04x10 - Monkey Business

[bunniefuu]

[jazz music]

♪ ♪

[audience cheers]

male announcer:
From the Penn & Teller Theater

the Rio Hotel
in Las Vegas,

here's our host,
Alyson Hannigan.

[cheers and applause]

- Welcome to "Penn & Teller:
Fool Us,"

where we present the best
illusions on TV,

DVR, TiVo or downloaded to any
phone, Android, laptop, tablet,

any device recognized
by Siri, Alexa or Al Gore.

And streamed onto Instagram,
Facebook, Twitter,

Pinterest, Snapchat,
Reddit, Friendster, Napster,

and the six people
who still have Google Glass.

So now let's bring out
the two guys

who have been together
longer

than the Internet
has been a thing,

Penn and Teller.

[cheers and applause]

- The rules for tonight:

anyone who fools
Penn and Teller

not only get to perform in their
long-running Vegas spectacular,

they also win the highly coveted
and rarely-seen-on-eBay item,

the Penn and Teller:
Fool Us trophy.

Let's take a look
at our first contender.

- I'm Sean-Paul.
- I'm Juliane Fay.

- A long time ago
I placed an ad

looking for a magician's
assistant

that had a dancing background

and didn't mind
getting cut in half.

- So I answered the ad

and I said had ballroom dance
experience.

- And we got married in 2001.

We do a show
in Eureka Springs...

- Arkansas.

It's actually
a really unique town.

It's very artistic.

- It's Victorian.
- It's haunted,

complete with a really cool
haunted hotel.

We delve into one mystery
after another,

from voodoo past life
aggressions

and walking through walls.

- They know it's a show,

but they actually leave
wondering if it's real.

- Tonight, what we'd like to do
is a little bit of a departure,

and show Penn and Teller
something

that's safe to say
they've never seen before.

[applause]

- Give it up for Sean-Paul
and Juliane.

- Thank you very much.
Good evening, everyone.

I'm fascinated
and have a passion

for all things intriguing,

right down to our selection
of pets.

Now, don't get me wrong.
Dogs and cats are wonderful.

But 15 years ago
my wife and I

adopted Frankie.

[laughter and applause]

There we go.

Thank you.

Frankie, let's show them
how things work here.

We're like a little family here.
You're our baby, aren't you?

That's right.

Pretty lady next to you,
that's my wife,

and she's your mama.

Yup. And I'm your daddy.

All right, let's take this
from the top.

I am your daddy.
I am your daddy.

And I'm also a very famous
magician.

Okay.

- That's funny.
- That's funny.

Do not reward
that answer.

Don't give him a treat for that,
all right?

You know, maybe I'm not famous,
but guess what?

I make a lot of money.

I make tons of money.

[chuckles]

All right, well, let's just
change things up here.

I want to talk to you
about the infinity theorem,

ladies and gentlemen.

I don't know
if you've heard of it.

This is a World w*r II-era
typewriter.

And this is a monkey.

And scholars will tell you
that if you give a monkey

a typewriter and an infinite
amount of time,

they will eventually give you
the complete works of...

Shakespeare.

Let's take a look here.

[laughs]

"To pee or not to pee."

Close enough,
ladies and gentlemen.

He's a monkey.
He doesn't do great with words.

[laughs]

He doesn't do great
with words.

He does really good
with numbers.

Especially number two.

But let's start over.

Let's get a new piece of paper
for the typewriter.

Alyson, could we beg
your assistance here?

We've got a pad
of paper here.

Would you notarize both sides of
a piece of paper there for us?

Just put your initials,
top and bottom.

All right?

Right there. Good.

And then sign the back
if you would.

- Sure.

- Great. Juliane Fay
will now place

that piece of paper
that she has notarized

into Frankie's typewriter.

Now at this point, friends,
we're going to see

if he can read some minds.

Collectively,
throughout the audience,

I want everybody
here in the room

to think of a three-digit
number.

In a moment, if Juliane Fay
comes to you,

I want you to write
the three-digit number

that you're thinking of
on this pad of paper

next to one of the X's.

When she's finished,
she will then take the paperwork

over to Mr. Penn and Teller
for the next step.

