Spoon Bending

sgf8 · 4th July 2008, 09:30 AM

At TAM6 we were treated to a narrative from Teller explaining how to divert attention from a stressed spoon at causal gatherings. The spoons that Dr. W. gave us were all pre-stressed and you could see that clearly on the spoon.

What I want to know is how can you prestress a spoon without someone being able to tell just by glancing at it. I know that when you are doing the trick you hold your fingers over the stress part so no one can see it. And before the trick begins they don't suspect that anything is strange about the spoon until you pick it up and start the trick.

But on the Johnny Carson show for example, Uri Geller was presented with a small table of spoons. Would it have been very clear to everyone that these spoons were not pre-stressed? Also when Uri Geller would perform on different venues they did the same thing, but he (one way to cheat) might sneek a pre-stressed spoon into the provided mix and pull it out as the one to be bended with his mind.

I have to do a small presentation to my Spanish class, and I thought showing people how it was done would be fun, and kinda easy to transulate into Spanish. The problem is that all the spoons that I am pre-stressing show they are pre-stressed. So how can that be a trick when everyone looking at the spoon can see the mark?

Am I missing something here?

Susan

TobiasTheViking · 4th July 2008, 11:17 AM

Originally Posted by sgf8

But on the Johnny Carson show for example, Uri Geller was presented with a small table of spoons. Would it have been very clear to everyone that these spoons were not pre-stressed?

In that case the spoons were not pre-stressed, and he thus didn't do the test.. that was actually a stunt be johnny carson and randi.

Originally Posted by sgf8

Also when Uri Geller would perform on different venues they did the same thing, but he (one way to cheat) might sneek a pre-stressed spoon into the provided mix and pull it out as the one to be bended with his mind.

I have to do a small presentation to my Spanish class, and I thought showing people how it was done would be fun, and kinda easy to transulate into Spanish. The problem is that all the spoons that I am pre-stressing show they are pre-stressed. So how can that be a trick when everyone looking at the spoon can see the mark?

Am I missing something here?

Susan

In this lecture you will see the clip from the Johnny Carson show, and also see how randi does the trick... then you can replay it(he also says what he is doing so you can follow it pretty easily)
http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...MIm-igKpwtSpDw
btw, the rest of this show (randi at princeton) is really great

Gromit · 4th July 2008, 04:01 PM

Originally Posted by sgf8

At TAM6 we were treated to a narrative from Teller explaining how to divert attention from a stressed spoon at causal gatherings. The spoons that Dr. W. gave us were all pre-stressed and you could see that clearly on the spoon.

Bear in mind that in order to get 900 spoons stressed, Wiseman had to get them punched in a machine, which is why you could see the deep indentations. Stressing it with your hands is not nearly as noticeable.
Well, that's my theory, anyway.

tkingdoll · 4th July 2008, 04:23 PM

Quote:

Bear in mind that in order to get 900 spoons stressed, Wiseman had to get them punched in a machine, which is why you could see the deep indentations.

Wiseman did no such thing.

Stressing them with your hands leaves a visible stress fracture, although the indentation on the TAM spoons was more noticeable, as everyone doing the video was in on the trick it really didn't matter. There is no close-up in the video.

To the op: the method I used for the TAM spoons can actually be done entirely from the back, which would leave the front of the spoon completely intact. I actually have a few prototypes like that but it would have taken too long so the back and front method was used for speed.

The only way to disguise any sort of stress fracture is to use sleight of hand, I'm afraid. My punch-from-the-back method is the only one I know of that leaves the front looking normal, though. Try writing a trick that involves you having the pre-stressed spoon, and giving your 'victim' a normal spoon. You'll have to figure out the rest yourself

PS, talk of the devil, the site is up:

www.spoonscience.com/

There's a video on there of the 'science of spoon bending' which explains what happens when you stress fracture a spoon, and of course the video of the event itself.

DrugFreeAlcoholic · 6th July 2008, 01:07 PM

When I do this trick, I use Walmart spoons. 5 low quality spoons for $1, and they're very easy to fracture.

Also, here's a website with Randi videos translated into Spanish: http://www.geocities.com/drugfreealcoholic

Scroll down towards the bottom.

Senex · 10th July 2008, 01:24 PM

I don't believe I am breaking any rules by saying that during the hieght of the Uri Geller spoon bending fad I purchased a unique spoon bending trick from Lou Tannen's magic store. It was bending, broken and restored spoon.

