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Hi, I read about some act where someone looks at an object on the table, like a spoon, and doesnt' touches it, while the conjurer has exited the room, all people in the room agree to sort out one person to look at it, and when he enters he can tell who was the one, that looked at the object.

What I read was with Po** ******* Co**'* of a stooge, so I started to wonder if there exists an act without using stooges, and still can tell.

No gimmicked parts too.

The hard part imho, would be that no object is ever to be touched. Only looked at.

Well I have some idea's, but I am not sure if they are relieable engough, so I wondered if theres a name of someone that did this without stooges, as it seems everything has been done before by someone else.

Dai Vernon and further adapted by Luke Jermay. I only know Luke's version, 'A Darker Dai'.

Five objects left in a row. The spectator is asked to hold his hand over one of them. The performer slowly reveals the selected object. It requires a bit of audience management skill, I'd say and, with even more, the performer could leave the room entirely while it was done.

I think you said you're new to mentalism, so it might not be quite the thing to try and do right now.

Al Koran's Note under Cup from his Professional Presentations works without a stooge. Three ordinary teacups are used with the performer crumpling up a bank note to go under one of the cups.

While your back is turned or you are out the room a spectator puts the note under one the cups, their choice, and switches around the other to for good measure. You can then come back and lift up one of the cups to "show them the money!" The premiss is that they they get to keep the money if you cant find it first time.

There is another effect using bottle caps that I think is a marketed effect but an older impromptu version is around. Using 5 bottle caps from Coke bottles you can go out the room while someone puts a paper pellet under one of the lids. When you get back you lift up the correct lid. This can be presented as a body language/NLP/psychological effect or you could have the name of someone special written on the pellet.

Since it is so small you could have a spectator write the name of someone from the other side (a bit passe now) on the pellet, use Korans torn and restored cigarette paper method to perform a s****h while you demonstrate putting it under the bottle caps, and s****h back after finding it. While you wave your hand over the bottle caps you could say something like "Margery where are you... I feel her presence strongly here..."

The effect you described can be duplicated with muscle reading. It might not look as clean as what you want, but it's completely impromptu and, if presented well, quite strong.

Oh, and of course, no stooges.

George Chan wrote:Al Koran's Note under Cup from his Professional Presentations works without a stooge. Three ordinary teacups are used with the performer crumpling up a bank note to go under one of the cups.

While your back is turned or you are out the room a spectator puts the note under one the cups, their choice, and switches around the other to for good measure. You can then come back and lift up one of the cups to "show them the money!" The premiss is that they they get to keep the money if you cant find it first time.

There was a longer thread about this effect awhile back (http://talkmagic.co.uk/ftopic23389.php) if you were interested in a little background.

George Chan wrote:There is another effect using bottle caps that I think is a marketed effect but an older impromptu version is around. Using 5 bottle caps from Coke bottles you can go out the room while someone puts a paper pellet under one of the lids. When you get back you lift up the correct lid. This can be presented as a body language/NLP/psychological effect or you could have the name of someone special written on the pellet.

Do you happen to remember any references to the 'older impromtu' version? Perhaps a general direction I could start searching in? Or is it just the same method as in Koran's and the supplied link, but with a different write up? Thanks.

I think the discussion has moved somewhat away from the original question posed by TakWah. He was asking of a way to perform the effect where the spectator names the person not the object they looked at.

If we're going for the object - I think TERASABOS is one of the best solutions to this kind of effect (if not the best). However, as great as that is - it doesn't really help with the original question.

TakWah - did you mean the person or the object? If it's the person I can think of a way to do the effect without stooges, but it might not be as direct as you are looking for. If it's the object you're going for, TERASABOS is, in my opinion, the perfect choice.

Demitri wrote:I think the discussion has moved somewhat away from the original question posed by TakWah. He was asking of a way to perform the effect where the spectator names the person not the object they looked at.

You're quite right, Demitri. I was thinking of a different stooge effect, which in turn took me down a different route for an alternative effect.

I think the outcome is much the same, but they are different presentations.

Good suggestion about TERASABOS. 'The Book of Haunted Magick' is excellent.

Mage Tyler wrote:

George Chan wrote:There is another effect using bottle caps that I think is a marketed effect but an older impromptu version is around. Using 5 bottle caps from Coke bottles you can go out the room while someone puts a paper pellet under one of the lids. When you get back you lift up the correct lid. This can be presented as a body language/NLP/psychological effect or you could have the name of someone special written on the pellet.

Do you happen to remember any references to the 'older impromtu' version? Perhaps a general direction I could start searching in? Or is it just the same method as in Koran's and the supplied link, but with a different write up? Thanks.

Doctor Bob's Killer Miller Caps in The Artful Mentalism of Bob Cassidy (H&R Magic Books, 2004, p.282) explains an impromptu and more natural version of Killer Red Caps a marketed effect by Roger Monaco. Similar older effects by Jerry Lubin and Frank Garcia are around somewhere if you look for them. There are various ways of achieving the effect. Korans teacup method is different.

The effect above is achieved along the same lines as the ones in referenced above.