But in the meantime,
we're going to entertain you

while we're waiting for that.

Because I don't just
do magic.

I'm also a very talented
vocalist.

I have--I have a great voice,

and Frankie loves
to listen to me sing.

Yes, you do, Frankie.
Hear me out.

I'm going to sing a song.

That's not funny.
I'm the boss.

You show me some respect.
That is...

Frankie, look at me.
Look at me.

I am talking to you.
Look at me.

That's right. You know, it's
hard to be angry with him

when he's this cute.

You wouldn't believe what
it's like to live with a monkey.

All right? He's just...

Hey, give that back!
Frankie, give that back.

- [chirps]
- [laughs]

I have no idea
where that came from.

Oh, hang on.
He's not done yet.

All right.
Frankie, give it to me.

Friends, in the flask
it's just water.

Tell them.
It's just water.

Frankie, if that was
the real thing,

you know how you'd feel
right now?

Okay.

All right, well,
how are we doing here?

Mr. Penn, do you have
the numbers?

- We do, yes.

- Did you get a chance
to tabulate them?

- I will right now.
- Okay, great.

If you would do that,
because let's recap.

She just gathered
three-digit numbers

from three different places
in the audience.

We're bringing it
to Mr. Penn.

He is tabulating them.

Then they have what's basically
a collective thought

from three different people
in the audience.

They will then think
of that number.

And Frankie,
the mind-reading monkey,

will read their mind.

That would be a pretty good
trick, wouldn't it?

- [cheers and applause]
- All right.

Are you ready, Frankie?

All right. Would you mind
writing that number

big and bold
on that piece of paper?

- Sure will.
- While you do that,

I'm going to bring Frankie
up to speed on what we're doing.

Frankie, you know
who these guys are?

That's right.
You've got Penn and Teller here.

Which one is Penn?

Is he the big one?
Is he the tall one?

That's right.
And Teller?

- That's right.
- [Penn laughs]

- He doesn't speak. Yes.

Mr. Penn, have you written
that number down?

Please hold it to your chest.
Don't let anybody see it.

Think about that number,
because in a moment

you're going to look up here,
you're going to make eye contact

with the monkey.
He's going to read your mind.

That number that you're
thinking of right now.

But you're going
to have to get his attention.

Wave to him.
Say hi, Frankie.

- Hi, Frankie.
How you doing?

- Okay, do you see Penn?

Yes, good. Make eye contact
with him, Frankie.

Look at him, all right?
You're going to read his mind.

Brilliant man. Lots going on
in that mind of his.

A lot--Frankie!

Okay, look in his mind
one more time.

Do you have the number?

He's got the number.

All right, let's try it out.
Here.

Give us the number.
Go ahead.

Go ahead. Yeah.

Okay, good enough.
Over here.

Could I call upon you again?

Alyson, I'm just going
to roll this over to you.

I want you to remove
that card

and verify that it is
the same piece of paper

that you notarized
when we got started.

It's your piece of paper, yes?

- Yes.
- Okay, just answer me this.

- Did he type a number on there?
- He did.

- So it would be pretty amazing,
wouldn't it, if he was able

to peer into his mind,
get that thought,

which was a collection of
three thoughts in mind, right?

Okay.

Let me just ask you this.

Is it three digits
or four?

- Four.
- Four digits.

Mr. Penn, the number you've got,
is it three digits or four?

- It's four digits.
- I think he's got the number.

Frankie, do you have
his number?

I thought you were
going to read his mind.

You just typed out
a number over here.

Where did that number
come from?

[laughter]

Ladies and gentlemen,
we're going to go for broke.

In a nice, loud voice,
real slow,

I want you to read off the
number that he typed.

And then at that point,
you're a showman.

Show us the number
if you would, Alyson.

- All right.



- There it is right there.
- Ladies and gentlemen...

- 2175.
- ...Frankie,

the mind-reading monkey!

[cheers and applause]

- Sean-Paul and Juliane!

That was fantastic.

- Thank you very much.
- Hello.

How did you guys come
to have a monkey?

- Well, we wanted to add
something special to the show.

