09x04 - Alyson's Smart a*s

[bunniefuu]

[jazz music]

♪ ♪

[cheers and applause]

- From the Penn & Teller Theater

at the Rio Hotel in Las Vegas,

here's our host,
Alyson Hannigan.

[cheers and applause]

[jazz music]

♪ ♪

- Welcome to "Fool Us."

Ever eaten a phone booth?

Ever put out a roaring
fire just by looking at it?

Ever throw a car across a
river with your bare hands?

No?

Those things are
impossible you say?

Well, tonight,
the impossible will

happen right before your eyes.

And it's up to our
judges to suss out

the methods behind the magic.

Please welcome to
the stage our impossibly

perfect pair Penn and Teller.

[cheers and applause]

[jazz music]

♪ ♪

Penn and Teller
invite any magician

who fools them
to perform in their

world-famous Las Vegas show.

They also award them the
coveted "Fool Us" trophy.

And here to compete for all that

is tonight's first
potential Fooler.

[fireworks booming]

- In high school, I fell
in love with motor sports,

motorcycles, dirt bikes.

I'm definitely an
adrenaline junkie.

But one day, I saw a magician
put a Sharpie in his nose.

And I thought, this is what
I want to do with my life.

When I was 14, I discovered
the world of Harry Houdini.

I got into escapes.

I was the weird kid that
tied herself to a chair

in the hallway.

I didn't even know how to
get out or if I could get out.

But I figured that if I had


there would be a way.

- Yay. [cheers and applause]

My parents probably got
the hint when I started asking

for handcuffs for Christmas.

I think it was the straitjacket.

That's definitely what
got my mom nervous.

She's like, yeah. That's great.

It just... it's not for
you. You know?

Do a card trick.

You don't need
to tie yourself up.

They came around
when I think they realized

there wasn't anything
they could do to stop me.

I didn't want to do something
that everyone else in the

world could do or learn to do.

I wanted to do something
that was uniquely me.

[cheers and applause]

- Dropping in from
Vancouver, please welcome

the amazing Gabriella Lester.

[cheers and applause]

- Tonight, I'd like to
perform something

inspired by you, Penn,
Teller, and your act

"Casey at the Bat."

For those of you that
aren't familiar with the act,

Teller was strapped
into a straitjacket

and suspended
upside down by a rope

that ran up to the ceiling
and down underneath a chair.

Penn sat on the chair and
recited the famous poem.

As soon as he was finished,
he would jump from the chair,

releasing the rope,
and Teller would

come crashing on his head
if he was still in the jacket.

Now, I'd like to
perform something

similar but with
a bit of a unique,

slightly less dangerous twist.

Penn, Teller, you would
be perfect volunteers.

Would you mind
joining me up here?

Please give them a hand.

[applause]

Thank you.

Teller, I'd like you to be the
eyes and ears of the audience.

Take a look at this straitjacket

and make sure it is regulation,
even if it is a little tiny.

And Penn?

- Yeah?

- Are you familiar
with flash cards?

- Oh, jeez.

- A little bit maybe?
- Oh, no.

- Don't be scared.
- I'm scared.

I'm terrified.

- Don't be scared.

- Can I put the
straitjacket instead?

Okay, flash cards.
- I might like that as well.

As you can see, Penn, they've
got the equation on the front.

But they've also got
the solution on the back.

- Oh. Thank goodness.
- Just in case.

- OK. Good.

You can also see that
the cards are fairly big

and my hands are rather small,

which makes it difficult for
me to do any sleight of hand.

- OK. Yeah, yeah. It does.

I'll just give the cards
a little mix like that.

And in a moment, Penn, I'm
gonna move the cards in chunks

back to front.

Whenever you'd like,
you just say "stop."

- Stop.
- Right there?

- Yeah.
- All right.

Let's take a look
at your card, Penn.

- OK.

- Now, it's not only
important that you

remember this equation
but that you're able to solve it.

- OK.

OK.