It consisted of a real spoon and a partial gimmick. I bought it blindly and looked at the instructions and laughed and said I could never pull this off. It's in my parent's attic never even practiced once. With the renewed interest in spoon bending I bet the twist of the restoration will catch people by surprise. I think I'm good at misdirection but I'm clumsy at difficult sleights. This one is a hummdinger to pull off.

HeyLeroy · 17th July 2008, 10:07 AM

I have a good one where the spoon 'bends' while wrapped in a hanky that the mark is holding. No gimmicked spoon needed.

I did it once for a bunch of kids and one smarta** little bugger asked me if I could 'unbend' it in the same fashion. I'd never done it before but I ad-libbed it and nailed it!

DrugFreeAlcoholic · 9th August 2008, 01:12 PM

Originally Posted by HeyLeroy

I have a good one where the spoon 'bends' while wrapped in a hanky that the mark is holding. No gimmicked spoon needed.

I did it once for a bunch of kids and one smarta** little bugger asked me if I could 'unbend' it in the same fashion. I'd never done it before but I ad-libbed it and nailed it!

Was it Jay Sankey's spoon bending trick?

treble_head · 11th August 2008, 01:36 AM

if you're clever enough, there's a great spoon bending routine involving a baby spoon (yeah, those exist). very little preperation, and great pay-off. IM me if you want to know more. I figgered it out via the interwebs, but I am more than happy to share.

The Professor · 19th August 2008, 06:41 AM

Why is Metal bending still so popular? I just saw a cool video of a mentalist in Canada doing it, and the TV folks were AMAZED. Why are they still interested? Seems like "Old News" to me. (But) The Baby Spoon thing sounds fun.

treble_head · 20th August 2008, 01:36 AM

Originally Posted by The Professor

Why is Metal bending still so popular? I just saw a cool video of a mentalist in Canada doing it, and the TV folks were AMAZED. Why are they still interested? Seems like "Old News" to me. (But) The Baby Spoon thing sounds fun.

Metal bending has been and always will be impressive, as is most mentalism. The reason is that people who believe you are doing it with the power of your mind will try to repeat it themselves later, to no avail. Card tricks don't hold as much sway. They figure that there's SOMETHING there that they don't get.

If it was a good metal bending trick, skeptics will also try to replicate the idea, and if it's a good trick, to no avail. It's the simplest attemptedly replicatable effect that anyone who wonders, will wonder about.

Put it this way... Hold out a coin or a deck of cards that you produced, and give a dynamite effect, (god... I sound like Richard Osterlind), and people will go, "Well, it's his coin or deck..." They'll be impressed, but there's something lacking.

Pick a fork or spoon off the table at a restaurant and just DO IT, then it seems SO much more magical. You used a supposedly non-planted, non-gaffed thing and did magic with it. THAT is why it holds so much interest. Make the audience feel clever and then mess with them.

That's why the simple coin trick, "Scotch and Soda" is still really popular, and still one of my favorites. Make someone feel that they figured it out, or in the case of good metal bending, make them think they could figure it out, and then do something so different, they can't help but wonder.

HeyLeroy · 20th March 2009, 12:41 PM

Originally Posted by DrugFreeAlcoholic

Was it Jay Sankey's spoon bending trick?

Wow, I was google searching for an entirely different post and found this thread.

Yes, it was Jay Sankey's trick!

4th July 2008, 09:30 AM	#1
sgf8 Graduate Poster Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Salinas, CA Posts: 1,088	Spoon Bending At TAM6 we were treated to a narrative from Teller explaining how to divert attention from a stressed spoon at causal gatherings. The spoons that Dr. W. gave us were all pre-stressed and you could see that clearly on the spoon. What I want to know is how can you prestress a spoon without someone being able to tell just by glancing at it. I know that when you are doing the trick you hold your fingers over the stress part so no one can see it. And before the trick begins they don't suspect that anything is strange about the spoon until you pick it up and start the trick. But on the Johnny Carson show for example, Uri Geller was presented with a small table of spoons. Would it have been very clear to everyone that these spoons were not pre-stressed? Also when Uri Geller would perform on different venues they did the same thing, but he (one way to cheat) might sneek a pre-stressed spoon into the provided mix and pull it out as the one to be bended with his mind. I have to do a small presentation to my Spanish class, and I thought showing people how it was done would be fun, and kinda easy to transulate into Spanish. The problem is that all the spoons that I am pre-stressing show they are pre-stressed. So how can that be a trick when everyone looking at the spoon can see the mark? Am I missing something here? Susan
	__________________ Looking for Gerbic's my library my pictures my videos my blog

