02x10 - Teller Deflowers a Shadow

[bunniefuu]

From the Penn & Teller Theater
in Las Vegas, Nevada,

here's our host, Jonathan Ross.

Thank you very much indeed.
You're very kind.

Thank you, thank you.
Thank you so much. Thank you.

Thank you very much indeed.

We have a fabulous show for you tonight.

The illusions will leave you
in more ecstasy

than the crowd
at a Calvin Harris concert.

One for the kids.

Now, time to meet the men of the hour.

The prom king and king of Magic High,
it's Penn and Teller.

- Mr. Teller. Looking good as always.
- Sir.

Penn, looking slim and good to go.

Teller, ladies and gentlemen...

So sit back and get ready to be amazed,

because it's time to meet
our first magician.

I'm Riley Siegler,

and I am That Magic Kid.

This is a huge opportunity,

and I'm as excited as I've ever been.

I mostly do close-up magic.

Cards mostly, but sometimes I do coins,
sponge ba*ls, you know, everything.

I perform outside of Nat's,
because I'm trying to save up money

for magic camp.

I think I'm an ordinary kid
most of the time. Well, more weird.

A lot of kids, you know, like,

try to act as normal as they can
so they can be popular.

I just really don't care
about being popular,

and so I just do
what I want to do sort of.

But my parents fully back me up
in my magic and everything I do.

Well, I want to perform in Las Vegas.

Um, you know, hi. Uh...

I also want to be, you know,
a famous magician like Penn and Teller,

'cause, you know, I just love to do magic,

and if I can get paid to do it then, yeah.

So our next performer
is just 13 years old,

making him the youngest contender
in this edition of Fool Us.

Let's hope that tonight
for him 13 is a lucky number.

Please welcome the calm, cool,
and collected Riley Siegler.

Hello, everyone. Thank you for coming.

This is a huge opportunity for me.

Thank you, Penn and Teller,
for letting me perform

on your stage at the Rio Hotel.

Do you mind coming up here, please?

Hello, Teller. Nice to meet you.

I just want to say
I've always looked up to you.

Very nice to meet you, Riley.

Well, thank you.

So have you both heard of this game
called Three-Card Monte?

- I have.
- Good.

For those of you who don't know,

it's a game that they play
in New York City,

where they try to scam you
out of your money.

I'm not gonna do that to you.

Good.

I'll do it to you.

The point of the game
is to follow the money card.

That's gonna be the queen.

- So where's the queen?
- Right there.

But aren't you playing with him?

Okay, good. They do want you
to win the first two times,

so then you bet more money later.

But then they add in a distraction card.

That's gonna be the nine.

So where's the queen?

Let me try this again with three cards.
Maybe that'll make it easier.

Would you mind holding out your hand?

- I don't.
- Thank you.

We're gonna place the queen
right there in your hand.

- Hmm-mmm.
- So where is the queen?

I believe it's right here in my hand.

- Should I turn it over?
- Okay. Close.

Close. Very close.

Do you mind holding out your hand?

Thank you. We'll place the nine
right there in your hand.

So where's the queen?

Okay, good.

You're getting the hang of it.

We'll make it easier for you.

Please.

We'll place the queen up here
in my pocket,

- so you know where it is.
- Okay... I do.

So where is the queen?

Up there in your pocket,
where I know where it is.

Okay, we'll try again.

You know what?
I have to confess something.

I'm cheating. I'm using three nines.

- Uh-huh.
- I'm sorry.

I didn't lie to you about the first part.

I did put the queen up here
in my pocket earlier.

Uh-huh.

Well, now it's really unfair,
'cause there's four cards.

- I see.
- Yeah, so I'll get rid of this extra nine.

Okay, good.

So now we're back
at the starting position, right?

We are.

I still feel bad about lying
to you before...

- So, uh, I'll make it a bit easier.
- Okay.

Make it so there's two queens.

Oh, that's easier. Yeah.

