Take a piece of paper and write on it the figures 1,089. Fold this paper and ask one of your spectators to place it in his pocket without looking at it. Now ask another spectator to think of three figures (a). He having done so, get him to write them upon another piece of paper. Now ask him to write the same figures under the first row, only in reverse (b) order. Subtract the smaller from the larger (c). Now reverse the remainder (d) and your total will be the answer on the piece of paper in the first spectator’s pocket. For instance:
| (a) Number thought of | 621 | |||
| (b) | Result | of | reversion | 126 |
| —— | ||||
| (c) | “ | “ | subtraction | 495 |
| (d) | “ | “ | second reversion | 594 |
| —— | ||||
| (e) | “ | “ | addition | 1,089 |
The Blind Feeding the Blind. Spread a sheet on the floor, and having blindfolded two players, seat them on the floor facing each other. Give to each a spoon and saucer containing some dry food such as ground pop-corn or wheat grains and let each attempt to feed the other.
An Amateur Vaudeville. For the entertainment of a large number of people, an amateur vaudeville program meets every requirement, and does so in a unique manner.
If you go over your list of friends and acquaintances, you will find among them many a clever person who has some talent which can be utilized in preparing the program; this one can dance, that recite, another sings coon songs, some do “cake-walks,” some play, others sing, one can tell an Irish story or a Dutch one, or perhaps perform a feat of legerdemain, and so on, until your program is filled.
The Elusive Coin. Set a coin upon the edge of a table, and, closing one eye by the opposite hand (that is, the left eye closed by the right hand and vice-versa); attempt to knock it off with the forefinger of the disengaged hand.
You will find that your judgment is at fault, and that, in nine cases out of ten you are dabbing away at nothing but thin air.
To do this effectively, you should stand at arm’s length from the coin, and you will be surprised at your apparent bad judgment.
Novel Paper-Cutting. A long strip of paper is shown to the audience; it is then rolled up into cylindrical form, a few cuts are made with a scissors, or if the paper is not too thick, it may be torn with the fingers. You make a twist or two, and the audience are surprised to see what a good resemblance to a “fir tree,” five or more feet in length, makes its appearance in the performer’s hands. This is managed in the following way: Cut a strip of paper about nine feet long and eight inches wide; to increase the effect, the strip of paper can be made up of three or four short lengths of different colored papers pasted together. Roll the paper up into a cylinder of about 1¼ inches in diameter, then with a pair of scissors make cuts through the cylinder from one end, to halfway down its length. These cuts should be at small, equal distances from each other around the roll. Then bend over into horizontal position each piece of loose paper to form the branches of the tree, pull out from the centre of the top in the same way as for the familiar barber’s pole; the tree will then be complete.