We had no idea what we were
getting ourselves into.

Did we have any idea, Frankie,
what we were doing?

No, we didn't.

- And I heard you also
used to work with a tiger?

- We have, in the past,
worked with tigers.

And I think this is
a lot more challenging.

- Really?
- And a lot more entertaining.

All right, ready to find out
what they think?

- I love monkeys.

- I heard that.
- I'm very fond of monkeys.

And one of my favorite ideas
is that infinity theory

of monkeys typing Shakespeare.

I just love that so much.

- We came up with the segment
just for you guys.

- Well, you sure did,
and it's really, really--

it's really wonderful.

And a very, very marvelously
trained monkey.

Because the thing that's really
great about monkeys,

although those of us who don't
own them really enjoy them,

we know that they're hateful
and miserable to be around.

- Well.
- So we're very much

enjoying the pain
you go through,

to give us a cute little monkey
that is a monster in your home.

- [both laugh]

- We can see through that
right away.

The trick is really good.

You know, if you had--
What is it? 2...



If it had been,
you know, 2173,

you would have had
to add a number.

But you made 2175
right there,

which is a great way
to get that.

Now, we also think, you know,
sometimes the simplest things

can really be the absolute key
to a magic trick.

It can be a little
piece of tape.

It can be a little piece
of gum or wax.

Could even be a rubber band...

- Sure.
- ...that could hold

that whole thing.

A piece of elastic
up your sleeve.

All sorts of things.

And one of those things,
I think you used there

to get those...add a number up,
you know, right there.

- Did they fool them?

[all laugh]

- All right.
- Thank you, gentlemen.

- Well, you are very
entertaining.

Sean-Paul and Juliane.

[cheers and applause]

More remarkable magic
coming your way,

including a trick
from Penn and Teller.

Stay close.

[audience cheers]

- Welcome back to "Fool Us."
Let's meet our next magician.

- I am originally
from Las Vegas.

And I am a full-time
illusionist magician.

I won the World Championship
of Magic in 2010.

I do the big illusions.
I do the sleight of hand.

I do the comedy magic,
audience interaction.

But the stuff
that I'm doing now,

it's a little more focused
on the danger side of things.

Recently, I started
rock climbing.

I think I enjoy it so much,

because similar to magic,
it's constant problem-solving.

One time up there get real
on the adrenaline.

I'm headed more in the direction
of trying to produce

a little more adrenaline,
a little more dangerous,

just creating that experience.

[cheers and applause]

- Please welcome
the thrill-seeking magic

of Jason Andrews.

- Tonight, I put mind
over matter.

Let's get started.

[inhales and exhales]

That's not the trick.

This is a glass bottle, though.
This is a real glass bottle.

And, Penn, I understand that
you are somewhat of an expert

in broken glass,
glass bottles.

- I've juggled
a few of them, yeah.

- A few of them,
once or twice.

Would you mind lending your
expertise onstage?

- Oh, not at all.

- Penn and his glass expertise,
everyone.

[applause]

- Thank you very much.

- Thank you.
- Thanks, Penn.

All I'd like you to do
is check that out

and make sure
that it's real glass.

Make sure it's not gimmicked
in any way.

Just a glass bottle.

- Sounds real?
- Seems like a real bottle.

- Seems real. Okay.
Hang on to that.

Hang on to the hammer as well.
In just a moment,

we're going to break the glass
bottle with the hammer.

- Okay.
- I don't want glass

to go everywhere, though,

so we're going to put it
inside the paper bag here.

I'd hate for someone to slice
their feet open on the stage.

So we'll put it
inside the bag here.

And you can feel that the bottle
is there,

- so you know where to aim.
- I can.

- Right there. On the count
of three, swing the hammer.

We just want to break
the end off.

- Okay, sure.
- Okay, on the count of three.

One, two, three.

Oh, very nice.

I'll take the hammer back,
I'll shake your hand.

- Thank you.
- Thank you very much, Penn.

- I'm dismissed?
- Dismissed.

[applause]

Let's take a look,
see how he did.

[glass tinkles]

One broken bottle.

Perfect for our test
of mind over matter.

But one bottle would be
way too easy.