And you know what?
I've just admired you for so long

I'll make it a full 50% chance.

So now there's a full 50% chance
that you get a queen.

Okay.

Well, that's because I have
the three nines up here in my pocket.

Uh-huh.

Actually, right now do you mind
inspecting this sleeve?

Just making sure that it's a normal sleeve
that you can get at any magic store.

Good?

Okay, thank you. We're gonna place
the three queens down right there,

- so we have the nines over here.
- Okay.

Gonna place them
inside the sleeve right there.

Then we have the three queens over here.
So where are the queens?

- Right there. In your hand.
- All of them?

All three queens right there
in your left hand.

Okay.

I tried to give you a chance
with that 50% thing.

See, the three queens are over here,

but it's not your fault,
because that is how

Three-Card Monte works.

- Very nicely done.
- Thank you.

Thank you, Riley. Thank you. Perfect.

Riley Siegler, ladies and gentlemen.

That was super.
Come round here, young man.

What a fabulous job he did.

Hey, you'd like to make this your career?

This is what you'd like to work in,
in the future?

Yes. If I can.

And where do you perform normally?
Where do you get your experience?

I actually perform outside a diner in L.A.

- Okay, okay.
- And I perform there every Sunday.

And do you do it for money,
or do you just do it for fun?

I do it for free,
but then people can tip me,

and that's how I get enough money
to go to magic camp.

That's fantastic. Okay.

Riley, you did a great job.

I know the fellows loved seeing you work.
We're gonna find out

whether they know what you did.
But let me tell you.

They've busted some of the best magicians
in the business,

so whatever happens,
you did fabulously well.

Let's go to Penn.

Well, first of all, you did fabulous.

What a wonderful routine
and all put together,

and with such panache, and style,
and confidence for someone your age.

I wish I'd have had that.

Uh, look straight ahead.

If you don't like what you see,
go down a different road,

because you're exactly what we were
when we were 13 years old,

except probably a little better.

And you have all of the qualities

you need to be a magician.

You have the style, the class,
the confidence,

and something that's usually
not considered a good thing,

but in that routine
was a very, very good thing

and is a very good thing for you

in that you are a two-faced kid.
That's what you are.

You're two-faced.

You're lying, and you're two-faced,

and we have a pretty good idea
of what you did,

but we also want to help you
expand a little bit.

We have a Penn and Teller
Fool Everyone magic kit

- for you right here...
- Thank you.

That I think you'll do great with.
So enjoy that.

You did a wonderful, wonderful job.

- Thank you, Riley.
- Thank you.

Here you go. You can take that with you.

- Have a good time.
- Thank you.

Great job. Riley Siegler,
ladies and gentlemen.

Great, great job, great job.

Now, we are like a workout video really,

except instead of making
your fat disappear,

it'll probably just
be a beautiful assistant.

So let's say hello to our next
potential fooler.

Hi, I'm Jade.

At a very young age
my family and I moved to America,

looking for a better life,
and we found it.

When I was 16, I was offered
a job at the magic shop.

I wasn't interested in magic,
but I wanted to work, so I took it.

I was so shy back then
that they threatened to fire me.

And the threat of that encouraged me
to overcome my shyness.

My first show was
a little elementary school show,

and I realized
I loved performing for children.

I decided I wanted to do more.

Once I mastered performing for children,

performing for adults was effortless.

Magic has brought out a way
for me to express myself.

People paint. People dance.
I do that with my magic.

Please welcome Jade.

Hello, everybody.

Thank you for being here.

At this moment,
I would like a volunteer to come up

to help me out with this routine.

Sir, in the plaid? If you don't mind.

Please, let's give him
a nice big round of applause.

- What's your name?
- Tom.

Tom, thanks for coming up here
and helping me out.

And, Jonathan, at this point, I would like
for you to help me out as well.

Let's give him a nice big round
of applause.

- Thank you. Lovely to meet you.
- Jonathan.