- Because in a moment, Penn,

you'll have to
solve it and find it.

- OK. OK.

- So the pressure's on, Penn.

You don't wanna embarrass
yourself on national TV.

- I don't.

- I know, right?

- I'm terrified.

- Alyson, I would love for
you to be a part of this as well.

But you probably can't
see from over there.

Why don't you come and join us?

Let's give her a
hand. [applause]

We're gonna lose
Penn's card in the deck

and just give
them a little shuffle.

Alyson, in case you missed
it, Penn's selected card

was 4 times 9.

I'll hand these to you.

Hold on to them just like that.

And we'll get back
to them in a moment.

Teller, does everything look
good with the straitjacket?

Wonderful.

Please follow me over here.

I'll just have you stand
on that mark facing me.

If you could just open
up the straitjacket

and turn it to face me.

I'll have you hold
it up just like that.

Thank you, Teller.

Now, I'm just
gonna take this off

so I can slide my arms inside.

Oh and, Teller, if I
haven't mentioned,

it is such an honor to meet you.

I'm a really, really,
really big fan.

Sorry, Penn.

All right, Teller, you can
go around behind me.

Continue putting
me in the straitjacket.

Give it your best
tug on those straps.

Alyson, in a
moment, I would like

you to hold up those
flash cards one at a time.

Penn, as soon as
you see the flash card,

it is your job to solve it.

- Each one of them?
- All of them.

But don't worry.

You can use your
fingers if you need to.

- OK.

- Alyson, every time
he gets one right,

throw the card in the
air congratulating him,

and move on to the next.

- OK.

- Every time he gets one
wrong, feel free to mock him.

- Gladly.

- You're gonna...
You're gonna have,

like, an hour to
get out of this.

- I'm so nice, right?

I'm going to attempt to
get out of the straitjacket

before Penn finds
his selected card.

If I don't, feel
free to mock me.

- OK.

I'm much more worried
about me than I am you.

- Awesome, just that
bottom one right there. Great.

Now, the straitjacket
escape has been performed

by several famous performers.

Harry Houdini
escaped upside down

from buildings across America.

But my personal favorite is
and always has been Teller.

Just one more strap to go.

All right.

Well, that's all I know
about magic history.

Teller, is there anything
you'd like to add?

Thank you.

And we're just gonna
get hooked up here.

Oh, almost forgot.

Teller, it's important
that you know you will

be my safety for this act.

If you should see
anything, and I

mean anything at
all, go terribly wrong,

just shout out "stop."

Probably should've
thought that one through.

- Yeah.
- Maybe.

- Oh, well.
- OK.

All right.

Lift me up.

[orchestral music]

♪ ♪

It's important that
everyone please

stand on your marked
squares so there

is no risk of anyone getting
hurt during the escape.

Teller, could you please
grab onto my shoulders

and just hold me so we can
be face-to-face before I begin?

I just wanna look
into your eyes.

And hey, Penn, what
do you get to look at?

- I get to look at flash cards.

Penn, Alyson, are you
ready with the cards?

Both: Yes.

- Teller, everything
looks good to go?

- Great.

Alyson, show him
the first card now.

- 6. - Yay.

- 25.

- Yay.

- 16.

- Yay.

- 120.

- Yay. [laughter]

- 14.

- Whoo-hoo.

- 72.

- Whoo.

- 22.



- 70.

- Well, hold on. I got to get...

- 44.

- You're going too quickly.

- And stop.

Penn, did you find
your selected card?

- No.

- It's OK, Penn.

I got your number.

[cheers and applause]

- Whoo.

Gabriella Lester.

[cheers and applause]

Talk amongst yourselves.

What's your favorite
thing about performing?

- There's a quote I
read once that said

"Being on a tightrope is
living, and everything else

is just waiting."

And, for me, I think I've
always felt that, you know,

I'm my...

I'm my... myself most
when I'm on stage.

And everything else is
just waiting to get there.

- Aw.

So not every girl your age
is doing this sort of thing.