I don't have just one bottle.
I have 12.

Twelve shattered,
jagged glass bottles

that I'm going to walk
straight through,

from back to front,

in just a moment.

Now, you'll be able to see
the necks of the bottles

the entire time.

You'll be able to see
all the way around the cabinet

the entire time.

And you'll be able to see
the illusion live

from my point of view,

because I will be holding
this camera the whole time.

Don't look away.

But that's the easy part.
The difficult part

is getting to the cabinet,

because the path to the cabinet
will be filled with 100 more

broken glass bottles.

[broken glass tinkles]

Now, the challenge is walking on
the glass barefoot.

You can see there is
absolutely nothing

on the bottoms of my feet.

There is no sort of barrier.
No sort of protective film.

Absolutely nothing
between my bare skin

and the broken glass.

Nothing except my mind.

[exhales]

Here we go.

[exhales]

[groans]

Ah.

[applause]

Mind over matter.

[exhales]

[dramatic music]

♪ ♪

[cheers and applause]

- Jason Andrews!

Whoo!

Hi.

- Nice to meet you.
- You too.

- [sighs]

Are you all right?

Oh, God--oh!

That's gross.

- Sometimes I don't pass
all the way through.

Sometimes I get stuck.

- Oh.
- Ah. Souvenir?

- No, thanks.
- Oh.

- I mean, I don't even like
stepping on a splinter.

- Yeah.
- Oh, you're bleeding.

- Oh, that's lovely.
- That's something you accept

- when you learn to do it.
- Yeah, see, you know,

I see things like that and I'm
just fine not being a magician.

- I mean, it took about
two months, you know,

of doing it every day,
just to kind of get used to it.

And there were a lot of cuts
and a lot of Band-A*DS.

- Oh! And how long
did it take you

to not cuss while you were
doing it?

- I still have to control
myself.

Yeah.

- Well, let's see if Penn
and Teller enjoyed your act.

- Let's see it.
- All right.

Penn, Teller?

- Okay, let's go.

Really good. I love the idea
of adding the camera.

- Thank you.

- The camera's a really
nice thing

to give us that illusion,

because it lets us see things
without seeing things.

- Right.
- It's very, very nice

how much that conceals
as well as how much it shows.

You always think of danger
when you bring a magician up

to do something.

They might see something
that you don't want them to see.

- Right.
- Which I did,

but the audience didn't.

So it's great for them.

I also happen to be
carnie trash, as you know,

so I'm very familiar
with the glass walk.

I should tell people
that it really is real glass,

- and you really can get hurt.
- Absolutely.

- So don't do it.
But I have.

[laughs] So I know
a little bit about that.

And I also got to say,
this is the kind of act,

you know, after you have
all the card tricks

and all the--all the little
coin tricks,

and all the other stuff we do,

This kind of big act
with the danger

that gets the heart beating,
this is the kind of thing

that makes those Nielsen ratings
go really through the roof.

But I did see something
when I broke the bottle,

and I do know
the glass walk.

I think I gave you another
little hint somewhere in there.

I think we have a pretty
good idea how you did it.

Love the addition
of the GoPro.

- I think you know.
Thank you very much.

- Thank you.
- Aww. All right.

Well, thank you,
Jason Andrews.

[cheers and applause]

More can't-miss magic
on the way.

Stick around.

[jazz music]

- Welcome back to the house of
hocus pocus known as "Fool Us."

Let's meet our next magician.

- My name is Eric Mead.
I'm a magician

from Aspen, Colorado.

Magician is professionally
what I call myself,

but my real job
is family man.

When you have a child,
seeing through their eyes

makes everything fresh
and great again.

There are many ways to try
to fool Penn and Teller.

I'm going to perform
what's considered to be

a classic piece of magic,

but the interpretation of it

and this particular
version of it

is very different,
and I know for a fact

that Penn and Teller
will understand

the main principle
of the trick.

But along the way,
there's at least one

and maybe three moments
that will fool them.

I've written my script in a way

that if they're even fooled
a little bit,

but they're going to have
to give it to me.

[laughs]

[applause]

- Please welcome Eric Mead.

