If I wanted to bend a spoon "using my mind"

[clusterm2]

That's not a hint. That's it. The skill is making sure nobody's looking.

How does this explain the well documented cases of the spoons continuing to bend after being handed over to say, a journalist?
Some sort of chemical? Admittedly the spoon was one of Gellers own but still........pm me PLEASE

 

[Quinn]

How does this explain the well documented cases of the spoons continuing to bend after being handed over to say, a journalist?
Some sort of chemical? Admittedly the spoon was one of Gellers own but still........pm me PLEASE

Well documented by whom, exactly? By the journalist holding the spoon, who had just had his mind sent into a minor tizzy by witnessing something that seemed impossible? Possibly corroborated by other journalists witnessing the scene, who were in a similar state and were all saying things like, "Oh my God, it IS still bending, look!"? And let me guess, the documentation was based not on verifiable physical evidence, but on the sworn statements of these reputable, professional journalists who were absolutely sure that they really saw the spoon continuing to bend, and there's no way they could be mistaken about such a simple matter?

Entertainers and frauds alike feed their families on the basis of such well-documented cases.

Quinn

 

[homunculus]

How does this explain the well documented cases of the spoons continuing to bend after being handed over to say, a journalist?

If you watch a Geller video, it's actually pretty obvious he's cheating if you start with that assumption. Suddenly, you can see how he does it, and it really isn't that hard to do...

Anyway, a very Geller-sque bend is being exposed on the TV show "Pyschic Secrets Revealed" here in the UK. Friday, 8.30pm, Channel 5. Not sure wether it is being exposed this week, or next week, but it will be.

The magician on the show uses two different techniqes. The first bend really does look like the spoon is curling before your eyes - but it is actually already bent, under cover of misdirection. It's an optical illusion created by subtle handling.

The second uses a pre-prepared spoon, and is exactly how Geller has done it on TV. This is where he lets a spectator hold the spoon handle as it becomes soft whilst they are holding it.

The spoon is fatigued almost to breaking-point already, which is why for the denoument, the end falls off.

As for spoons "continuing to bend", I would chalk that off to suggestible minds, and fertile imaginations.

This has never been replicated under controlled conditions, which leaves us with some anedotal reports. If that is all we need, then presumeably the Lock Ness Monster, Bigfoot, and every other mythical creature ever claimed to have been spotted, must also exist?

Paul.

 

[clusterm2]

So there is absolutely no other method ie chemical than physically bending the spoon however it's done?

 

[richardm]

So there is absolutely no other method ie chemical than physically bending the spoon however it's done?

Why do you think there might be?

 

[clusterm2]

Why do you think there might be?

Haven't got a clue, that's why I asked. I NEVER presume that I know all.

 

[richardm]

Haven't got a clue, that's why I asked. I NEVER presume that I know all.

Fair enough. Since you said "i.e." I assumed that someone had suggested to you that chemical forces were at work, and that you were trying to verify it.

 

[epepke]

So there is absolutely no other method ie chemical than physically bending the spoon however it's done?

Maybe I can get away with writing this because none of the actual tricks I've heard of involving spoon-bending use this technique.

You could always cast a spoon out of Woodsmetal. It's an interesting alloy that is quite solid at room temperature but melts at a very low temperature. That and a small heat source and, well, you figure it out.

Of course, it's much more fun to give someone a really hot cup of coffee and a Woodsmetal spoon. You have to watch to make sure they don't actually drink it. But then, you want to watch anyway, don't you?

 

[Brown]

It seems to me that I once saw an apparatus advertised in a magic magazine along these lines:

BEND KEYS!
SPOONS! NAILS! EVEN COINS!
ABSOLUTELY UNDETECTABLE!

The ad naturally did not disclose the nature of the apparatus, but it's a good guess that it involves applying some degree of leverage to the item. Even if you don't have a special leverage apparatus, you can sometimes find such apparatus on the spur of the moment. Mr. Randi's "The Truth About Uri Geller" gives some examples of impromptu leverage apparatus (and how one piece of apparatus was hazardous to Uri's trousers).

 

[epepke]

The ad naturally did not disclose the nature of the apparatus, but it's a good guess that it involves applying some degree of leverage to the item.

Eeeurgh! Must! Not! Violate! Group! Charter!

I chafe at this, though. Perhaps this magical secrecy stuff was valid when interested kids could buy a magic trick for a nickel at the drug store. And I'm willing to go into a magic shop and pay big bucks for a really nice set of well made Chinese rings or some stripper decks. But when a kid is expected to shell out $20 bucks for a badly xeroxed piece of paper and a piece of badly sawn metal, it bugs me.