So does this make
them jealous or envious?

- I think growing up, in
school I was definitely

not the popular kid.

I mean, I was doing rope
escapes in the hallway

and hanging myself upside down.

- Are you a bit of a rebel?

- I'm definitely an
adrenaline junkie.

I race motorcycles, and my
dad used to race cars growing up,

and we're from South Africa.
- Oh, cool.

- So I think I've always
taken after him, and...

- How could you not be
the coolest person in school?

- That's what I think, right?

Right?

We should've gone
to school together.

- Yeah.

All right, Gabriella,
let's find out if your trick

adds up to a trophy.

Boys.
- Perfect.

What's wrong with you?

Even better hair
than Teller, by a lot,

to do a straitjacket... maybe
the best hair of anybody

doing a straitjacket escape.

I did not see it.

I did not see any of
the straitjacket escape.

Teller assures
me the straitjacket

was not a gimmick.

Teller assures me that you
escaped from it very nicely.

I did not see it, because you
forced me to do arithmetic.

And I have not been more
terrified during "Fool Us"

than having flash cards.

What a horrible thing
to do to someone.

The things I've done to
audience members and talk show

hosts pales in comparison
to your pure cruelty of forcing

me to do arithmetic in public.

- I'm here to t*rture you.

- Thank goodness... thank
goodness Alyson isn't that

quick at turning the cards.

So I could... I could
equip myself a little bit.

What a great act.

And we have never
seen sleight of hug before.

That's the first time we
have seen sleight of hug

that you did just beautifully.

And the whole... the
whole act is just great.

And you have such...

Such charm and
such stage presence.

And you have numbers that
you can read upside down.

It was just great
all the way through.

We have no complaints
with you at all.

But we don't think
you fooled us.

- OK.

Gabriella, that was code to me.

Did you fool them?

- I did not.

- Aww.

Well, you certainly
entertained us.

Thank you so much.

Gabriella Lester.

We gotta take a quick break.

But "Fool Us"
will be right back.

[jazz music]

♪ ♪

[jazz music]

♪ ♪

- Welcome back.

Let's see if this
next act has what it

takes to fool Penn and Teller.

[fireworks booming]

- I'm Howard Blackwell,
and I'm from Charleston,

South Carolina.

Magicians are good at
making things appear.

Cards, coins, easy.

How about 170,000 pounds
of humanitarian supplies?

Sure. I'm a magician.

I make people laugh
and have a good time.

Then, I turn a switch and
become a lieutenant colonel

in the Air Force Reserve.

When we delivered
humanitarian aid

to countries in need
or even collecting

and donating 10,000
pounds of shoes

for orphans in Afghanistan,

I got to do that, and that
takes some real magic.

After almost three
decades, I'm switching gears

and hanging up the uniform.

I built my own little magic
theater in Charleston, twice.

I started it just before the
pandemic and had to close it.

But 400 days later, Holy
City Magic is back again.

Now I'm doing humanitarian
work on a more personal level.

Penn and Teller, I once made


That was easy compared
to what I'll be trying tonight.

[cheers and applause]

- From Charleston,
South Carolina,

give it up for Howard Blackwell.

[cheers and applause]

- In a world confronted
with a growing number

of cataclysmic worries,
global warming, pandemics,

artificial intelligence
taking over the planet,

one unstoppable
issue looms larger

than the rest...

[tires screeching]

- Missing socks.

And my laundry room is
where they all go to die.

In other words, I've got
a lot of missing socks.

Here they are, hundreds
of the great unmatchable.

Alyson, may I literally share
my dirty laundry with you?

- Sure.

- So there's a heck
of a lot of socks here.

So pick a basket, any basket.

- Oh.

That one.

- Perfect.

I'll give you this one.

And I'll take this one.

- Thank you.

- Now, with your
help, we're going

to find one single
pair of matching socks

out of this stinky chaos.

So that's a heck
of a lot of socks,

too many to go
through one at a time.

- Right.

- So we're going to sort
them in a random magic way.