[audience cheers]

- Thank you very much.
Thank you.

Thank you.

It's probably just a coincidence
that the man who first told me

the 90-10 rule of magic
works behind the scenes

on this very program.

It was the Great Tomsoni himself
who explained to me

that if a magician
shows somebody a trick,

and 90% of that trick
fools them

but there's a little 10% sliver
over here

that does not fool them,
then average person will say

that the trick
did not fool them,

even though they can't explain


Contrary-wise, if that same
magician shows that same trick

to his fellow conjurers,

it only takes that 10% sliver

for them to admit
that they were fooled.

I don't know
if it's true or not,

but I want to put it
to the test tonight

by doing something, I think,
unprecedented.

I'm going to explain,
in advance,

how most of the trick
you're about to see works.

First of all, gentlemen--

you can take notes
if you want to.

First of all,

there's a principle
at the center of this trick

that you will certainly
recognize.

It's at least 400 years old,
probably much older.

And you yourselves
have used versions of it

on this very stage,
so I'm sure

that you'll recognize
what that is immediately.

Secondly, you will see some
sleight of hand.

And I know that you know
what sleight of hand looks like.

So I concede all of that.

There will be a little bit,
just a little bit,

of verbal misdirection,

which may or may not
have already begun.

- [Penn laughs]

- And finally--

actually, that's it,
that's it.

That is truthfully,
honestly,

at least 90% of what
you're about to see.

I'm not interested
in that 90%,

nor should you be.

I'm only interested
in that little remaining 10%,

the part where you and you
get reminded of what it's like

to see magic.

And to do that,
you need to be close.

Would you please come up here
and join me on the stage?

- With pleasure.
- [applause]

- Welcome.
- [laughs]

Oh, man. Oh, man.

- Ha! Good to see you.

So the composition
by John Ramsay,

the particular arrangement
I'm going to play for you today

is by a dear departed
and much-missed Tim Conover.

This is a classic,
called "The Cylinder and Coins."

I have some unusual props, which
I'll tell you about in a moment.

But for you, the important props
are these four silver dollars.

This is a drink coaster.

Tonight it's going to act
as a little stage,

like a little
raised platform.

This is where all
of the important action

will take place.

And the little piece of cork
sits out there on the stage.

The cork is just the end
of a wine cork

that I shaved off with a knife.
Just a little piece of cork.

It will play the role
of the MacGuffin,

if you're familiar
with that term.

And be hidden inside
the little cylinder.

Oh, and the cylinder,
I should tell you,

is just a little strap.

You can take that
off of there.

It's a little
strap of leather

that's had its ends
stitched together.

It's hollow. You can completely
see through it.

Penn, if you want to check it
out you're welcome to.

- I'll trust Teller
on this one.

- And I'll let you see
down through there, okay?

So the important thing
about the cylinder

is that there's
no top or bottom.

So anything dropped inside
will pass right through.

And as I said, the cork goes
inside the cylinder.

And we're ready to begin.

This would be the time,

if you want to pay
really close attention.

One, two, three, four coins.
The idea, very simply,

one by one I'm going
to take these coins

and I'm going to make them
disappear,

each in a different way.

The first one, the wand passes
through my hand like this.

And that coin sort of melts
from my hand

and appears down inside
the cylinder,

even though you're staring
at the cylinder

and it's right out
in the open.

Three coins left behind.

Three. Nothing else
in my hands.

That's number one.
That's number two.

And that third one...

Wait, there it goes.

That third one just a little--
like that.

It disappears completely.

Now, you're very polite.

A lot of times when I do this
for non-magicians

they'll grab hold of my wrist
at this point

and start looking at my skin
to see if there's a slit

or a pocket or something.

There's not, but I can make it
look like I have--

like, if I make a little fake
incision right here in the back

and I push down, that coin goes
right through to the inside.

Or I could push it down inside

and then touch it
with the magic wand,

and it instantly disappears
down inside the little cylinder.

That leaves just this one,
the last, the final coin.

And we'll do it like this,
from my left hand over--

actually, since the last one,
let's do it right-handed.

Long distance.
From the tip of the wand,

it goes like this
across the table,

and it disappears down inside
the little cylinder.