4th July 2008, 11:17 AM	#2
TobiasTheViking Resident Viking Autist Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: With your mother Posts: 6,177	Originally Posted by sgf8 But on the Johnny Carson show for example, Uri Geller was presented with a small table of spoons. Would it have been very clear to everyone that these spoons were not pre-stressed? In that case the spoons were not pre-stressed, and he thus didn't do the test.. that was actually a stunt be johnny carson and randi. Originally Posted by sgf8 Also when Uri Geller would perform on different venues they did the same thing, but he (one way to cheat) might sneek a pre-stressed spoon into the provided mix and pull it out as the one to be bended with his mind. I have to do a small presentation to my Spanish class, and I thought showing people how it was done would be fun, and kinda easy to transulate into Spanish. The problem is that all the spoons that I am pre-stressing show they are pre-stressed. So how can that be a trick when everyone looking at the spoon can see the mark? Am I missing something here? Susan In this lecture you will see the clip from the Johnny Carson show, and also see how randi does the trick... then you can replay it(he also says what he is doing so you can follow it pretty easily) http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...MIm-igKpwtSpDw btw, the rest of this show (randi at princeton) is really great
	__________________ <Cleon> Tobias: We've been through this. I'm not gay, I'm just pathetic. There's a difference. <kate> I, Kate Holden, being of weird mind and awkward body, do take TobiasTheCommie to be my unlawfully wedded chathusband. <Nobby> He pricked me with his prick. That prick!

4th July 2008, 04:01 PM	#3
Gromit New Blood Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 22	Originally Posted by sgf8 At TAM6 we were treated to a narrative from Teller explaining how to divert attention from a stressed spoon at causal gatherings. The spoons that Dr. W. gave us were all pre-stressed and you could see that clearly on the spoon. Bear in mind that in order to get 900 spoons stressed, Wiseman had to get them punched in a machine, which is why you could see the deep indentations. Stressing it with your hands is not nearly as noticeable. Well, that's my theory, anyway.
Gromit New Blood Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 22

4th July 2008, 04:23 PM	#4
tkingdoll AKA TEEK Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Up Myself Posts: 12,468	Quote: Bear in mind that in order to get 900 spoons stressed, Wiseman had to get them punched in a machine, which is why you could see the deep indentations. Wiseman did no such thing. Stressing them with your hands leaves a visible stress fracture, although the indentation on the TAM spoons was more noticeable, as everyone doing the video was in on the trick it really didn't matter. There is no close-up in the video. To the op: the method I used for the TAM spoons can actually be done entirely from the back, which would leave the front of the spoon completely intact. I actually have a few prototypes like that but it would have taken too long so the back and front method was used for speed. The only way to disguise any sort of stress fracture is to use sleight of hand, I'm afraid. My punch-from-the-back method is the only one I know of that leaves the front looking normal, though. Try writing a trick that involves you having the pre-stressed spoon, and giving your 'victim' a normal spoon. You'll have to figure out the rest yourself PS, talk of the devil, the site is up: www.spoonscience.com/ There's a video on there of the 'science of spoon bending' which explains what happens when you stress fracture a spoon, and of course the video of the event itself.
	__________________ www.stormmovie.net Official website of Tim Minchin's Storm Movie Last edited by tkingdoll; 4th July 2008 at 05:18 PM.

10th July 2008, 01:24 PM	#6
Senex Graduate Poster Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: An autobody repair shop in Connecticut Posts: 1,835	I don't believe I am breaking any rules by saying that during the hieght of the Uri Geller spoon bending fad I purchased a unique spoon bending trick from Lou Tannen's magic store. It was bending, broken and restored spoon. It consisted of a real spoon and a partial gimmick. I bought it blindly and looked at the instructions and laughed and said I could never pull this off. It's in my parent's attic never even practiced once. With the renewed interest in spoon bending I bet the twist of the restoration will catch people by surprise. I think I'm good at misdirection but I'm clumsy at difficult sleights. This one is a hummdinger to pull off.
	__________________ I cannot call to mind a single instance where I have ever been irreverent, except toward the things which were sacred to other people. Mark Twain

6th July 2008, 01:07 PM	#5
DrugFreeAlcoholic Student Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: $1 reject store Posts: 48	When I do this trick, I use Walmart spoons. 5 low quality spoons for $1, and they're very easy to fracture. Also, here's a website with Randi videos translated into Spanish: http://www.geocities.com/drugfreealcoholic Scroll down towards the bottom.

