Illusion, Strength, and Intelligence: Why Unexpected Performances Captivate Audiences
Mentalists: how do they do it?
They read your mind, count, as fast as a calculator, move objects … As you might expect: there is something. Mentalist: a person who uses mental acuity, hypnosis and/or suggestion. This is the definition given by the credits of the TV series of the same name. There is no doubt that the lively Patrick Jane and her ability to manipulate suspects have done much to arouse public curiosity. While traditional magic struggled to renew itself, except to put in the spectacular means of a David Copperfield, mentalism filled the rooms. No less than thirty artists are currently performing throughout France. Discipline is not new. Jean-Eugène Robert-Houdin, the famous illusionist of the 19th century, staged telepathy experiences. If their job is to pretend that they have a gift, the mentalists work on their staging, repeat the text of their show and use fireworks. Pascal Le Guern and Tibor the Mentalist have agreed to reveal some of them to us.
A keen sense of observation
“This is what we call cold reading. It is a question of analyzing the gestures, the clothing, the voice, to extract information from it which will allow us to be one step ahead of the spectator “, explains Pascal Le Guern, co-author, with Tibor the Mentalist, Secrets des mentalists (ed. Mazarine). Identify a lefty, whether we are dealing with an outgoing or shy, distinguish susceptible individuals discourse: as many observations that will allow the mentalist to establish trust.
An ultra-developed memory to impress the public
Most telepathy experiments are done in duo: a “diviner”, blindfolded, must discover the object designated by his accomplice. How is it? The accomplices share a secret language which allows the mentalist to approach sentence after sentence of the truth. “What object do I have in my left hand”, rather than “in the right hand”, or “do you see the object” instead of “how do you see the object”. So many formulations that provide information. Which means memorizing hundreds of coded sentences. Another experiment consists of making ten spectators pronounce ten different words, recording and restoring them in any order. The secret? Associate beforehand the rank of the appearance of a word, for example, “one”, with an image to be displayed, for example, “dog”. And memorize 1 = dog, 2 = god, etc. If the first word to remember is “hammer”, create the image of a dog holding a hammer in its mouth. The more absurd the association, the easier it is to memorize it.
Predisposition for numbers
Additions, subtractions: mentalists offer the public a multitude of operations which have the characteristic of having an always identical result. Their talent is to make us believe that they are performing the operations at full speed or that they have predicted the result (as presented on the right). The first round consists of writing a secret number (34) on a sheet and then presenting a grid of 16 digits. Whatever figures the spectator chooses, the result of the operation is always 34. In turn 3, the operation makes it possible to arrive at a multiple of 9. So the symbol is always the same.
A taste for handling
“For the experiments to work, you have to put people in condition, speak for example at a rapid pace to force them to focus on what they are told,” says Tibor the Mentalist. “With his attention mobilized, we use certain cognitive flaws in the brain, which tend to go to the essentials and miss certain details. To get the proof, go to exercise 2, as simple as it is disconcerting because it works almost every time!
Man Challenges Gaston To A Push-Up Competition, Only To Get A Humbling Surprise
The actor playing Beauty and the Beast’ s Gaston at Disney World in Orlando is known for his bravado, especially after a video of a little girl putting him in his place went viral last month. However, it looks like her adorable scolding of the cartoon villain didn’ t hurt his confidence, as this new video shows him accepting a push-up challenge from a young man.
As they start, the challenger manages a series of slow push-ups, while Gaston flies through a series of fast exercises before moving onto a set of incredible one-handed push-ups. Gaston easily comes out as the victor, much to the amazement of the challenger and tourists.
(source Blake Platt)
That actor really plays the part perfectly. This line was just golden: “ Looks like he is struggling… PERHAPS HE NEEDS A HAND!”
This May Look Like A Colorful Mess, But Just Watch What Happens To It
Food should be fun. This is especially true for cakes and desserts. Yet no dessert is as much fun to make as this groovy and colorful cake. It’ s especially fun because it hides a surprise heart on the inside. It’ s also just as much fun to eat as it is to make.
It’ s not the easiest cake to make, as a lot of work and love goes into making one. It is, however, made with love, as demonstrated so eloquently in the heart it hides.
(source How To Cook That)
To make one of these rainbow-colored surprise heart cakes, you’ ll need a few things. Here’ s the amazing recipe, as posted by Ann on her website, How To Cook That.
Colored Hearts:
Makes enough hearts for two cakes 22cm (8.66 inches) long each heart or other shape cutters, hers was 7.5cm (2.95 inches) across and 7cm (2.76 inches) tall 3 packets vanilla cake mix 5 gel colors, or you can use neon colors if you prefer.
White Cake:
2 packets vanilla cake mix.
To Decorate:
White fondant frosting (she used the frosting that was in the boxes of cake mix) colors as used for making the cake.
Watch As An Octopus Stuck In A Jar Unscrews The Lid From The Inside
If you ever wanted to see how an octopus responds in a rather tough situation, you’re in luck.
The clip below shows an octopus being placed in a glass jar, with the lid screwed back on tight to close the creature inside. However, in an instant, the Houdini octopus starts plotting his escape by unscrewing the red lid from the inside of the jar. The end result proves that you can’t keep an octopus down.
(source Beata Svengt)
This is why I won’t get an octopus as a pet. I’m convinced that, in the first chance he gets, he’ll escape from his aquarium, crawl into my bedroom, steal my car keys (and possibly my wallet), and make a hasty retreat back to the ocean. What a sneaky creature.