- OK.

- So we're going to shake,
shake, and shake these socks

until just a few are left.

And if we do this right, one
single pair of matching socks

will remain.

- Wow.

- So, Alyson, grab your basket.

- OK.

- And let's shake them.
- It's heavy.

- And let them fly. Go, go.

Come on, Alyson. Throw them.

Throw them. Grab them.

Throw, throw. Come on, Alyson.

Go. Throw.

Throw. Come on.

Couple more. Couple more.

Keep going. Keep going.

Alyson, go.

Stop.

Oh, good.

Reach in the basket.

Grab a handful.

- All right.

- Drape them across my arm.
- Like, drape?

- In any order. Yeah.

Drape them all
across. That's OK.

- OK.

- One, two...
- Two.

- three.

Grab one more.

Grab one more.
- OK.

- Put that across my arm.

Now, reach in my
basket, get a handful.

- OK, Oh, that
one... - Keep going.

Keep going.
- Really looks dirty.

- Perfect. It is.

It is.

Drape them across my
arm in any order you'd like.

- Eww.
- We need... I know.

One more sock. One more sock.

Let's make them match.

Perfect.

We'll put it right here.

Alyson, left or right?

- The... this one.
- All right.

They're going to
join the rest of them.

Leaves us with 1, 2, 3, 4 socks.

We have odd.

We have even.

Which one do you prefer?

Odd or even?

- I mean, I always like odd.

- OK.

Got it.

We will get rid of the odd
ones and they'll join the rest.

There's 1 and 3.

Alyson, take a look.

It's a perfect match.

[laughter]
- Hmm.

- You look a little
confused, Alyson.

- Little bit.
- Little bit.

Take one.

- Well, this one.

- Perfect.

It's amazing that
you took this one.

Alyson, this is the magic sock.

- Oh, yeah?
- It is.

It is.

This is the magic sock.

Wouldn't it be amazing
if it matched the socks

that I'm wearing right now?

- Yeah.

- Take a look.

Because I'm completely
screwing with you right now.

But do you know why I'm not
wearing a sock on this foot?

- Because it's in your hand...

- Because I'm holding it.

It's a perfect
match right there.

Take a look.

It's a perfect match.

Thank you so much.
- Wow.

- Wait. Alyson, wait.

- Wait. There's more?

- There's more.
There's a lot more.

- No.
- Alyson, wouldn't it be

amazing if this
matches the underwear

that you're wearing right now?

- Yeah.

- It would...

- That would be shocking.

- It... it is shocking.

I think... I've got it backwards,

Alyson, because they match...

- Wow. -... The underwear

that I'm wearing...
- All right.

- Right now.
- I'll take your word for it.

- Thank you so much.

- Whoo-hoo.

Howard Blackwell.

[applause]

Whoo-hoo!

This is gonna be
a fun interview.

- I know.

I try.

- Do you do a lot of
interviews without pants on?

- No.

This is my first one actually.

- Yeah.

You did get the memo
we're not on Zoom, right?

- Yes. Absolutely.

- OK.

Being in the military is
pretty serious business.

How do you balance
that with magic?

- Well, it's difficult
to... to balance the silly

side and the serious side.

But I really try to keep
the two lives separate.

So there are people that I've
worked with who they don't

even know that I'm a magician.

And...
- Really?

- So I like...

I will truly flip a switch
and I'm lucky enough

to fly with C-17 crews
all over the world

and deliver humanitarian aid.

And so I get to do a lot of
really cool things like that.

- That must be so rewarding.

- It really is.

You walk home at the end
of the day and you think,

it's been a good day.

I helped a lot of people today.

- That's awesome.

All right, Howard.

You exposed yourself.

Let's see if Penn and
Teller can expose your trick.

- Howard, we love magicians
who take their pants off.

But let's get to your trick.

First of all, it's
a great trick.

You have laundry all over
the stage and a magician

with his pants off.

What more could
you possibly want?

We love, we love
stuff all over the stage.