17th July 2008, 10:07 AM	#7
HeyLeroy Vegan Cannibal Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Going off the rails on the Crazy Train. Posts: 5,434	I have a good one where the spoon 'bends' while wrapped in a hanky that the mark is holding. No gimmicked spoon needed. I did it once for a bunch of kids and one smarta** little bugger asked me if I could 'unbend' it in the same fashion. I'd never done it before but I ad-libbed it and nailed it!
	__________________ Cows are in large numbers, and do not serve any other purpose, other than to eat grass, and moo -- makaya325 I ♥ my kids. I ♠ my dog. I ♣ my baby Harp Seal.

9th August 2008, 01:12 PM	#8
DrugFreeAlcoholic Student Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: $1 reject store Posts: 48	Originally Posted by HeyLeroy I have a good one where the spoon 'bends' while wrapped in a hanky that the mark is holding. No gimmicked spoon needed. I did it once for a bunch of kids and one smarta** little bugger asked me if I could 'unbend' it in the same fashion. I'd never done it before but I ad-libbed it and nailed it! Was it Jay Sankey's spoon bending trick?

11th August 2008, 01:36 AM	#9
treble_head Cupcake Loser Moron Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Assuming the party escort submission position. Posts: 10,790	if you're clever enough, there's a great spoon bending routine involving a baby spoon (yeah, those exist). very little preperation, and great pay-off. IM me if you want to know more. I figgered it out via the interwebs, but I am more than happy to share.
	__________________ I am humble. I am modest. Those two things are what make me great. That's not going to work Treb. I'm still going to like you. - Arthwollipot

19th August 2008, 06:41 AM	#10
The Professor Banned Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 721	Why is Metal bending still so popular? I just saw a cool video of a mentalist in Canada doing it, and the TV folks were AMAZED. Why are they still interested? Seems like "Old News" to me. (But) The Baby Spoon thing sounds fun.
The Professor Banned Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 721	Last edited by The Professor; 19th August 2008 at 06:44 AM.

20th August 2008, 01:36 AM	#11
treble_head Cupcake Loser Moron Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Assuming the party escort submission position. Posts: 10,790	Originally Posted by The Professor Why is Metal bending still so popular? I just saw a cool video of a mentalist in Canada doing it, and the TV folks were AMAZED. Why are they still interested? Seems like "Old News" to me. (But) The Baby Spoon thing sounds fun. Metal bending has been and always will be impressive, as is most mentalism. The reason is that people who believe you are doing it with the power of your mind will try to repeat it themselves later, to no avail. Card tricks don't hold as much sway. They figure that there's SOMETHING there that they don't get. If it was a good metal bending trick, skeptics will also try to replicate the idea, and if it's a good trick, to no avail. It's the simplest attemptedly replicatable effect that anyone who wonders, will wonder about. Put it this way... Hold out a coin or a deck of cards that you produced, and give a dynamite effect, (god... I sound like Richard Osterlind), and people will go, "Well, it's his coin or deck..." They'll be impressed, but there's something lacking. Pick a fork or spoon off the table at a restaurant and just DO IT, then it seems SO much more magical. You used a supposedly non-planted, non-gaffed thing and did magic with it. THAT is why it holds so much interest. Make the audience feel clever and then mess with them. That's why the simple coin trick, "Scotch and Soda" is still really popular, and still one of my favorites. Make someone feel that they figured it out, or in the case of good metal bending, make them think they could figure it out, and then do something so different, they can't help but wonder.
	__________________ I am humble. I am modest. Those two things are what make me great. That's not going to work Treb. I'm still going to like you. - Arthwollipot Last edited by treble_head; 20th August 2008 at 01:40 AM.

20th March 2009, 12:41 PM	#12
HeyLeroy Vegan Cannibal Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Going off the rails on the Crazy Train. Posts: 5,434	Originally Posted by DrugFreeAlcoholic Was it Jay Sankey's spoon bending trick? Wow, I was google searching for an entirely different post and found this thread. Yes, it was Jay Sankey's trick!
	__________________ Cows are in large numbers, and do not serve any other purpose, other than to eat grass, and moo -- makaya325 I ♥ my kids. I ♠ my dog. I ♣ my baby Harp Seal.