Hello...hope everyone is well. Thought I'd post this neat number trick.

It's dead easy to do and I've

added in some ideas as to how the effect could be improved.

Here’s a nice quick easy ice breaker to start any performance off with. Also you could do this over zoom
if you’re doing any virtual magic for family, friends, kids or work colleagues.

Here’s how it works. There are five columns of numbers that start with the smallest at the top and finish
with the largest at the bottom. No number is bigger than 31.

You ask for a volunteer to choose a number between 1 and 31. They can write it down on a piece of
paper (without telling anyone what it is) and then fold it up.

You then ask them (usually starting with the column on far left hand side, starting with the number 1) if
their chosen number is in that column. If they say yes, ask them to check just to make sure. You then
move onto the next column and ask if their number is in that column. If they say yes get them to check a
second time. You do this for each column.

After they have done this you can say that you are going to read their mind and tell them the number
they chose. Best to eke out this moment as long as possible. If the number chosen is a two digit number
you can make the revelation a digit at a time. After you have done the reveal, you can get them to
unfold the piece of paper that they wrote the number down on, at the start, to show everyone else.

How does it work.

It’s really simple. Say the volunteer chooses the number 13, unlucky for some I know.

Working through each column as described above, you should know that your volunteer’s number is in
columns 1,2 and 4. All you need to do is simply add the top number from each of these columns and you
get their chosen number.

A few ideas of how to add to the effect.

The effect, as described, works really well with kids.

Here are a few ideas for making the effect even better.

1/ You can mix the numbers up in each column. So they won’t start and end with the smallest and
largest numbers respectively. You will need to remember that if their number is in column 1 (column on
far left hand side) you will need to remember the smallest number in this column (which is one). The
same goes for the other columns.

So for column 2 you need to remember the smallest number in this column is two. For column 3, you
need to remember the smallest number is four and so on.

2/ You could mix the columns up. Column 1 could be switched with column 3 for example. Again you
would need to make a mental note of the smallest number in each column.

3/ Lastly you could wear a blind fold before you ask your volunteer which columns their number is in.

This trick/effect has been well road tested with kids and usually generates a good response. Quite often
teachers have asked me to pass on the secret.