05x03 - Penn & Teller Get Loopy

[bunniefuu]

[jazz music]

♪ ♪

[cheering and applause]

- From the
Penn & Teller Theater

at the Rio Hotel
in Las Vegas,

here's our host:
Alyson Hannigan!

[cheering and applause]

- Welcome to
Penn & Teller: Fool Us.

If you're watching our show
for the first time,

where have you been?

You've missed hundreds
of amazing tricks.

Oh, sorry.
I mean,

thank you for joining us.
[laughter]

Well, this is how
the show works:

magicians try to fool
Penn and Teller

in order to win an
all-expense-paid trip to Vegas

to perform in their
world-famous magic show.

So, let's begin.

Ladies and gentlemen,
Penn and Teller!

[cheering and applause]

[jazz music]

♪ ♪

Hello.
Oh, hi!

[laughs]

[cheering and applause]

Penn and Teller
look comfortable.

Well, maybe too comfortable.

Are they ready
for our first magician?

Let's meet him and find out.

[fireworks crackle]

- My name is Ryan Chandler.
I'm from Omaha, Nebraska.

By day I'm a teacher,
and by night

I do magic and music.

Just like creating a song,
it's the same thing

creating a trick or a routine.

You want to put in
your own formula,

and try to just
figure something out

that's artistically unique
to you.

The trick that I'm doing
for Penn and Teller,

it's like something just--
like a lightning bolt

or something
just touched me on the top

of the head and said,
Here it is.

And it just happened.
It's like, I can't even

take credit for it--I don't
even know how it happened.

And I've being doing music
forever,

and I've been doing magic
for a long time.

The two storms
just came together,

and that's what's
gonna happen tonight.

[cheers and applause]

- Please welcome
the musical magic

of Ryan Chandler!

[cheering and applause]

- All right.
Thank you for having me.

Two passions of mine
are magic and music.

And right now,
I'd like to try something

using a little bit of both.

Alyson, would you please
join me on stage?

- Sure.
- Ladies and gentlemen, Alyson.

[cheers and applause]
That's enough!

That's enough.
- [laughs]

- It's still my trick.
[laughter]

Alyson, here's
what we're gonna do.

It starts out
with a deck of cards.

All the cards are different.

All you're gonna do
is just touch one card

that you feel drawn to, okay?
Go ahead.

- Um...
- Any card you'd like.

Okay.

Now, just so these guys
over here know

that it's a free selection,
why don't you go ahead

and change your mind.
- [laughs] Okay.

- Okay? Perfect.

All right, go ahead.

Show it to no one,
not even the camera, okay?

Got it?
- Can I look at it?

- You like it?
Yep, go ahead.

- Mm-kay.
- All right,

so that was the card portion
of the magic trick.

[laughter]
Now I need to get

to the music portion.

So if we could, uh,
have Penn and Teller

please join me on stage.
Come on up.

[cheers and applause]

All right, so...

- That's my axe.
- You've got your bass, yeah.

- That's my bass.
You want me to take it out

of the, uh, stand?
- Teller, nice to meet you.

Now, uh...

You don't talk,
so I wanted to find a way

to incorporate you
into the trick.

so I brought out a chime.

And then, uh,
a musical instrument for you.

So you just strike the chime.
You wanna give it a try?

[ding]

Yep.
[cheers and applause]

Okay, yeah. Guys.

Save it for me at the end.
[laughter]

All right.
[laughter]

And then we have your bass.
- This is mine.

- We stole this from you.
- Shall I take it?

- Yeah, um, go ahead.

Just make sure it still works.

- I--I believe it does.
[plays bass]

- Yeah.
[applause]

This guy's good.
He's a professional.

All right,
so we're ready to roll.

Uh--
That's enough, Penn.

Okay, so...
[laughter]

[plays flat note]
Now we go

to the teaching portion.
I'm a teacher, by day.

You know all about that.

This is a truly magical piece
of music equipment

known as a "looper."

What it allows you to do
is you can record something

and then if you just
press a button, it'll play it

over, and over...
[Penn plays a note]

And over again, endlessly,
as if in a loop.

So that's what we're gonna
go ahead and try, right now.

Okay?

Just to be clear, everything
that you are about to hear

is happening in real time.