We love tricks that are chaotic.

We love tricks that are messy.

We love magicians
without their pants on.

So it's just a
perfect thing for us.

- Thank you.
- We loved all of it.

I don't love doing laundry.

And now, I am going
to pretend that I've

ever done laundry in my life.

And I want to say that the...

The static cling
that could have...

Sticks to the laundry
basket and stuff

is a... is a real, real pain.

But I wanna say, what you've
done by taking your pants off

is you've shown
that every wardrobe

decision by the magician
is very, very important.

You had the exact choice of tie,

the exact choice of shirt,
the exact choice of suit coat,

the exact choice of underwear.

And the magician's
choice of socks

were just perfect,
perfect, perfect.

Everything about your
wardrobe and your pants drop

and your socks,
absolutely beautiful.

And I think we've given
you enough little clues

in here that maybe show that...

- I think you did too.

I think... I absolutely
know you did.

- So you didn't fool them.

- I didn't fool them.

But you know what?

I had the best time in
the world coming in here.

And I hope I made you laugh.
- Thank you so much.

- Thank you so much.

Thank you guys so much.

- Howard Blackwell.

- Thank you so much, you guys.

- Penn and Teller have
to take a quick break,

then bust more
magicians, then perform

at the end of the show.

They have a lot on their plate.

"Fool Us" will be right back.

[jazz music]

♪ ♪

[jazz music]

♪ ♪

- Welcome back to "Fool Us."

Put your phone down
and give your full attention

to our next magician.

[fireworks booming]

- And once you open that
door, the idea will come

through with amazing results.

[cheers and applause]

- Give it up for Taiwan
wizard Horret Wu.

[cheers and applause]

[mysterious music]

♪ ♪

[applause]

♪ ♪

[applause]

♪ ♪

- Oh! [applause]

♪ ♪

[applause]

♪ ♪

[applause]

♪ ♪

[applause]

♪ ♪

- Oh. [applause]

♪ ♪

[audience gasps]

♪ ♪

[applause]

♪ ♪

[cheers and applause]

- Horret Wu.

Ohh. [cheers and applause]

- Hello.
- Hi.

That was so beautiful.

- Thank you.

- You do things with cards
I've never seen before.

- Really?

- Yeah.

- I think you have already
seen many, many performances.

- I have, but
you're still unique.

- Thank you.

- It's so beautiful.

And... and there's
a lot of techniques

here that you've
invented yourself.

Is that true?
- Yeah.

That's true.

- Wow.

Is this trick about
unlocking the imagination?

- Yeah.

It's about unlocking
my own imagination.

- Is it a busy
place in your mind?

- Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I think it's hard for me
to just focus on one thing.

Because when I first come
up with this trick, this effect,

you know, you just
kind of find out a new toy,

something like that.

And then, I started to feel
like I'm actually experiencing

the magic in my mind.

- Well, Horret,
let's see if your trick

unlocks the trophy case.

- Wow.

Horret, if nothing else,
just the picking of that color

green, that exact
shade of green, the way

it looks against the cards
and stuff, just beautiful.

And all the moves, it
made it look like nothing

we'd ever seen.

And there was a lot in
there that looked like stuff we

had never ever seen.

There is some, I believe,
some technical stuff

that you... that you invented.

But also, there's just
crazy good chops.

A lot of woodshedding
going on there.

You really, really have
the moves with the cards.

And we were
really in awe of that.

It's just... it's a beautiful
routine all the way through.

It's just fascinating.

Really good magic,
a really good plot.

It's great all the way through.

And I've got written
down here, I got...

Teller and I wrote pages
of code words here.

I got all sorts of fancy
little codes to put in there.

And when I started running
them over in my head,

they give too much away.

This is a beautiful
thing that people

are gonna want to feel and...

Feel in their guts and
not have it given away.

So as you know we
have microphones on.

And the judges are hearing
everything, every single word

we say and they know how
we think you did everything,

without code words.

That's just us talking.

You haven't heard any of that.

