The Box
By Ted Lesley
Ever since I was young I've had Corinda's
book "13 Steps To Mentalism" in my library,
which is still one of my favourite sources for
interesting material. In step No 4 "Predictions"
of the aforementioned tome on pages 105 to 107
you'll find an item called "DE PROFUNDIS", which
is in my humble opinion one of the best prediction
effects for stage, cabaret and parlour. It is
simple and direct and plays "big".
Here is the effect, exactly
as described in the "13 Steps":
A spectator assists in the experiment. They
are told to hold one end of a length of rope
- perhaps some five feet long. On to the rope
is threaded a ring which has a clip attached
to hold a crystal clear box. Inside the box
is seen an envelope. The performer holds the
other end of the rope and slides the crystal
box to the middle where it remains suspended
in full view of the audience.
The performer now counts out loud from one
to ten - and tells the spectator to call "STOP!"
whenever he feels that he gets a "mental vibration
on any number". This is repeated three times
- so that the number something like 854 - is
finally selected. Following this, the performer
runs quickly through a list of colours and then
names of cities throughout the world - and each
time the spectator calls "Stop!". The performer
writes the selections on a large slate or small
board standing close at hand so that everybody
can remember with ease what was chosen. We will
suppose that we end with the selection "854-
GREEN - PARIS".
The box has been left suspended all the
time - the performer now holds his end of rope
up high - causing the box to run down the rope
into the spectator's hands. The spectator is
told to remove it and open it, take out the
envelope and read aloud the contents. Inside
is a prediction which reads, "YOU WILL RECEIVE
MENTAL INSPIRATIONS TO CHOOSE THE NUMBER 854
- THE COLOUR GREEN AND THE CITY - PARIS".
This, dear readers is a spectacular and
sensational effect. The "Modus Operandi" was
invented by the late mental genius Dunninger
and it was, to my knowledge, only used professionally
by another world class performer, the late Punx
in his routine "Real Magic, The Anniversary".
(See pages 34 to 66 in the book "Fourth Dimensional
Mysteries").
The gimmick is constructed out of a piece
of magicians rope, which has the well known
joke-item, a "plate lifter", installed in it.
The spectator holds the end with the "balloon",
the mentalist holds the end with the bulb. The
trick as described above works with three diabolically
clever forces, thus:
When you call out the numbers from one to
ten, if you want to force say number five, as
you reach that number you squeeze hard at your
end and the spectator immediately reacts - more
often than not with a jump! Oddly enough, they
do not always associate the "vibration" with
the rope - and even if they do, they don't know
why and the audience has no idea that anything
like it is happening.
Obviously, you must buy the best quality
plate lifter you can get. My plate lifters were
already made with a five foot piece of tubing
for my "Mentalist's Table Cloth", which you
will find clearly described in my book "Paramiracles"
on page 132. My craftsmen friend can make up
such a Dunninger-type of rope for a few bucks.
If you're interested, inquire! You can even
use the rope without any box! Try it, and you
will see for yourself!
I advise you to read the trick in Corinda's
book, there are a lot of details and tips to
put this trick over successfully! I don't want
to go into great details here. You must be a
very good showman to also control the assisting
spectator to insure that they follow your verbal
instructions carefully! Admittedly, it's not
as easy to perform as it reads! I have performed
the trick many times and it never let me down!
More than twenty five years ago I was sitting
with my friend Ralf Wich-mann-BRACO (You remember
his "Thread-Book"?) in his apartment and we
talked a lot and brainstormed about this particular
effect for a while. Suddenly I "hit" on the
idea, to perform the same trick without using
the rope. A friend of mine, who is an excellent
craftsman, started to build a model of my idea,
but it didn't work successfully.
So I forgot all about it until two years
ago when I discovered the "apparatus" amongst
my junk in a box and discussed it with a clever
magic mechanic who makes a lot of electronically
controlled items for his friends. I must say
that I HATE electronic props for my professional
shows, because in my opinion they're NOT reliable.
Even with that in mind, I started to search
amongst my props and I found a transmitter and
a receiver, which I handed over to the mechanic
with the request to build a perspex (plexiglas)
box for me, which should vibrate, when I push
the button of the transmitter. He made a rough
model, which worked - sometimes - more or less
perfectly and so I decided to have the prop
built once more, but with some technical refinements
to make the apparatus more reliable and now
it works EVERY TIME!
