarzan could “make” almost any kind of face that you can imagine. I don’t mean that he wore makeup and masks. I mean that Tarzan could sneer with either nostril, raise one eyebrow and then another, and wiggle his ears, his scalp, and even pieces of skin on his face. This is because Tarzan was raised with the apes, and apes use their faces a lot to communicate with each other.

  Your face has muscles that can be used to make cool expressions too, if you exercise them. The muscles of your face are probably weak because you don’t use them very much. You rely on words to communicate. But facial expressions can be even better than words. If you practice, you can get your face muscles to move around much more than they do now. You just need to give yourself a face workout! If you don’t want to live with a bunch of apes to learn how to do this, read this chapter. (If you already do live with a bunch of apes, you may skip this section.)

  Why make faces? Well, making faces is a good way to get people (especially little kids) to laugh. Also, by making faces, you are also making history. You see, history is full of examples of people who were professional face-makers, or people who made faces for a living. These were the gifted men and women with the magical ability to twist their faces around into a variety of contortions, grimaces, and expressions.

  Jim Carrey is one of the great face-makers of modern times. He has practiced changing his face so many ways, he can look like a different person altogether. There have also been other famous performers with this talent. More than a hundred years ago, a Japanese man named Mirimoto was a “facial artist” who could cover his nose with his mouth! Mirimoto didn’t use his fingers or any object to do this. He just reached his lips up and voilà! Other Japanese performers have used chopsticks and string to push up their nostrils, pull their ears in, or stretch out the skin on their faces.

  Have a face-making contest with your friends. Why not? In The Hunchback of Notre Dame, the hunchback Quasimodo enters a contest like this at the Feast of Fools. He wins the competition simply by putting his face through a hole in the wall and NOT making a face. (Quasimodo wasn’t very attractive.) In 1768, a face-making contest in England (with the motto “The Ugliest Grinner Shall Be the Winner”) was won by a
man who was later disqualified because it was found that he had vinegar in his mouth to help him make a face. Cheater!

  Let’s Start with the Basics

  Eyes: Open your eyes as wide as possible—both together, and one-at-a-time. Squeeze them tight, or stretch the skin below them down to look scary.

  Crossing the eyes: This is an old favorite, but you have to be careful not to do it very often. It causes a strain on the eye muscles that just ain’t good.

  Wrinkling the nose: The basic “sneer” or look of disgust is when you wrinkle up your nose, as if you just smelled something bad.

  Opening the nostrils: When you open (or dilate) your nostrils, open them as wide as you can. Extra credit to anyone who can dilate one nostril at a time!

  Grinning: Make the biggest grin you can! Try it with and without showing the teeth. How many different ways can you smile? Now try a variety of leers, smirks, and smiles.

  Contorting the lips: See how many different ways you can squeeze and stretch your lips. Press them together at one side of your mouth and open them up at the other end. Now try to make your whole mouth move side-to-side! Squeeze them together in the middle! Stick your lower lip out as far as you can!

  Sticking out the tongue: Like grimacing, there are many different ways to stick out your tongue. Shove the whole thing out at once, make it flat or round, or try to curl it. Most people can curl their tongue upwards at the sides...but only 1 person in 1,000,000 can curl their tongue downwards!

  Puffing the cheeks: Puff out your cheeks to look like a chipmunk. Remember, there are many ways to puff out your cheeks. You can include your lips in the “puff” or not; you can also just do one side of your face or the other. Or just suck your cheeks in to look weird!