The judges have
heard all of that.

And we're gonna
go to the judges.

And we don't know.

We sincerely don't know
whether you fooled us or not.

You don't know, but I'm
willing to say whatever

the judges say, and they've
heard everything we say,

we'll go with.

If they say you fooled
us, you fooled us.

If they say you didn't,
you'll say you didn't.

Right? Is that a deal?

- OK.
- OK.

Let's go to the judges.

- OK.

Yeah.

And?

I'm talking to the judges.

And the verdict is...

you fooled them.

- I'm shocked.
- Yay.

- I'm shocked.
- Congratulations.

- Thank you.

Thank you.

- Yeah!
- Yoo-hoo!

- Congrats.

- Thanks. Thank you very much.

Thank you.
- Yes.

- Thank you.
- He's good.

- Horret Wu.
- Thank you.

[cheers and applause]
- Aww.

There goes our latest Fooler.

Will another one
join them later on?

Find out when "Fool Us" returns.

[jazz music]

♪ ♪

[jazz music]

♪ ♪

- Welcome back.

Penn and Teller gave
away a trophy already.

But they're stingy.

It's gonna take a lot for
them to hand out another one.

See if this next
magician can pry

it away with an awesome trick.

Take a look.

[fireworks booming]

- I'm Michael Rubinstein.

I'm a retired veterinarian
and a full-time magician.

Some people change your life.

My good friend David
Roth changed mine.

David was considered
one of the greatest

coin magicians who ever lived.

From the moment
I saw David work,

I wanted to work the same way.

Coins are something
that everybody carries.

Everybody knows them.

And when you do
magic with something

that somebody is so
familiar with, that's real magic.

But I had to elevate my game
to match what David was doing.

And we became friends for life.

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

- David fooled Penn
and Teller back in 2015.

Not long afterwards, his
health started to decline.

We... we lost David last year,
way too soon, far too young.

So tonight, I'll
be doing a tribute

using David's actual
purse and coins

together with my own techniques.

And with my help
and a little bit of magic,

I think David might just
fool Penn and Teller again.

[cheers and applause]

- This show needs more
magic, and the only cure

is Dr. Michael Rubinstein.

[cheers and applause]

- Recently, a friend
of mine passed away,

considered by many
to be the greatest

coin magician who ever lived.

I received a package from
his estate containing this box.

And inside was his hand.

No.

I'm not talking
about his real hand.

I'm talking about
his other hand.

This is a genuine
rubber hand measuring

a little less than a foot.

These things cost
an arm and a leg,

but they do come in
handy for sleight of hand.

Inside the box was
also a small coin purse.

And I realized that this is
what my friend used to perform

his most famous trick.

That was the trick where
he would take a coin out

of the purse, placing
it into his hand,

and, with just a little wave,
he caused that coin to vanish.

And of course, it was
never in his left hand

and certainly not in
the right, because it

was always in the other hand.

Now, I practiced this
trick until it got to the point

where I could place
the coin in the hand.

And like my friend,
with just a little wave,

caused that coin to vanish.

And of course, it was
never in the left hand.

And it was never in the right.

Because I also had
it in the other hand.

Now, on the other hand, I
don't really need the other hand

to do my tricks.

For example, I could
place the coin over there

and it jumps over to here.

Or I place the coin over here
and it jumps back to there.

Or I place the coin over there
and you think it's over here,

but it's really over there.

But hey, without a doubt,
the most amazing trick

is when I place
the coin in the hand

and with just a little wave,
cause that coin to vanish.

And of course, it's never
in the left hand or the right,

because it's always
in the other hand.

Not this time.

You see, sometimes that
coin goes back to the purse.

Hey, it's a magic trick.

You gotta expect
things like this.

Now, this is the exact coin
that my friend would use.

It's a half dollar,
a 50 cent piece,

with a picture, not of 50
Cent on the coin, but of JFK.

And sometimes my friend would
place that coin into his hand,

but instead of a wave,
he would squeeze,

causing it to change into
a copper British penny

with a queen on the front.