Magic in the form of music.

Track 1 will be me.
Alyson, you'll be on Track 2,

so get ready to roll.
[laughter]

Uh, Track 3 is gonna be
our Penn and Teller track.

So you guys are gonna
go together on that one.

- We're sharing a track?
- Yeah.

- Okay.
- And then I'm gonna go

on Track 4, here.
Round us up, okay?

- Okay.
- Okay, here we go.

[beat boxes]

♪ ♪

[recording plays
over speakers]

Magic?
[applause]

Yeah, okay.

All right,
we'll go to Track 2, here.

Alyson, I just want you
to go ahead and say your name.

Okay? Here we go.

♪ ♪

- Alyson.
- Say, "Hi, my name is Alyson."

- Hi, my name is Alyson.
- What's your favorite color?

- Purple.

Alyson.

Hi, my name is Alyson.

[laughs]
- Lead vocalist, right there.

All right, Track 3.
The Penn and Teller track.

I'm gonna have Teller start off
with the chime.

All right, here we go.

[rings chime in beat]

- All right, that's enough.
That's enough.

[laughter]

♪ ♪

All right, and then
we got Penn on the base.

We're still on Track 3, here.

So here we go.

[plays funky bass beat]

♪ ♪

- Purple.

Alyson.

Hi, my name is Alyson.

- So you can hear the bass;
you can hear everything.

All right.

And now, I'm gonna go ahead,
for the fourth track--

I'm not gonna lie, this is
gonna be a little creepy.

Little weird, little different.

Here we go.

[strange whispering into mic]

♪ ♪

[laughter]

Okay, Penn.
Since you are a musician--

I know both of you guys do--
uh, can you put the bass back?

And then I'll go ahead
and I'll take your chime.

[track continues to play]

And then I'm gonna let you
come over, and actually play

with the looper a little bit.
- Okay.

- Okay?
So, uh, come on over.

Now, they say
when you take an old record

and you spin it backwards,
sometimes you get

that hidden message.

Teller, do you see that
reverse button right there?

We're gonna go ahead--
hit the reverse button,

we'll hear it in reverse.

[track plays backwards]

And Penn, if you'd like,
go ahead and slowly drag back

each track.

[whispered]
Of...Spades...

Five...Of...

Spades...

Five...

Of...

Spades...
Now, Alyson,

you picked a card
right at the beginning.

Any card you wanted.
For the first time, go ahead

and show everyone your card.

Five...Of... Spades...

Got it.
[cheering and applause]

Ladies and gentlemen,
Alyson, Penn, and Teller.

- Ryan Chandler!

[cheering and applause]

Ah, well,
you earned that applause.

- Thank you, thank you.
- Yeah.

- That's incredible...
- Thank you.

- Very impressive.

I was a little worried
when you gave me my own track.

Like, I wasn't--
- Oh, I wasn't--

I had confidence in you.
- Aww, thanks.

- I knew you'd do it.
Hit it out of the park.

- Did you ever want
to just be a musician?

- Uh, absolutely.
I just wasn't good enough.

[laughter]
And, uh...

Same thing with magic.
So I just try to do

a little bit of both,
and hopefully you guys

are entertained by it, so.
- [laughs]

Or ma--maybe you're great
at both.

And--and you teach?

- Yep, I'm a teacher by day,
so...

- What do you teach?
- I teach, uh, middle school.

Six--grades six through eight.
- Oh, wow.

- And it's kind of fun,
When I get the sixth graders,

they don't know I do magic.

So I just kind of, like,
make things disappear

without letting them know.
- [laughs]

- So they'll be sitting there,
and I'll make something vanish.

And then I'll walk off.
And then I'll--

I'll say, "Do you have that?"

And they're like, "Wh--
where'd it go?"

- [laughs]
- I'm like, "I don't know."

- All right.
Let's see if Penn and Teller

know all the beats
to your trick.

- All right, sounds good.

- Uh, boy, uh--
It's--it's really great.

So nice to see that.

And so nice
to see looping used.

I love--I love looping.

And a, uh,--
You know the Beatles

did a, uh-- "White Album,"
and on it was "Revolution 9."

If you played that backwards,
you got, "Tur-me-on-dedmen,"

Tur-me-on-dedmen,
Tur-me-on-dedmen.