- You want me over here?
- Nice to meet you.

In a moment I will get to that.
Yes, yes, yes.

Um, right here, right now, what I'd like
for you to do for me, Jonathan,

is to have you plant your feet firmly
on the stage.

Face the audience,

about shoulder width.

My shoulders or your shoulders?

That's perfect. Wonderful. All right.

Now, if you don't mind I will put the pole
right next to your foot here.

Okay, yes.

If you'll extend your arm up here
and hold onto the pole.

- Uh, the bamboo pole, right here. Exactly.
- Okay.

And we'll look cute together.

Now this is when I say, "Jonathan,
will you please assume the position?"

This will be the position.

If you say so.

So, Jonathan, would you mind
just putting the bamboo pole

- on the table for now?
- Of course.

Meanwhile, Tom, we've got
a very sharp pair of scissors

I need for you to put away for me.

Maybe in your pocket somewhere
that you won't hurt yourself with.

And, Jonathan, I have
a kryptonite-green cord.

Hold onto that. Check it out.
Pull on it. Stretch it.

- Tom, you have one as well. Check it out.
- Yep.

Does it feel strong?

- "Strong"?
- Like it's not going to break?

There are no weak points, correct?

Strong, strong, strong.

So, gentlemen,
why don't you step a little closer

so my perfume doesn't go to waste?

Smells good.

Okay, now continue holding onto the cords
between your hands just in this position.

I will ask you both to tie me up.

Because it's so short,

I think the best thing for you to do
is to tie up just my thumbs.

Is that okay?

It's okay.

Well...

Come on. It's Vegas.

Let's go crazy, shall we?

- Another show perhaps.
- ...

Okay. So, Tom, if you don't mind,
I will turn my back to you.

But, Jonathan, you will be the first.

Would you please tie my thumbs together?
Pull upwards.

- Put a nice tight knot.
- Like this? A nice tight knot like that?

Yes, pull as tight as you can.
Put some muscle into it.

- As tight as you can.
- Oh, I don't want to go too tight.

- No, a little tighter.
- What's your safe word?

- Come on, let's establish something here.
- No. Go ahead.

- Go ahead, baby. Okay.
- That's as tight as I can go.

- One more knot on top of that...
- I'm exhausted.

- Okay. One more on top. One more.
- One more knot.

Yes.
That'll hold everything in place.

- You're crazy.
- You got that?

- As tight as you can.
- Okay.

All right, I'm gonna show you
what Jonathan's done so far.

My thumbs are securely tied.
And now, Tom, this is your chance.

Face the audience. Right.

You can rearrange your arms if you like.

Yes. Perfect.

Pull a nice tight knot there. Oh!
Okay, okay, okay.

Okay. I give. Okay.
One more knot if you don't mind.

That'll lock everything in place.

Okay good. Very good.

Tom, do me a favor.
Take two big steps to the left.

One. Two. Very good.

And now this is when you
assume the position for me.

Tom, take those two cords closest to you.
Tie two more knots.

Do it as tightly as you could. Tight.

Very nice. Do that as quickly as you can.

Pull. Very nice. As tight as you can.
All right.

Take out the scissors if you don't mind,
and cut off the extra ends.

Not too close to the knot. Right there.

All three of them, if you don't mind.

All right.
Now, Tom, will you tell the audience,

am I securely tied in here?

- Yes.
- Yes.

- Jonathan, take a look.
- You look tied up to me.

- Excellent. Nice and tight?
- You're secure.

All right. Now, look at this.

I'm gonna show the audience.

If you'll take a quick look
this is how it looks.

It all happens very quickly.

I need you to just try not
to blink when I count to three.

- Good, Tom?
- Yep.

- All right. Are you ready?
- Ready.

Here we go, then.

One, two, three.

Ha!

Wow.

Wow.

Wow.

- Thank you, Jonathan.
- Oh, my God...

Well, let's try it again.
I want you to watch very closely.