Some people though don't believe

that I could change this
coin from silver to copper.

They think I must
have another coin.

Well, of course, I don't
keep one in the left hand

and certainly not
one in the right.

But I always have
one in the other hand.

And now that I have
two different coins,

one copper and one silver,

we can play my
friend's favorite game.

Copper and silver both
go into my left hand.

One comes out.

That's the copper coin,
which I'll hold in my right hand.

And the silver coin
is, of course, left.

Watch.

Did you see anything happen?

You see.

I switched those coins.

The silver is now over
here while the copper

has jumped to here.

Now, I know I'm
trying to fool you,

but I'm gonna let you in
on this one little secret.

When I bang my
hands against the table,

the loud noise
caused you to blink.

And when you blink, since
the hand is faster than the eye,

I switched those coins.

It's based on principles of
science, physics, acoustics.

I will do this again for you.

And you'll see that
at the moment when

I bang my hands
against the table,

you're gonna have to blink.

And when you do, I'm
gonna switch those coins.

So like before, copper and
silver both go in the hand.

One comes out.

That's the copper coin
leaving the silver over here.

Watch.

Did you blink?

Well, you know,
this time I wasn't sure

if you would or you wouldn't.

So instead of switching
them, I made them vanish.

And of course, they're never
in the left hand and certainly

not in the right, but
sometimes the copper coin

does go back to the purse.

And the silver coin,
well, as you can imagine,

the silver coin is
always in the other hand.

But maybe you don't
want to see all that.

Maybe you just wanna see
the trick where I placed the coins

in the hand and
with just a little wave,

cause those coins to vanish.

And of course, by now
you know that they're never

gonna be in the
left hand and they're

never gonna be in the right.

And you might even expect
that sometimes those coins

go back to the purse.

But remember, in a magic trick,

you've gotta expect
the unexpected.

So why don't we
just change it up?

They say that change
comes from within.

And that brings us
right into the big finish,

which is always
in the other hand.

[audience gasps, applauds]

Thank you.

- Dr. Michael Rubinstein.

[cheers and applause]

Are you the most
fun doctor ever?

- I hope so.

- That's so exciting.

My kids would
love to come to you.

- Thank you. I'm a veterinarian.

- Oh, then, they shouldn't...

- Animals are my thing.

- Can you fix my cat?

He's got a problem.
- You should come to my office.

- All right.

Do you do a lot of David
Roth's magic moves?

- Well, I'm using
my own techniques,

but the idea of
this trick was to use

props to create magic theater,
because that's what David did.

And I think it just extends
a magic trick and enter...

Becomes more entertaining.
- Yeah.

And did he know he was
such an inspiration to you?

- Oh, I told him many times.

- Oh.

And yet you still
became a doctor.

- I did.

You know, I always
say that magic is my life.

But veterinary medicine
is my profession.

But sometimes it's
the other way around.

- OK, Doctor, let's
see if Penn and Teller

know how your magic works.

- Doctor, Doctor, Doctor.

Michael, oh, man.

Well, that was a wonderful,
wonderful tribute to...

To David Roth.

We... we miss him very much.

And I know that you were
very, very close to him

and that he was a
wonderful coin magician, as...

As are you.

And you added so
much of your own stuff

to this, the idea of using the
hand, essentially, as a cup.

You know, it's kind of a...

A cups and ba*ls routine
with a hand and coin

and really nice
and really clean.

And... and saying you're a doctor

and having that
little slight creepiness

of the disembodied hand is...

Is a nice thing.

And you added some...

Some wonderful
stuff and did David

very proud with that tribute.

And we absolutely loved it.

But, you know, Teller has
done an awful lot with coins.

So Teller's pretty
aware of the moves.

Although there were
some innovations in there

that were really,
really beautiful.

So... so we loved it, but
we don't think you fooled us.

- Does it sound like they
figured out your method?

- I'm sure they know.

It was a pleasure to be here.