And just so you have something
interesting to talk about

when you go back over there,
I could not have dropped them in

because they are resting
underneath

that little piece of cork.

Thank you very much.

I feel like I'm running
out of time here.

Thank you very much.

So I want to do this last part
very quickly.

We'll do the whole thing
in reverse.

The little piece of cork
goes in my hand,

the coins inside
the cylinder.

Did I say coins? The coins--
I'll leave them sticking out.

The little piece of cork
is in my hand.

The coins,
to the last second

you see them inside
the cylinder.

And then we travel back in time
to where one of those coins

was right here
at my fingertips.

That's coin number one.

A second coin out there
in the air, that's number two.

Don't blink,
that's number three.

Three coins from nowhere.

Of course, we didn't start
with three.

We started with four.
That's that fourth coin.

The little piece of cork
instantly disappears.

And don't even try
to pretend that didn't fool you.

And right over here, inside,

the little piece of cork
that has no bottom, no top.

And that is what magic
should look like.

Thank you very much.

- Wow.
- Thank you very much.

- Eric Mead.

- Wow.
- Thank you.

- That was incredible.
- Thank you very much.

- That was fun.
- Oh, my gosh!

Okay, yeah,
my mind is blown, clearly.

- Good.

- And to do that
in front of them.

- They are now working very hard
and talking about what happened.

- You just have big cojones
to do it that close

in front of those guys.

- How kind of you
to notice, I guess.

- [laughs]

Yeah.

Because, you know, to do it
with them sitting right there.

- Oh, yeah. Well, close-up magic
should be up close.

- So do you think that there's
a chance you fooled them?

- I think it's unlikely

that they're going to say they
were fooled, and here's why.

Everything that I said up front
is true.

They recognize the main
body of the trick.

They know that there's
sleight of hand.

And they could just say that,
and I would have to concede

that that's correct.

So the question is,
would they...

- [audience laughs]

The question is,
where do they draw the line?

I'm certain there are a couple
of beats along the way

that were puzzling
or mystifying to them.

Is that enough to say
that they were fooled?

I don't know. I doubt it,
but we're about to find out.

- I don't know. I like just
watching them squirm.

- [laughs]

- You know, Eric,
you chose to do something

really, really difficult,
which is coin magic,

in front of us.

There are certain principles
in coin magic we just know.

And there's certain things
that we did see.

Probably the most brilliant
thing you did

was to do an introduction

where you changed the rules
of the game on us.

You changed it from having
a pretty good idea

how it was done overall

to this 10% thing, which has
nothing to do with "Fool Us."

It's totally what you
pushed on us.

But, you know, part of the magic
thing is game theory.

And you played the game theory
perfectly.

And then you threw it
in our laps and said,

"You decide whether
I fooled you or not."

So, yeah, we know coin magic.
Yeah, we know you, Eric.

But it is in our laps and...

- Oh!

We have a fooler!

- [audience cheers]

- Yeah!

- I'm so happy. Whoo!

- Fooler!

- Thank you very much.

- Whoa. Eric Mead,
ladies and gentlemen!

- Yes!

- OMG, P&T just got FD'ed.

Fooled.

We'll BRB after this.

[jazz music]

- Welcome back to "Fool Us."

Penn and Teller look like
they've recovered

from our last fooler,
and they're ready for more.

Let's meet our next magician.

- Hi, my name is Reza.
I grew up in South Dakota,

so where most kids were farming
and playing sports

and hunting
at a young age,

I took on magic.

The magic I do,
I want to make more relatable,

and not perform magic
with all the cliché items

like rabbits out of hats
and sparkly boxes,

but instead use things like
power tools and spray paint,

and just bring a really
cutting-edge feel to the magic.

A lot of the magic that
I perform is on a grand scale,

with motorcycles
and helicopters.

I definitely want to take
the energy of a concert

or a nightclub, and bring it
to a performance stage.

But tonight,
for Penn and Teller,

I'm taking all those
large elements

and I'm stripping them away,

bringing magic
back to its core.

A very simple illusion.

And hopefully I'll be able
to do it in such a way

that it fools
Penn and Teller.

