The Scams Penn & Teller's Cruel Tricks for Dear Friends

1 scams

1.1 card force (no name given)
1.2 super kleener
1.3 demon hell
1.4 vidi-kopy
1.5 diamond , dope
1.6 beginner s luck?
1.7 wedge of greed
1.8 epilog

the scams
the card force (no name given)

the opening trick involved learning simple effect called card force. trick involved distracting victim , forcing them select 3 of clubs deck of cards. magician asks them make simple wager on outcome, , purposefully picks wrong card deck. after doing magician asks victim watch tv. when tv turned on, videotape shows clip old carole lombard movie nothing sacred. after tv bumper, quick segment called newsbreak comes on. female newsreader reads news piece new government scandal. after reading few lines, newsreader given breaking headline. pauses, smiles brightly, holds jumbo-sized 3 of clubs , says card? magician supposed take money, , laugh @ victim.

super kleener

this trick not involve cards, instead involves user have paper towels , bottle of glass cleaner. tape included sticker reads static free tv screens place on bottle. magician supposed start watch clip nothing sacred when magician supposed act see speck of dirt on screen. magician supposed spray of cleaner on paper towel , after special moment happens in movie magician starts rubbing screen paper towel. clip has been digitally altered image being torn , distorted like, penn puts it, watercolor being rubbed wet sponge. victim supposed shocked thinking over-the-counter cleanser can damage image on tv screen. not done money, laughs. trick demonstrated on episode of late night david letterman

demon hell

said penn s favorite clip, trick makes fun of then-popular claim fundamentalist christians many popular albums, movies, , tv shows contained backwards messages (referred backmasking). penn says hysterical grandstanding. use head! if backwards masking worked, ozzy osbourne prime minister of england [sic]! magician asked claim has found backwards masking technique in show hosted unnamed televangelist. victim asked put money on it. magician pauses tape, , supposed pretend play film backwards. in actuality magician presses play button . footage starts play in reverse. preacher starts manner of satanic messages such satan our lord , screams of torture music of dance . trick done seemingly poke fun @ televangelists jim bakker , jimmy swaggart.

vidi-kopy

in vidi-kopy , penn & teller claim have created experimental tape can turn vcr digital copier. after short description, magician starts tape appears computer screen placed on it. magician prepares random piece of paper. female voice says not touch screen during vidi-kopy operation. after few seconds of digital flashing, copy of image drawn on paper appears on screen. after fake save function, magician asked take dollar bill out of pocket, , hold against screen , image of bill appears on screen, magician presses fake button on screen makes image magnify on screen. magician has 2 options, either turn off tape , attempt sell fake vidi-kopy tape victim, or keep tape rolling punch-line. magician supposed downplay warnings touching screen , place bare hand on screen , press copy button. image flashes , copy of hand supposed appear on screen, flashes violently, female voice starts saying system failure. magician supposed scream , act hand has been horribly burned.

diamond , dope

this clip requires deck of cards , x-acto knife. before friend comes over, supposed take 5 of diamonds , cut out middle diamond knife, place doctored card deck. tell friend penn & teller going on tv mtv vj alan hunter. tell friend magician interactive card trick. penn ask person in on pull out card , examine , place deck. doesn t matter card pick, 4 of diamonds. victim asked place deck on top of tv. teller reaches , pulls down gimmicked card. penn says card, 5 of diamonds? person says no, teller (who has been wearing red , white striped tie) moves hole onto white stripe, making red diamond vanish, , correctly finding chosen card. victim amazed trick has gone off well. person in on supposed thinks knows how trick done , asks card...he pulls out gimmicked card has magically appeared in deck. penn says there 3 separate betting points, not are.

beginner s luck?

this trick supposed used on either people cheap buy own copy of tape, or sophisticated fall more outrageous scams. bit revolve around fake magic tutorial jokingly titled cool tricks dear friends . penn & teller show victim , magician how simple trick involving 3 cards. idea take 3 playing cards, fan them out , flipping on middle card fan shows front, back, front. penn give bogus instructions trick involves flipping middle card on in order make 3 backs show in row. victim have trouble trick, while magician nail on first go. because magician has made gaffed double-backed card using glue stick stick 2 cards together, backs showing. penn says milk trick, supposed act patronizing , condescending victim, (in video, penn & teller claim have taught trick handicapped children , have learned straight-away.)

wedge of greed

the last trick on tape said teller s favorite. trick mentalism trick performed sucker has girlfriend (played here lydia lunch) have own. in trick set saying when couple starts going together, mental bond (or simpatico) created said borderline on eerie. prove this, magician asks both people stand back, woman staring @ tv, playing yet clip of nothing sacred. magician pulls out randomly picked book , asks victim pick page @ random, , asks victim tell him how many lines down go on page , how many word across in order pick random word. word written down on card , handed victim, goaded betting money girlfriend can t guess word concentrating. drives wedge between victim , lover...who magically knows word bundle. because magician doesn t use word picked out of book, writes down word bundle , hands victim. while going on, woman watching tv, when on clip, teller walks in holding large cue cards word bundle.

epilog

after last trick footage shown, tape ends penn , teller @ beach, thanking viewer , saying goodbye. stated more or less directly purchased tape intending scam friends true suckers. overtly foreshadowed during explanation of card force scam: ...that s why made tape. s wrong gloat, , evildoers must punished. matches trick/punchline format of each trick, tape whole being large trick on buyer, , segment punchline trick.