- Wonderful to have
you. Thank you.

- Thank you.
- Thank you so much.

- Thank you.
- Dr. Michael Rubinstein.

[cheers and applause]

When we come
back, Penn and Teller

will close the show with a trick

that you can do right
from your own home.

Penn, tell them what
they need to know.

- Thank you, Alyson.

We've got a trick that's
gonna happen in your home,

in your hands.

But you gotta set it up.

You need a table
so you can count on

and you need eight cards.

And all that matters
about the eight cards

is that four are red
and four are black. OK?

Four are red.

Four are black.

And then, during this
break, alternate them.

Put down a red one and
a black one and a red one,

then a black one,
then a red one,

then a black one, then a
red one, then a black one.

So it's red, black, red,
black, red, black, red, black,

red, black. And you
can gather them all up.

Have a table in front
of you, the eight cards

like that and we are gonna
blow your minds after this break.

A lot more magic coming up.

[jazz music]

[jazz music]

♪ ♪

- Welcome back.

It's time for Penn and
Teller to close the show.

Do all of you at home
have your cards ready?

I have mine.

Take it away, boys.

- OK.

Now, we always like
doing tricks for you, Alyson.

And we're gonna do a
trick for you right now.

But we really care
about doing a trick

for the people at home.

It's really, really
important that this trick

happened for you in your home.

So have eight cards, red,
black, red, black, red, black,

red, black, alternating.

OK?

And have a table you
can deal on in front of you.

They should have
them all set up already,

red, black, red,
black, red, black,

red, black, alternating.

OK?

And then, just let's make
sure... close them up there.

Let's make sure we're
all looking at a red card.

So if you got a black one,
just move it to the back.

OK?

I also wanna make
sure everybody at home

makes sure you have eight cards.

Turn them over, Alyson.

Just count down 1, 2, 3, 4.

Now, let's look at
these to the left here.

Let me see.



Red, black, red, black.

Just throw those down on top.

OK.

Now, pick them
up just like this.

Beautiful.

Everybody at home,
look at the top card.

If it happens to be
black, it could be...

OK.

It's black, move
it to the bottom.

Beautiful. OK.

Now, let's just check and
make sure everything's set.

Take the top two cards.

Are they red, black? OK.

Good, perfect. Throw it down.

Throw the next two down.

Good.

Next two are red,
black, red, black.

Good. Put those
down next to you.

Just throw them down. Beautiful.

OK.

Now, turn them faceup.

And you should have...

Let me see. It's a black one.

So we always wanna
be looking at a red one.

Move that to the back.

OK.

Now, you've got
red, black, red, black.

Put your hand over the top.
Put your hand over the top.

You're not gonna
change them again.

You have red, black, red, black.

You got this, right?

Red, black, red, black,
red, black, red, black.

Now, think about that.

Everybody at home, think
about what you got in your hands.

You've got red, black, red,
black, red, black, red, black.

Now, think.

Picture them not
alternating anymore.

Picture it as being red,
red first and then black,

black at the end.

Try that.

Red, red, black, red,
black, red, black, black.

You just nodded along.

That was good.

Now, we're gonna
picture another one going.

There's gonna be
three reds at the top,

three blacks at the bottom.

Both: Red, red, red, black,
black, black, black, black.

- Very good.

Now, four reds at the top,
four blacks at the bottom.

Both: Red, red, red, red,
black, black, black, black.

- But it's only gonna
work if you do this at home.

OK?

I want people in the
street to hear you.

Both: Red, red, red, red,
black, black, black, black.

Red, red, red, red,
black black, black, black.

Red, red, red, red,
black, black, black, black.

Stop.

Not too much.

Now, lift your hand off there.

There's the red.

Put it down there.

Red, red, red, red,
black, black, black, black.

Yes.

We've separated them
in your hands at home.

- Aww.

Well, that's all the show
we can fit into an hour.

Goodbye for now
and make sure you

join us next time on "Fool Us."

[cheers and applause]