Hold on to the pole very tightly.
Make sure nothing happens.

- Yep.
- Ha!

Tell them, Tom.
Am I still securely tied in here?

Nothing's changed.

- One more time? Yes? One more time.
- One more? Okay.

Two. Here we go.

Ha! Ha!

Wow.

Is that still through there?
It's all solid?

- That is still tied up and still solid.
- Right through your arm.

- Yeah. It went right through me.
- Nothing's changed?

That's right. Right through your arm.

Hold onto that right there. Excellent.
Watch very close.

Right through the arm. Here we go.

Ha! Ha!

Will you tell them,
am I still securely tied in here?

- Still secure.
- Nothing's changed?

Nothing's changed.

The last and final one will actually be
the most dangerous one for me,

and this is where I need you, Jonathan,
to keep your feet in the same position...

- Yes.
- ...but to have two hands on the pole.

Two hands...

Come on, you're making up
your own jokes now.

- Okay.
- This pole.

- Okay.
- Yes, yes.

You can pull it closer. There you go.

- Wow.
- Is that comfortable? Is that good?

Feels very familiar.

- I'm still securely tied, right?
- Still tied.

All right,
I want you to watch very closely.

Here we go, then.

On the count of three.

- One, two, three. Ha!
- Whoa.

Oh. Wow. That was incredible.

If you can walk towards Tom, please?

Yeah, sure. Let's go this way.
You just wanna...

Tom, you're gonna have to cut me free.

Okay. There. I'm free, and I'm free.

Tom, do you wanna come in
for some of this action?

- Let's get a... What about me?
- Oh, she's gone.

- Yeah, yeah. All right.
- Here we go.

So let's give Tom a nice big round
of applause.

Let's give Jade
a big round of applause as well.

- Jade, that was phenomenal.
- Jonathan, thank you.

Come and stand right here.

Penn and Teller were studying
the whole performance,

and I hadn't met Jade before the show,
so we hadn't done anything beforehand.

They didn't let me see the act.

Of course, Penn and Teller
didn't see it either.

That was phenomenal,
and we have quite a lot of women magicians

on the show,
but we have far more men performing.

So is it something you'd encourage women
to get into, magic?

Absolutely. Absolutely. I love it when
I perform, and the little young ladies

come up to me, and they look at me,
and they say,

"I really loved your performance."

And in my heart I just hope that somehow
they'll go home and think,

"You know what? I don't see
a whole lot of women out there,

"but I saw one.

- "Maybe I could do that." Right?
- Yeah, that's a lovely, empowering message

for all of the young women watching.

Absolutely on-message.

Um, guys, what do you think of Jade's act,
and do you know how it was done?

Well, it's wonderful to see this done
by a woman.

It is, we believe, a Japanese trick
originally done with the...

The paper you're using is the ropes
you're using around

- Japanese woven paper...
- Exactly.

...that actually helps the trick work.

I don't want to give away
anything on this trick,

because the Thumb Tie
is one of the classics of magic.

There's lots of different versions of it,
and it's always entertaining,

and it's always funny.

And I believe the version you're doing
was done at least originally,

as far as we know, in probably the 1930s
by a Japanese acrobat magician group

called the Ten Ichi Troop

that toured all over the U.S.
and were very, very famous.

It was a wonderful part of their act,
and it was terrific.

And seeing that done by a woman
is really wonderful.

We can go into more of how it's done,

but I think Ten Ichi should be enough.

- It's good enough. Thank you very much.
- Thank you. Thank you.

You're confident they know the techniques
we used there.

Wow, they do know their stuff,
don't they?

- They do know their stuff.
- But what a fabulous show you gave us.

Thank you so much.
Let's say thank you again to Jade,

ladies and gentlemen.

That was lovely. Thank you.
Thank you so much.

- Thank you.
- Jade.

Let's meet our next contender.

My name is Ran'D Shine.
I'm from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

I got started with magic
in graduate school.