- [audience applauds]

- All right,
let's raise the roof for Reza.

- [cheers and applause]

- I love it.

Tonight, I hope to show you
a miracle.

In order to do it,
I need some help.

Alyson, would you join me?

Cool. Give it up
for Alyson, everybody.

- Hi. Nice to meet you.
- Nice to meet you.

Thank you.

You probably noticed,
Alyson,

we have something
behind us here.

Do you know what that is?

- Oh, I don't know.
I mean, it's paper.

- More specifically, it's
a giant piece of toilet paper.

- Oh. [laughs]

That's cool.

We're going to use it
for a little art project.

Alyson, I need something
from you.

A playing card.
Any card from a pack of cards.

But we're going to do it
in an interesting way.

Rather than just to have you
select a card

in a way that I could
somehow manipulate,

I would like you just to name
a card just at random.

- Ace of hearts.
- Ace of hearts?

- Yes.
- Okay.

Deal. I don't want
to forget it,

so I'm going to record it
over here on the paper.

An ace...

and a heart.

Just like that. Okay?

- Sure.

- In the details.

Now let's make this a little bit
more interesting.

Penn, would you also name
any card at random?

Different than Alyson's.
Anything at all.

- Six of diamonds.

- The six of diamonds.
Okay, cool.

And Teller,
in any way you'd like,

would you give me a card
as well?

Eight of hearts.

Correct?

We'll do a six.

Six of diamonds.

And that was the eight
of hearts, correct?

All right.

Eight of hearts.

Excellent. So three cards
completely at random.

And I'm just curious, Alyson,
is there any reason why

you chose the ace of hearts?

- Just because I like aces
and I like hearts.

- The reason I ask you, though,

is because before the show,
I made a prediction,

a prediction that you would
choose the ace of hearts.

Do you believe me?

- Sure.

- [laughs]

No one has ever
said yes before.

But that's good,
she believes me.

Here, come on over.
And I really did.

I made a prediction, though,
in an unusual way.

Let me show you.

I wrote a number, actually,
on a box of playing cards.

Let me make sure
this is fair.

And you can see there really is
a number on the box, correct?

In fact, I'll show it
to everybody.

It's the number 14.

And I believe that there's
significance in this number.

Come on over. I want you
to actually deal 14 cards

face up one at a time
on the table, just like this.

I'll give you the cards,

I'll give you some space
to work with,

and one at a time--


- Face up?
- Yeah.

So it's one, two,
three, four,

five, six, seven,

eight, nine, ten,



Stop right there.

If the next card, Alyson,
is your card, the ace of hearts,

would you freak out?

- Yeah. Yeah.

I mean, yeah.

- Yeah, yeah.

So would I.

That would be amazing.

- It'd be a miracle.
- Yeah.

- Alyson, take the next card,
turn it over,

show it to everyone.

In fact, hold it up.

- The ace...
- That's crazy.

- ...of hearts.

- That is really crazy.
- I'll tell you what.

Actually, you keep your card.
I'll trade you for the rest.

- Okay.
- Let's try one more thing.

Just for fun, let's make it
a little bit more interesting.

This time, I'm going to riffle
through the cards, like this.

All right? As I do, I want you
to take your card.

I want you to toss it inside
the pack, anywhere you want,

anywhere at random.

- Okay.
- Are you ready?

- Yeah.
- All right, cool.

Any place. Go for it.

- [exclaims]
- Right there.

And push it in anywhere
you want to.

So that's fair.
Everything fair.

You just randomly
separated two cards

from inside the pack
right there.

The ace of hearts landed
directly in between

the six of diamonds...

- and the eight of hearts.
- Whoa!

[applause]

- Reza! What?

That's crazy!

- So this is something
you came up just for this show?

- Yeah, I invented the method
for this, actually,

a long time ago,
but I didn't have the trick

to go along with it, so I kind
of reversed-engineered it,

and I took that method

and I kind of built a trick
for the show,

and hopefully to fool
Penn and Teller.

But if not, just to at least
entertain them.

- So do any of your tricks
ever go horribly wrong?