And I would play that
on my tape, uh--

on my, uh, turntable--
way back when we had those--

backwards over and over again
till I could do it.

And then I got a tape recorder,
then tested it,

so I could actually say
number nine backwards.

Made the whole thing very,
very plausible, and very good.

But you know,
like all good magicians,

you told a lie right up top.

Right at the very beginning,
really early on.

One that
everybody else believed,

and, uh, we even believed
until we saw the trick.

So I'm gonna give you--

I've already told you
that part of that.

But I'll give you
the other part of that,

in, uh--uh, backwards.

Ee-sorf.

Ee-sorf.
[laughter]

Wasn't it?
- Uh...

- Do you understand
ee-sorf?

- I--I understand that, yeah.
Completely.

I'm not as good at code...
- [laughing]

- You understand?
- Welcome to my world.

- I'm a middle school teacher.
- [laughing]

- Okay, so it sounds like
they know how you did it.

- Yes. Yes, absolutely.
Very good.

- Well, thank you so much.
Ryan Chandler!

- Thank you very much.
Thank you.

[cheering and applause]

- Don't you...
No, no!

Get away from there!
- [laughs]

- After the break,
Penn and Teller try

to bust more magicians.

And later, they'll perform
a trick of their own.

Don't go anywhere.

[jazz music]

♪ ♪

[jazz music]

[cheering and applause]

- This next magician

performs magic
in six languages.

Let's hope he chooses
the right one

to fool Penn and Teller.

[fireworks crackling]

- I'm Ryan Hayashi.

[dramatic gong flair]

When I was a kid,
I had two heroes:

Bruce Lee
and David Copperfield.

They inspired me.
I wanted to do what they did.

[dramatic music]

The martial arts and magic
are very similar

because they both come
from older traditions

that have been passed down
over centuries.

You have to master
certain movements

to the point that
there's precision,

but at the same time
having a flow,

and making it your own.

The first time
that I actually combined magic

and the martial arts

was "the Samurai Madman
of Magic."

I cut up vegetables
around people's heads,

blindfolded,
without k*lling them.

Now, I'm shedding
my samurai character

and stripping down
my performance

to magic in its purest form:

Showing off what I can do
with a few coins

that fit in my pocket.

[cheering and applause]

- Please welcome the coin magic
of Ryan Hayashi!

[dramatic gong flair]

- [speaking Japanese]

That's Japanese for,
Time to get my freak on.

[laughter]
How you guys doing?

[cheering]

Yeah.

When I was a kid in the 1980s,
I saw Penn and Teller

on television,
performing an act

with just a pencil
and a cigarette.

This act fooled me and
taught me the basics of magic.

So, Penn, Teller.

I now present to you
what you inspired in me



I'm going to hurt your brain...
[laughter]

Using these four cards
and four coins

in an original routine I call
The Ultimate Matrix.

In just a moment, these coins
are going to magically appear

and disappear,
changing their positions

around this square.

Travelling from their corners
to all come together.

Gathering here in this corner,

and landing underneath
this square.

And if I can create
the illusion

that those coins move
without me using my hands,

well, then..

I might just fool you.

[audience amazement]

[applause]

This is magic in its purest
and simplest form.

Four coins in a square,
a card over each coin.

Watch closely, because
this does happen very fast.

[speaking Japanese]

And I just did it.
[applause]

Was that too fast for you?
Not a problem.

Everybody,
do not blink your eyes,

and, uh, I'll just do it
one more time.

[audience amazement]

[applause]

One by one, so you can
actually see the coins

travelling one at a time.

I'll start here openly
so you can see everything.

Everybody, watch this coin...

Travel.

[applause]
Watch the next one...

Go from the side.

And the people from this side
may actually see the last one

disappear from my fingertips.

Watch this last coin vanish,
creating a tremor in the force

as 100,000 children
watching this

suddenly decide
that magic is cool.

[cheering and applause]

The viewers at home
may Google me now.

[laughter]

This time visibly,
so you actually see

each coin jump.

This is the part
that hits people hard.

All I have to do is make
the mysterious Asian sounds.

[sharp breathy exhalations]

There's the first one.
[applause]

I'll do it again.

[sharp breathy exhalations]

And that makes three.

