A confederate is necessary for this trick. The one performing the trick goes out of the room and the confederate agrees with the audience to touch a certain article. The person outside is recalled and his confederate begins to question him. "Did I touch this music book?" "No." "Did I touch this table?" "No." "Did I touch this knife?" "No." "Did I touch that fork?" "Yes." The secret consists in saying the word "that" before the article touched, instead of "this."
WHAT AM I DOING?
The players seat themselves in a row and the leader of the game takes his place behind them, beginning at the top of the row. He makes some absurd gesture and then asks the person behind whom he is standing "What am I doing?" If the player replies incorrectly, and he generally does, he is doomed to stand up and imitate in silence the gesture he could not guess, until he has leave to sit down.
WONDERMENT
It is necessary that only two of the party should have a knowledge of this game, and then "wonderment" is sure to be the result.
The two players agree that a certain word shall be regarded as a signal word. As an illustration, imagine this word to be "and."
One of the players asserts his belief that he is gifted with second sight, and states that he is able, through a closed door, to name any article touched by any person in sympathy with him, notwithstanding the said person may attempt to mystify him by mentioning a lot of other articles. He then chooses his confederate, as being one with whom he may be in sympathy, and goes outside.
The player in the room then proceeds to call out, perhaps as follows:—Table, Hearthrug, Piano, Footstool and Chair, Lamp, Inkstand. He then places his hand on the back of a chair and asks: "What am I touching now?" the answer will, of course, be "Chair," because the signal word "and" came immediately before that article.
If the players are skilful there is no need for the trick to be discovered.