Look at photograph No. 1 and see what the
aforementioned box looks like when it's ready
for performance.
It's approximately 8 inches x 5 inches x
5 inches. Into it we put a sort of a "cover"
made out of shiny silver cardboard to hide the
necessary electronics. This makes the box look
like a presentation or gift box for chocolates
or corsages.
 Photograph No. 2 shows you the "works" inside
after the shielding cardboard cover is removed.
The white rectangular box beside it is the transmitter.
The hardest thing to do is to make the apparatus
noiseless. So in my box the whole electronics
and the "vibrating mechanism" rest on a bed
of thin foam rubber. The specially constructed
motor, which makes the "vibrations" is mounted
at the bottom and at its sides with another
layer of a little bit thicker rubber material.
On the motor's spindle is a round weight which
is attached to the shaft near its outer edge,
in other words, mounted off-center. Obviously
if the motor is set in motion via the transmitter,
the off-center-weight does its job and shakes
the box ever so slightly, so that an assisting
spectator can feel the vibrations if she holds
the box in her hands or has it on her lap. You
must admit that the box doesn't look like a
"prop". In the viewpoint of the audience it
looks like a handsome and expensive chocolate
presentation or gift box.
The first model, which I have described
here, I used only in my home if visitors where
present, and I must say the trick worked very
well. When I was working the "Magic Castle"
two years ago I did show it to a couple of friends,
including Docc Hilford, Larry Becker, Charles
Reynolds, Max Maven and Phil Goldstein (yes,
they were BOTH there!) and they where all more
than impressed by it. I never used it in my
professional shows for obvious reasons, because
I don't like nerve-racking props. So I decided
to have the box made again with some important
technical improvements, which make the trick
professionally usable on any stage.
First, when a spectator holds the box and
I push the button of the transmitter, I never
know if the motor is working or not. For this
reason a red coloured LED has to be installed
at the back of the box which shines through
a pin-hole when the receiver gets the signal
from the transmitter. Then I KNOW that the motor
is working, because I see the red glow shining
through the tiny hole!
Second, you need an "out" when the electronics
don't work. For this reason a reed-switch must
be installed into the cover of the box to set
the motor in motion. The motor has to work on
two SEPARATE electric circuits, one connected
to the transmitter and the second one connected
to a second battery with the special switch
in between, and that's very important! The switch
can be camouflaged easily by an attractive design.
This gives you the possibility to make the apparatus
work, if for any reason the electronics fail,
from interference as an example. One or more
strong, tiny magnets, attached to the bottom
of a felt-tipped marker will do the job nicely.
As a lady is holding the box between her
palms at its sides and the bottom, you have
to do is to move the marker towards the spot
on the cover, under which the reed-switch is
installed. That makes the motor work. Remember,
you don't have to touch the box with the marker!
Third, you have to know if the apparatus
is switched on or off. A green LED shining through
a hole in the top of the silvery cardboard cover
when the apparatus is set to the "on" position
allows this.
The new version of my "Box" will have these
three "built-in-features" incorporated.
Let me tell you something about my experience
with batteries, which I've learned because I
use a wireless mike:
If you use electronics on stage, use fresh
batteries every time you perform. Never, I repeat
NEVER use rechargeable batteries, because they
can run down from one second to the other even
if they're "fully charged". I use cheap batteries,
only because I can throw them away after I have
used them once in a performance. This costs
a little bit of money every time, but if you
use electronic tricks in your show, you must
be dead sure, that you have done everything
to make them work properly and perfectly! With
my "out" as described above you'll never have
trouble - and you can be more relaxed onstage.
I advise you to choose a lady to be your
"medium" in this particular trick. Its also
important that you set the box on her lap, because
if she would hold the box between her palms
there is a possibility that she might drop it
when she receives the "Mental Vibrations"!
Another way to keep the lady from dropping
the box is this: Put the box into a "gift bag"
made out of fancy paper (they're available in
good stationary stores which deal with greeting
cards etc.). These bags usually have handles.
The vibrations of the box can even be felt if
the assisting spectator holds the bag by its
handles! Remember that you have to cut two small
holes into one side of the bag so that you can
see the red and green coloured LEDs! The fancy
designed outsides of the bags hide the holes
completely. Should you like to use the bag,
a trick like Ned Rutledge`s "MINDING THE STORE"
is possible!
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