The next one--no hands,
just because I can.

[breathes out]

Vanishes here,
reappears in the corner.

And I'm in beast mode.
[applause]

That's what it looks like
using four cards for cover.

This time, no cards.

Just my bare hands
and a dose of honesty.

[laughter]
I've been performing magic

since I was eight years old,

and it took me 12 years
to create this act.

So for me, this is not
just a magic trick.

This is something far deeper,

and a thousand times
more savage.

A work of terrifying beauty
that has been growing

all my life,
like an uncontrollable weed

in the garden of my mind.
[applause]

I have crossed oceans of time
and vast empires

to be here today, so I take
the honor of performing here

very seriously.

The amount of mental energy
I've invested

in creating this act
could demolish planets.

This is the most epic monologue
in the history of magic.

For I am here...
[laughter]

To inflict
psychological damage,

and that means...

We're not done yet.
[applause]

You've now seen the devastation
I can generate using two hands.

Let's take this
to the next level.

I'll do it again with just...

One hand.

You can ask any magician
around the world

about performing
an illusion this clean,

using just one hand,
and they will tell you that

it is physically impossible.

And it looks like this.

Booyah.
[applause]

Watch the next one.
I get nowhere near those coins

with my hand and still--
vanishes from here,

reappears in the corner.

And I am the Jackie Chan
of magic.

[laughter]
[cheering and applause]

The next one will invisibly fly
from here to there,

forming a perfect square.

It happens
on the count of three.

Get ready for this.
I've seen it all--

nosebleeds, seizures...
[laughter]

There's one, there's two,
that's three.

[audience amazement]
And as promised,

I can now actually show you
a perfect square,

formed by one, two, three,
and four coins,

with just one hand!

[cheering and applause]

You would not believe
how epic this feels!

My heart is pounding,
and I can feel the adrenaline

coursing through my veins.

I'd like to thank each
and every one of you

for sharing this moment
with me,

because just being here
was a dream come true.

So for everyone watching:
if you have a dream,

never give up believing
in your dream,

living your dream,
and doing something every day

to make that dream happen.

But remember one thing.

No matter who you are,

no matter how hard you work,

or how good you think you are
at what you do,

there will always be an Asian
who takes it to the next level.

[laughter,
cheering and applause]

Yeah!
I'm Ryan Hayashi,

the Samurai Madman of Magic!

Show me some love!

[cheering and applause]

- Ryan Hayashi!

That was amazing!
- Thank you.

- Wow!
- [laughs]

- That was really incredible.

I didn't know if I wanted
to look at you,

or just watch Teller
be so amazed and impressed.

- [laughing]
- Oh, my gosh.

You really are the samurai
of magic--of coin magic.

- Feel--feel the heat--
heat radiate--

radiating off of me right now.
- I know.

- I am a walking cloud
of testosterone right now.

[laughter]
I feel like--

I feel like zombie Bruce Lee
on steroids.

[laughter]
- Wow. I don't even know

how to talk to you,
I'm so impressed.

- Wind me up and let me go.
- Okay!

- I'm like a ninja Shakespeare
crossed with Hannibal Lecter.

- [laughs] Oh!
Ugh!

- Would you like
to ask me a question, Alyson?

- No, I just want to watch you.

[laughter]

- Please ask me a question.
- Okay.

What do you eat for breakfast?
'Cause I need

to start eating it.
- I live on broccoli

and blueberries.
- [laughs]

- Can I say something?
Can I say something

really honest
to Penn and Teller?

Uh, when I was a kid, really,
they blew me away

with this act they do
with a pencil.

And being able
to come here today--

I've never met them
before today--

and show this to them,
it's not me showing my work.

It's showing them the effect,
uh, one act on TV

can have on a little kid,
you know?

It's like bringing it back
to them and saying,

Welcome home.
- That's amazing...

- It means a lot to me.
- That's really wonderful.

[cheering and applause]

Well, I feel like you're
very at home here in Vegas,

on this stage.
- I Googled the show.

This is Season 5, and the last
four seasons before me--


only three coin guys before me.

And that--that means something.

It's hard to put
a coin act together,

make it entertaining.
Uh, I tried my best.

I-I hope it resonated
with the people.

I hope you liked it.
- You certainly did.