I really wanted to be a doctor or a nurse,

but I just saw some individuals
doing magic in the student cafeteria,

and magic is contagious. It is.

Went to my advisor and said,
"I'ma take a year off to perform magic."

She looked at me like I was crazy.

I just said, "I just need to give myself
one opportunity.

"One chance just to see if I can do this."

Nine years later, I'm still performing.

Traveled all around the world.
Over 20 countries.

Performed for two presidential
inaugurations.

I think I can fool Penn and Teller.

No, actually thinking comes
from not knowing. I know I can.

Here he is, Ran'D Shine.

"Ubuntu" is a South African
philosophical concept that means,

"I am because you are,
and you are because I am."

It speaks about the symbiotic relationship
between two individuals.

Some even suggest that if those
two individuals have a strong connection,

they will always be bonded together.

So tonight I'd like to test that concept
utilizing Penn and Teller.

Can you please join me on stage?
Thank you.

- Hello, Ran'D.
- Hey, how are you? How are you?

Penn, would you be so kind
just to slide one card,

just one card out the deck?

- I will.
- Okay. Good.

- That card right there.
- Yes. Right there.

And just like you were playing
a game of poker,

I want you just to cover it
and just peek at the card.

- I will do that.
- Remember the color, the suit,

- and the value of the card.
- Color, suit, and value of the card.

- Okay.
- Okay. And slide it back in.

- I will.
- Anywhere you want.

How about there, Teller?
Is that okay?

That's good.

Now, Teller,
you're going to select a card also.

However, you're gonna do this by chance.

Your choice.
The blue pill or the red pill.

That's what we call dice in the hood.
Go ahead.

Now, since a die has six sides, I am going
to deal six equal piles of cards.

I want both of you to watch to make sure
that I'm not utilizing

any fancy sleight of hand.

Each and every card is coming
from the top of the deck.

Teller, can you pick up the die, please?

And be prepared to roll it
in a few seconds.

Now, Penn,
I get a sense neither one of these

- is your card, am I correct?
- That's correct.

Okay. Thank you. Thank you.
Teller, roll the die.

Good. Now it's your choice.

Should I start counting
from this side or this side?

This side.

That's one right here.

What we're doing right now
is we're eliminating cards

until we narrow it down
to one final card in the deck.

Teller, can you pick up the die again?

And I will deal another round
of six cards.

Six even. And right there.

- Penn, none of these is yours?
- No, no. those aren't.

Oh, okay. I thought not.

Okay, and roll the die, Teller.

Four. Should I start counting
from this side or this side?

That's one, two, three, four.

So let's recap.

A deck of cards is spread on the table.

- That's right.
- You selected a card.

- I did.
- You looked at the card.

- I did.
- You memorized the color,

- the suit, the value?
- Oh, the memorize part I didn't do.

No, I'm just kidding.

Joking. Just joking.

I just kid once in a while.

And, Teller, you've selected a die.

You rolled the die.

Uh, you selected the number,

and you decided which side
I should start counting from.

And we did this several times,
until we narrowed it down

to one card and one card only.

In the beginning I said

this is a test of the concept
called "Ubuntu".

The symbiotic relationship
between both of you.

Penn, what was the card you selected?

The card I selected
was the three of hearts.

And that, my friends, is proof that
no matter what decisions you make,

Penn and Teller will always be...

Connected.

Ran'D Shine, ladies and gentlemen.

Come on round, Ran'D.
Meet me out in the front here.

- That was super impressive. Wow.
- Thank you.

Now, the guys specialize
in this kind of thing.

- You know that and I know that.
- Right. Right.

There must be something new
or something very different

you're doing here to think
you can fool them.

Yeah. I think I can.

- I think I'm doing a little something.
- Something you invented yourself?

Um, little tweaks here
and there of something old.

Okay, so something they won't know.

And have you shared this
with anyone else yet?

A few.

Yeah, 'cause occasionally
that could be the risk.

