There's an old parlor trick where one person tosses some old magazines on the floor in a Tic-Tac-toe arrangement like this.
+-----+-----+-----+
| | | |
| A | B | C |
| | | |
+-----+-----+-----+
| | | |
| D | E | F |
| | | |
+-----+-----+-----+
| | | |
| G | H | I |
| | | |
+-----+-----+-----+[/code]
Another person [an accomplice] is then asked to leave the room, while the others choose one of the magazines. Say it's magazine F. The accomplice is then summoned back into the room.
The first person takes a yard stick and points to magazine G and asks [color=#8B0000]Is it this one?[/color] The accomplice answers No. He then points to say magazine B and asks [color=#8B0000]Is it this one?[/color] The accomplice answers No. Several others, say H, A and E are suggested, and the accomplice in each case answers No. Finally he points to magazine F and asks [color=#8B0000]Is it this one?[/color] The accomplice answers Yes.
How is this done?
There is a variation of this trick: when the chosen magazine is suggested, the person asks [color=#8B0000]Is it this one?[/color] in a high-pitched tone of voice. Immediately someone thinks they've solved it and volunteers to leave the room while another magazine is chosen. But this time, a high voice is used when suggesting the wrong magazine, and the wrong answer is given.
Other phony "tells" can be used for the chosen magazine, such as pausing, or emphasizing: [color=#8B0000]Is it .... THIS one?[/color] One by one someone thinks they've solved the puzzle. But in each case they can be shown to be wrong.
Only the accomplice knows the trick.
What is it?
Hint: The chosen magazine can be the first one that is suggested. There doesn't have to be a wrong suggestion that precedes the correct one.
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bonanova
There's an old parlor trick where one person tosses some old magazines on the floor in a Tic-Tac-toe arrangement like this.
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