[cheering and applause]
You certainly did.

But let's see
what the guys think.

- Okay.
- Okay, Penn and Teller.

- Oh, Ryan, baby.
Boy, that's a--wow.

That's a--
that's a really good act.

And, uh, you were just saying
how hard coin magic is to do.

And we've done versions
of matrix--or Teller has.

And, uh, we've seen matrix
a--a zillion times.

But you added to that,
so, so, um--

So much comedy and personality,
and also a really different,

fresh way to do that,
a fresh style.

The, um, bravado coupled
with the comedy on that,

the wink on every bit of it.

And we were, uh, you know,
we were following you, uh,

and then we followed you a lot.

You know, we know
how you do those moves.

And we followed you
and followed you, and then we--

We just gave up.
[laughter]

You just beat us
into submission

with pure skill.
[laughter]

So the last few things you did,
we have no idea

how you did 'em, 'cause we were
just enjoying you too much.

And you fooled us!
- Yay!

- [joyous exclamation]
[cheering and applause]

You did so good!
- [joyous hollering]

[cheering and applause]

I'm seriously gonna cry!
- Aww!

[cheering and applause]

- This is an honor.
This is an honor.

- Aww.
- Big honor!

- You were just amazing, man.
[indistinct chattering]

- Ryan!
- [joyous exclamation]

- There's only--
- [joyful hollering]

[cheering and applause]
- Yes!

All right,
Ryan Hayashi, everyone!

Thank you!
- Bye!

[cheering and applause]

- Penn and Teller
just gave away a slot

in their show!

Do they have to make room
for another?

Find out,
when "Fool Us" returns.

[jazz music]

♪ ♪

[jazz music]

[cheering and applause]

- Welcome back to "Fool Us."

Let's take this show
to a higher gear

with this next act.

Take a look,

[fireworks crackling]

- I always thought, "I want
to become a magician."

Now, growing up in
a little village in Germany,

like with a thousand people,
everybody says, "You're crazy.

That's like saying
you want to become a clown.

I was never really planning
to become an inventor,

but one day,
a tire company called me

and asked me, "Can you perform
with a tire?

Because we'd like to sell
our latest tire."

Of course I said yes,
I can perform with anything.

But then I had
to figure this out.

But whenever you're forced
to do something different,

your brain gets sparked
and you create.

That's when my career
really took off.

I created many little things,
but the floating table

is the biggest
of my inventions.

I worked for 10,000 hours
with this table,

and it became a classic
in magic.

So I thought,
"This is the right thing

to do for this show."

[cheering and applause]

- Please welcome
illusionist Losander!

[dramatic instrumental music]

♪ ♪

Oh, thank you.

♪ ♪

[audience amazement]

[cheering and applause]

♪ ♪

[cheering and applause]

♪ ♪

[audience amazement]

♪ ♪

[audience screaming
in amazement]

♪ ♪

[cheering and applause]

♪ ♪

[audience amazement]

[cheering and applause]

- Losander!

[cheering and applause]

Thank you, that was amazing!

[amazed sigh]

You must get asked to move
all the time, like to--

[laughter]
- True.

- Would love to have you.
That is incredible.

You invented that trick.

- Yeah.
About 25 years ago, I invented

the floating table part.

And then it took me
another 23 years to come up

with the last, final bit.
- Wow.

It's incredible,
because I feel like that's

such an iconic trick,
and that you invented it

is very impressive.

- You know, it took
a long time,

but you get inspired
by other things,

and then you come up
with ideas.

I never planned to invent it.
It just happened.

- That's so cool.
So every time you make

a table vanish, do you have to
then go get a new one?

[laughter]
Make a new--new table?

- [laughing]
- Or do you have, like--

The next time you come on,
you'll make it reappear.

- Well, you know, that is,
the magic part about it.

[laughter]

- You're not gonna tell me
your secrets, are you?

- No.
- No, alright.

It's time to go to the boys.
- [laughing]

- Penn, Teller.

- Man, you got new stuff.
There's stuff we've never seen.

We've known you for years...
- Right.

- Seen a lot of stuff
that you've done--

there's stuff here
we haven't seen.

And what I love
about this act--

You know, when a young person
starts to learn to play guitar?

You know?
- Yeah.