Magic is a fairly small world,

- and obviously guys share techniques.
- Yes.

They share illusions.
And sometimes the guys get it easily,

because they've encountered
someone who's talked about it.

- Doesn't seem to be the case this time.
- Right.

I think Penn and Teller are ready to talk.

Let's find out what they have to say.

Ran'D, sir, what a nice routine.

- A very, very nice routine.
- Thank you.

You know, you said something very true
in that routine.

A lot of times magicians
lie all the way through.

But you said at one point
there were no fancy sleights

in this routine.

No fancy sleight of hand.

You said that outright.

And I think during that moment
you were telling the truth,

because I think that that card trick
could have had double endings.

Could have had two different endings.

Two different sides of the way
that trick could have gone.

As a matter of fact,
a guy by the name of Claude Rix...

- Is that right?
- Hmm.

Claude Rix might have had
a good idea of the way

the two ends could have been.

We giving you enough hints right here,
or do you want more?

- Yes. Yes. Yes.
- Okay!

- Yes!
- So you're confident

they know what you did,
and that you didn't fool them?

I'm confident that they know
what happened.

Wow. Okay.

Nicely done.

Ran'D Shine, ladies and gentlemen.

Thanks again, Ran'D.

It's a bit like a political debate.

The most successful contestants
are often the best liars.

Let's meet our next fooler now.

Hi. I'm David Roth.

Some people say I'm their mentor,

but I think I just help them out
with a couple of tricks.

From the Magic Castle
I have several awards.

Visiting Magician, and Close-up Magician,
and Lecturer of the Year Award.

And then I got a creative fellowship.

That was a great honor.

In the old days, coin tricks were short.

You make a coin disappear,

and you pull it out of somebody's ear.

I wanted tricks that were longer,
more theatrical.

So I created some original effects
that nobody had ever seen before.

A lot of people now do these routines,
and they don't realize it's my material.

Our next performer
is a magician of the old school.

And let me just remind you, we don't
use camera tricks or false editing.

Everything you see is as it happens.

So please welcome
the supremely gifted David Roth.

Thank you.

Penn, Teller, would you mind
please joining me at the table?

- I can't wait to see this.
- How you doing?

Good to see you.

I have something I'd like to show you.

These are...

U.S. Kennedy half-dollars.

I won't be using all of them,
but four coins and a cup.

Now, very few people know that
if you hold the coins and the cup

at just the right angle...

There's something in that cup,

and I think it's a coin.

There are only three coins here.

This is the first coin to travel
from my hand to the cup.

That leaves one, two, three coins left.

And that's the first one.

Please notice,
I do not send them up my sleeve.

They go straight to the cup.

That's how the first one went across.

Listen.

And the second one goes the same way.

Which leaves just two.

Two coins have traveled.
Two coins left to go.

Now I'll be honest,
'cause you guys know a lot about magic,

and the only reason
you didn't see these go

is because it happened by magic.

That was the first one.

That was the second one.

Watch the third one.

Listen.

Did you hear it?

Me neither.

Must be hush money.

Because there it is.

So that's one, two,
three coins in the cup.

Last one's the hardest,
'cause you know what I'm gonna do?

It's already done.

And that's how you
send four coins to a cup.

And think. I didn't even use a magic wand.

I don't have a magic wand.

But I do have a chopstick,
which is almost as good.

And with these coins and this chopstick,
I will show you something amazing.

One in the hand.

Watch.

Nothing's happened yet,

but if I just make a magic pass

and wiggle my thumb, that coin will change

to a Chinese coin...

...with a hole in the center.

It isn't worth as much
as these three silver coins,

but it's still worth keeping,

so I'll do it again with coin number two.

The idea's the same.
It hasn't changed yet.

But I just need to make a magic pass
and wiggle my thumb,

and that coin will change...

...to a Chinese coin...

...with a hole right through it.

Two coins are left.

I'll do the next one visibly.

That means you actually see it change

from a silver half-dollar

to a Chinese coin.