- One of my first shows,

I thought it would be
a good idea

to put some money on the line
if the trick failed.

So I had a big lock box.

I filled it with all
the money I had, all the cash.

And I put a lock on it.
And I had five keys.

I told the audience that one key
would be for me.

They would choose it.

The rest would be
for the audience members.

And if someone
got the right key,

they would take
all my money.

First key unlocked it,
and that sucked.

- Oh, no.

- From then on,
no more money.

I do magic with spray paints,
cards...

- Oh, yeah.

Oh. Yeah, well, you know what?
Lesson learned.

Oh, I think we might
have a decision.

Boys?

- It's a really good trick.

It's a really good trick,
and you've--

you know, you've done the little
bit of making the card trick

a little bit bigger by having
spray paint and stuff in it.

You know, one of the things that
people are always looking at

when they're not magicians
is they're looking at--

they're looking at space
and movement.

But when you've been a magician
for a little while,

you're always looking
at time, you know?

And every time when there's just
discussion or jokes

or things going on,

we've got a little ticker
in our heads, going,

"What could you do during that
amount of time?

What could you do
during that conversation?"

We're always thinking that.

We got little stopwatches going
of what we'd be able to do

in that amount of time.

This is also about time.

But even with all that--
all that considered,

and all watching you do that,

and all the moves
looking all clean,

it seems almost
impossible.

It seems like one single person
couldn't possibly

do a trick like that.

We think we have some idea
how you did it.

And all of my talking here--

Can I give you a little bit
of a hint

of what we think there?

- And you think we might
be right on that?

- I think you've got me.

- And it's an amazing trick,
and you k*lled us.

- You just k*lled us.
Beautiful.

- Thank you.
- So I'm guessing

nobody's going
to fill me in,

but you know what
they're talking about.

Thank you for
entertaining us, Reza!

- Great trick.
Great trick, man.

- Thank you.
- Thank you, guys.

- [applause]

- Up next, two magicians who,
together,

are the strong and silent type.

Penn and Teller perform
after this.

[jazz music]

- Penn and Teller have been
performing as a duo

for four decades.

Tonight, all that changes when
they officially add not one,

not two, but 500 other people
to their act.

Here to close our show,
Penn and Teller,

and our entire
studio audience.

- You know, Alyson, you've known
us for a few years now.

You know that we're rather
patriotic fellas.

And we go to any sort
of big event,

and they start with
the national anthem.

It's always so stirring
and patriotic and wonderful.

And we think it's wonderful,
but just not enough.

We think there should be more
than a national anthem.

We think there should be
a national magic trick

so that everybody can get
into that feeling too.

So we have one
we've suggested, okay?

So we're going to try it
first with you.

We've given you a little
red hankie, okay?

And the words are on
the prompter.

You just follow along with us
and see if it works, okay?

So it does like this.
Stay with me, Alyson.

- Look, my hand is empty!
- Look, my hand is empty!

- Beautiful.

- Look, a little red hankie.
- Look, a little red hankie.

- Watch this.

- Watch closely.
- Watch closely.

- Just follow us.
Just like that.

- Okay.

- Not closely enough.
- Not closely enough.

- It's gone.
- Gone.

- Beautiful. But a little
whiffle dust...

You can hop if you want.

- ...and it's back.
- It's back.

- Thank you.
- Thank you.

- So imagine...thank you.
- [audience cheers]

- Thank you.

- Now, we've given everyone in
the audience little red hankies.

You all got them?
You all set?

all:
Yeah!

- Now imagine you're in
Yankee Stadium

right after "The Star-Spangled
Banner."

Penn and Teller come out
to lead the audience in this.

You all set? Let's all rise
for the national magic trick.

Look at that.
Looks nice, doesn't it?

- Yeah.

all:
Look, my hand is empty.

Look, a little red hankie.

Watch closely.

Not closely enough.

It's gone.

But a little whiffle dust,
and it's back.

Thank you.

- Play ball!

- [all cheer]

- Yes! Nicely done!

Beautifully done!

- Whoo!

- You k*lled it.

- Whoo! Thanks to
Penn and Teller

and all of tonight's acts.

See you next week.