- And they, uh, they play
an E chord, and they just play

that E chord--you know,
Springsteen talked about

getting guitars playing E
over and over again forever.

And then you see someone
who's on stage,

is a real guitar player,
who plays that E.

It's a wonderful feeling,
'cause you see how sloppy

and terrible yours is,
and how great it can be.

I love that this is based
on a simple trick

that young magicians can do.

And when they watch you do it,
they will have no idea

how it's done.
- Yeah.

- It's just great,
it's just great

that it starts out going,
Oh, yeah, I know, I know.

And there's a lot of smug


who then are shut up
by this routine.

[laughter]
Uh, you add the candle,

and that candle is so, uh,
so helpful to the routine.

It's not just the table
floating around.

There's also the candle there.

And the vanish at the end
we weren't expecting.

So we had to, uh--
we had to scramble

a little bit on that.
We have an idea where it is.

And I--I hate
to even be cagey about this

'cause it's so good,
and it's so based on stuff

that some young people
will know.

But I want them
to be m*rder*d by it...

I want them to be k*lled by it.
- [laughing]

- So I don't want
to give away anything,

even in code, but I think
we know where that table went.

- Okay.
- Yeah--just to make sure...

- Okay.
- 'Cause we could be wrong

on this...
- Okay.

- But just to make sure,
let Teller whisper it.

I just don't want anybody
at home to hear this,

'cause I want them
to worry about it a little bit.

- [whispered]
Yes.

Yes.
- Aww.

- Yes.
[audience groans]

- [laughing]
- So they know how it's done?

- They know how it's done,
but I am--

I sure hoped
I enchanted everybody.

- Oh, definitely.
- You sure did.

- Losander,
ladies and gentlemen!

Thank you.
- Thank you, guys.

[cheering and applause]

- We'll keep putting
Penn and Teller to the test

when we come back.

Stick around.

[jazz music]

♪ ♪

[jazz music]

[cheering and applause]

- Welcome back to "Fool Us."

This next magician has more
than a few bright ideas

to fool Penn and Teller.
Let's meet him.

[fireworks crackling]

[funky music]

- I'm Ed Ripley.
I'm a magician,

and I'm a nuclear metallurgist.

People don't understand
that scientists

are all about creative play.
[evil laughter]

If you don't enjoy
what you're doing,

you're not gonna
be good at it.

Science and magic originated
in the same place.

♪ ♪

The original magicians
were alchemists

trying to change lead
into gold.

I've spend my career trying
to exploit loopholes

in the laws of physics.

Because it's only when
you understand the rules

that you're able
to break them.

[cheering and applause]

- Welcome the multi-talented
Ed Ripley!

[cheering and applause]

- It was Arthur C. Clarke
who said, "Any sufficiently

advanced technology is
indistinguishable from magic."

Well tonight, I'm going
to perform a classic of magic.

But I'm not gonna use
any sleight of hand.

Instead, I'm gonna use

sufficiently advanced
technology,

technology
that I developed myself.

Alyson, would you mind
joining me?

And if you would join me
as well.

- Thank you.
[cheering and applause]

- This...

[whimsical brass music]

is a printing machine.

- Oh.
- But it also functions

as an unprinting machine.

Let me demonstrate.

Any printed material
that goes in on this side

will come out as a blank sheet
of paper on the other.

So the red light indicates
that we are in unprint mode.

♪ ♪

[audience amazement]

Isn't that awesome?
I just turned

a $100 bill
into a blank sheet of paper.

[applause]

[laughter]
Now you might ask why

I would do such a thing.

You may not have noticed it,
but I'm kind of a nerd,

and I don't feel comfortable
carrying a lot of cash.

But I can carry
all the paper I want.

When I get to my destination,
I simply flip the switch...

♪ ♪

And now it's in print mode.

And just like my own
little ATM machine...

[audience amazement]

I have my hundred dollars back.

[cheering and applause]

Now, these are pieces
of currency

from all over the world.

If you notice,
they're different sizes,

they're different colors,
they're different shapes.

Um, you're welcome to choose
any that you like.

Teller, would you please
choose one?

Alyson, would you choose one?

That's fine.

- This one.
- Perfect.

So, Alyson...
- Yes.

- Do you know what this is?
- Paper.