Just like magic.

And watch the last coin change

from a silver half-dollar
to a Chinese coin.

Back to silver.

Back to Chinese.

Back to silver again and one more thing.

I dropped the last one in the cup.

Give the cup a shake.

They all change back to silver.

And that's why they call it magic.

You know,

maybe I'm using too many coins.

Watch this one, then these.

One in the hand and one,

two, three in the cup.

Now watch this coin,

because it's gone.

Really gone.

Truly gone.

Which leaves just three.

I'll do it again.

Watch this one, then these.

This one, then these.

One in the hand
and two in the cup.

Now watch this one,

because it's gone.

Really gone.

Truly gone. Which leaves us two.

Watch the count.

That's one, two, three, four, five, six.

And it's gone.

Really gone.

Truly gone.

Which leaves just one.

Now, what do you do
with a single coin?

I can put it over there.
Bring it up over here.

If I touch it to my elbow,

it'll come over here.

If I try to put it back,

it'll come out over here,

so, I'll put it over there

and make it jump across.

Or I could drop it over there.

And you think it's here, but it isn't,

'cause sometimes they really disappear,

but they never go far.

There it is. Or I could always make it
twenty times larger.

Thank you.

David Roth, ladies and gentlemen.

David, that was incredible to watch.

I saw that when your name
came on the screen

and when Penn and Teller saw
who was gonna come out, they both smiled.

They must know your name.
I know you are very well-known

and respected in this industry.

How long have you been performing for?

Oh, since I was 10.

Wow, so five or eight years?

Yeah. That's right.

And the trick you just did there,
is this one of your own?

Because I believe
you have created a lot of tricks.

Oh, yes.

- That was all original material.
- Wow.

Some of your tricks are being used
by other magicians I know.

How does it feel when you see, uh,

one of the new kids on the block
doing one of your tricks?

If they do it well, it's very gratifying.

If they do it badly,
I'm sorry I ever gave it away.

So, David, do you think you fooled 'em?

I think I fooled 'em
with one particular part.

The vanish at the end of the three coins.

Okay. Well, let's find out
what they have to say about that.

Penn, Teller? What's your verdict?

David wrote the books

on coin magic that we read.

And seeing, uh, spellbound,
and coins across,

and all those things
done that well, that close,

that beautifully,

that perfectly...

I think that because we read the books,

we have a pretty good idea

how he did most of the stuff.

And I do not give a good damn.

I'm sitting here next to Teller.

I don't care we have a pretty good idea.

We have a pretty good idea
because of his books,

and I'm gonna tell you, he fooled us.

No doubt about it.

There's no way
for him to do what he just did there.

That was beautiful, man.

Classic vanishing act.

Just gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous.

Beautiful. Teller always gets to.

May I do that, David?

- Sure.
- Thank you so much.

Thanks.

Just a beautiful routine.

David Roth.
He fooled them, ladies and gentlemen.

Wow.

Now, I stand beside

one of the most iconic and inspirational
sights in the world.

The Stars and Stripes.
The beautiful flag of your country,

the United States of America.

Okay?
And I'm English, and we love this country.

So take a good look while you can,

because we're gonna come
and take it back from you

as soon as we can.

But while we're waiting,
why don't you enjoy

the unique magical stylings
of Penn and Teller?

That's one of my favorite bits
in our whole show right there.

Handkerchief is there,

and then it's gone.

Sprinkles.

Ooh, it's a miracle.

And we're supposed to show you miracles

that are, like all miracles, totally fake.

We're also supposed to give you content.

Something to think about.
And as beautiful as that moment is,

it means nothing.

And sometimes you can add content
to a bit merely by changing the props.

What if instead of using
that white silk handkerchief,

that meaningless piece of cloth,

we were to use a piece of cloth

that was nothing but meaning?

Now, before we go any further,

we'd like to reassure you,

that we mean no disrespect
toward this flag.