- You don't need to know
what it is, because the machine

knows what it is for you.

♪ ♪

[applause]

- It's a five Kyat note

from the Central Bank
of Myanmar.

Here you go.
[applause]

- [laughs]

- And you don't need to know
what this one is, either.

I think I have an idea.

♪ ♪

[applause]
And Penn,

this is a Polish 50 zloty
note--or is it 50 zlotys.

Now, you may not
have realized it,

but cash register receipt paper
is the same width

as a dollar bill.
- Mm-hmm.

- Now, I do experiments
for a living,

and this is an experiment
that's just begging

to be done.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

[audience amazement]

[applause]

Oh.

The red ink means
we're running out of tape.

[all gasp]
- Whoa!

- Ah.
[cheering and applause]

And...

We don't have to worry
about this,

I'll trim it off later.
[sniffs]

Now, as I said,
this is a classic of magic

um, I'm sure that you're
familiar with.

As a matter of fact, I think
that there's one of these

in the "Penn & Teller: Fool Us"
magic kit.

- There is.
- So, Alyson...

- Yes.
- You may not know

how this works.
- No.

- Get this thing apart.

If you notice,
this is a solid.

- Wow.
- Take it.

- Okay.
- And this one...

Is also solid.

And this is a piece

of sufficiently advanced
technology.

Thank you very much.
- Wow.

[applause]

Ed Ripley!

Wow!
[cheering and applause]

- Take it all with you.
- I'm taking this.

- Yeah. Here you go.

All of it, yeah.

- [amazed exclamation]

Wow, that was incredible.

I love that trick.

And it would be very useful.
- It's tremendously useful.

- Yes!
I mean, probably not legal.

But useful.
[laughter]

So magic is not
your full-time job.

Who do you work for?
- So I work

for the Y-12 Nucl--
National Security Complex

in Oak Ridge,
and I've worked there

for 28 years.
- And is it also true

you have patented a lot
of products?

- So I have 26 U.S. patents.

- Wow.
- Uh, and several others

that are in the process
of being patented.

- That's incredible.
- Yep.

- So your mind never stops.

- I started my magic...


- Oh...

- My grandmother knew
I was interested in magic,

and she gave me
a hundred dollar bill

in 1973...
- Whoa.

And took me to Bob Hutching's
Magic Shack in Jacksonville.

And that day I bought
the linking rings,

the cups and ba*ls, and a book
called "Bobo's Coin Magic."

And I perform all three
of those tricks

in my full-length shows
every time.

So I'm one of the few people
I know that--

the first tricks they bought
are the tricks

that they still perform.
- And now you can make

a hundred dollars
to pay your grandma back.

- Yes, or--yeah.
[laughter]

- Well, let's see if the boys
figured out your trick.

- Well, Ed, let's start
with a question.

Is this yours?
- Yes.

- I don't mean you went
to a store and bought it,

this is yours?
- Yeah, w--

It was designed by me
and built with me and a friend

who have a machine shop.
- Unbelievable.

- Well, thank you.
- Just beau--

What a beautiful prop.
[applause]

I mean...
- Thank you.

I mean, our magic set is nice,
but we know

what magic props look like.
- Yeah.

- This is not a magic prop,
this is a beautiful thing

on every level.
It's just gorgeous.

- Thank you.
- And we love, most of all,

when someone takes a classic--
classic, um, magic plot

and then just does it again,
and does it so, so beautifully.

And, uh, you are--
you are a scientist,

That's what you said, right?
- I am, I'm a--

I'm a scientist, correct.
- Yeah.

So performing you're--you're
a little bit nervous, right?

I'm gonna use a little bit
of, um, jazz slang here

instead of
the usual magic slang.

But we thought you were gonna
fall into a ditch,

but you're really
right in the pocket.

I mean, just every single beat
was directly on.

Now I'm a bass player,
so I know how important

the pocket to a groove is.
- Yeah.

- And it was just
all the way through--

it was just fabulous.

And we just loved it.

And this prop--

one of the most
beautiful things we've ever had

on this show.
- Thank you.

- Okay, so does that jazz lingo
mean they figured it out?

- I think they figured it out.
- Aww, well, thank you.

Ladies and gentlemen,
Ed Ripley!

- Thank you.
- Really nice, Ed.

[cheering and applause]

- It's about time
for Penn and Teller

to do some fooling
of their own.

See them perform
after the break.

[jazz music]

♪ ♪

[jazz music]

[cheering and applause]

- Penn and Teller have built up
quite a collection

of devious tricks
and marvelous masterpieces

over their 40-year history.

Tonight, they'll unveil one

of their most
prized possessions.

Welcome
your confounding curators,

Penn and Teller!

- Thank you.
[cheering and applause]

You know, um--
You know Johnny Thompson.

- Oh, yes.
- Johnny Thompson's our mentor.

He works with us all the time.

He's also the big boss.

He's the judge--to listen
to everything we say.

He knows how
all the tricks are done.

He decides whether
we've been fooled or not.

He's the final decision.
And this is the stage

he toured carnivals with, uh,

in the '70s,
all over the USA,

and, uh, Mexico and Canada.

And we've replaced almost all
of it, piece by piece.

But, uh, wanna show you--
there's a trap door

built in here, if Teller can--
Teller can find it here.

So this is what he could use.

I mean, even though
he's working outside

of the fair, he can use
the trap door.

He could sneak someone
out here.

- Hi.
- And come over here, Alyson,

we'll show you--
right up behind it,

there's real '70s Mylar here.
I can help you up there.

- Whoo.
- Walk right--

walk right over there.
But see the, uh--

Then there's a skull
set up over here

for his ventriloquist act.

And you pull this, and he--

[goofy voice]
Hi, there, how are you?

[laughter]
It, uh--it talks, see?

- Wow.
- "I'm a dead guy."

- That's amazing.
- Yep.

And he would do
a whole routine with there.

But the best thing
we want to show you--

Let me get down first
so I can--

I can help you, here.
- Aw, thank you.

- The best thing there, Alyson,
is this mirror cabinet.

And you know the expression
in, uh--in magic,

that it's all done
with mirrors?

- Yeah.
- Well, sometimes it is.

Here's a cabinet
that Johnny could use to, uh--

It's
Great Tomsoni and Company.

He could vanish company.

He'd close the doors like this,

and then some sort
of magic gesture,

Abracadabra,
or whatever you want.

And then the box
is completely empty.

[audience amazement]
- Wow.

- We thought we'd, uh...

[applause]

If we were trying to bust this,
we'd notice the, uh,

the stripes here...
- Oh-hoh-hoh.

- And the fact
that the angles in front--

And there's a mirror there,
you just pull it--

You can see it move, there.
It reflects this as the side;

you think it's the back.
And if you look at it--

you know,
mirrors do all this stuff.

If you can crouch down
a little bit, sometimes

the mirror will give you--
like, a fun-house mirror.

- Oh, yeah.
- It gives you

a different angle.
So in this case,

if you look down a little bit,
Teller could appear to be...

[laughter]
Smaller.

You see that? It's the angle.
- Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

- Angle is that way.
- I totally see that.

- The angle is that way,
and Teller seems a lot smaller.

And then if you get up--
Can you get up?

I know you're
already wearing heels,

but get up on your uh--
on your tip-toes, there.

If we close the mirror again...
- Yeah.

- And you get up kinda high...
- High.

- I don't know if you've got
the angle right...

- Maybe.
- But you should be able to see

that Teller will look,
you know, a little bit bigger.

Now, it's obviously
an illusion.

We can't actually
make him bigger.

- No, I totally see it!
- He looks bigger, doesn't he?

- Yeah.
- And the great thing

about this is, um...
[applause]

Mirrors can do amazing stuff,
Alyson.

You know when you're in--
maybe in a restroom,

and they have the mirror
in front of you

and the mirror behind you.

And the--the, uh--
the reflections

go back and forth,
and back and forth.

- Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- You can see, like,

multiple images of yourself.
- Whoa.

- I totally see that.
- So that's...

- That's amazing.
- You can come over here

and join us.
- Wow!

That was incredible!
- Yeah, well, you know.

- Yeah.
- That's--that's the, uh,

that's the box.
- It's multiple Tellers.

- Yeah, many.
- Huh!

Well, that's all
for "Fool Us."

Goodnight from Penn
and Teller and Teller

and Teller!

[cheering and applause]