Teller and I are proud Americans.

We consider ourselves to be patriotic.

We got a little more patriotic
about 15 years ago,

when we spent time in Egypt,
China, and India,

because nothing
can make you love the USA more

than overseas travel.

We were overseas,
we were humbled by the realization

of how much of our prosperity,
and our happiness,

even our individual personalities...

How much of all of that
comes directly from the liberties

that are symbolized by this flag.

But even so, a couple of goofballs

handling the flag onstage in Vegas

does bring a weird kind of energy
to the room.

It's energy we're talking about
when we talk about "content".

'Cause with this piece of cloth onstage,

there's a lot to think about.

But the cloth was only one
of the three props Teller used.

He also used a magic wand
and a meaningless piece of paper,

which we'll replace with
a meaningful piece of paper.

The Bill of Rights.

The first 10 amendments
to the Constitution

of the United States of America.

This is... No, no, no, no.

This is...
It's not the real original Bill of Rights.

We can't afford that yet,
but all the words.

And more importantly,
all the ideas are on this paper.

We have the First Amendment,
which is usually abbreviated,

the "Freedom of Speech Amendment".

And "speech" has been defined
rather broadly to include symbolic speech.

And therefore, the Supreme Court has said

we can do anything we want with this flag.

The thinking seems to be no matter
what happens to the flag physically,

symbolically it's always protected
by the Bill of Rights.

So we need a piece of tinder

and a very eccentric magic wand,

and we can do this.

And it's okay.

See, while the flag is gone,

the Bill of Rights remains.

We'd like to think we added
a little bit of content to that bit.

First of all, there's an idea

that Teller and I have been
talking about forever,

and that is what would happen
if you were to burn a flag?

Not in disgust.

Not in protest of anything,

but rather in celebration
of the very freedoms

that flag symbolizes?

But more relevant to our show
is the ambiguity.

The fact...
Do you really know what's going on?

I mean, did we burn a flag?

Did we symbolically burn a flag?

Or did we merely vanish a flag
in a patriotic flash of fireworks?

Well, it's all of those.
It's none of those.

It's up to you.

You see, most shows, and movies,
and TV, are all fake.

They're phony, they're fiction.

And news and sports?
Eh, they're supposed to be real.

But Penn and Teller?

We like to drive fast
right on down the middle,

because sometimes we're showing you
and telling you the truth

as we see it
from the bottom of our hearts.

And sometimes we're lying,
cheating, and swindling.

And it's up to you to figure that out.

We can only allow you that freedom,
'cause we're working in a free country.

If we were trying to do our show
in another country,

a country without our Bill of Rights?

Well, things would be different.

'Cause there's one thing
a totalitarian government cannot tolerate.

It's ambiguity.

They don't care very much
what you believe,

as long as you all believe it together.

So it wouldn't be enough to just show you

that the flag was fine
at the end of the trick.

Not in that context, no.

Have to show you every step of the way.

Make sure you're all thinking and feeling
the exact same thing.

Make sure there was no dissent.

Make sure that you're all united.

And once we've done that,

once we've laid it all out
and do whatever we want.

Take a piece
of chemically-treated flash paper

and a very eccentric wand,

and we can do this.

But it's a lousy trick.

And that's why Penn and Teller
are so proud

to work in the United States of America.

On the shore, dimly seen
through the mist of the deep,

where our foe's haughty host
in dread silence reposes,

what is that which the breeze,
o'er the towering steep,

as it fitfully blows,
half conceals, half discloses?

Now it catches the gleam

of the morning's first beam.

In full glory reflected

it shines in the stream.

"'Tis the star-spangled banner

"O long may it wave

"O'er the land of the free

"And the home of the brave!"

Penn and Teller,
ladies and gentlemen.

Fabulous.
That's what I call a big finish.

That's our show.
Join us next week for more fun.

For Penn and Teller, I'm Jonathan Ross.

- Jonathan Ross.
- Have a magical night.