BOB KOHLERS

Human Phone Number

A Reliable Closer For The
Working Professional
Commercial Easy To Do
Packs Small - Plays Big
Practical For Close-Up, Stand-Up,
Or Stage Shows Integrates Into Any Magic
Or Mentalism Show

BOB KOHLER MAGIC

Copyright 2006 by Bob Kohler

All rights reserved including manufacturing, sale, and distribution rights, reproduction or utilization
of this work in any form, by any means now known or hereinafter invented, including xerography,
photocopying and recording, and in any information storage and retrieval system, is forbidden without
express written permission from the copyright holder.

Table of Contents
Foreword

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Introduction

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What You Get

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A Brief History

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The Barry Wood Routine

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The Combined White Pages/Yellow Pages Test

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The Scroll

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The Human Phone Number Routine

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The Paper Airplane

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A Final Word

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HUMAN PHONE NUMBER

Give a man a sh, and

hell eat for a day.
Teach a man to sh, and
he thinks hes a mentalist.
~Michael Weber~

Foreword
Bob Kohler is mentalisms greatest secret. You may be asking yourself, Hey wait
just a second, isnt Bob Kohler the Three Fly guy? The Holdout guy? One of the
greatest close-up magicians it has ever been my pleasure to see, guy? The answer is yes, that is Bob Kohler.
Bob is not one of the many who are jumping on the mentalism bandwagon. What
most of the Magic world does not know is that Bob, for years, was ying around
the world, earning top dollar performing mentalism for Fortune 500 companies.
Bob was not just performing mentalisms greatest hits. His act featured several
original routines that showcased his great insight into the art and performance of
mentalism.
Napoleon Hill, in his classic book Think and Grow Rich, suggests creating your
own master mind group. I am blessed to have surrounded myself with such a
group one that I profoundly thank and acknowledge in whatever successes I
have achieved. Bob is the rst person I turn to for sound, practical, honest solutions for the problems I present. Bob is never content to nd one single solution
to a problem, but rather everything is always a work in progress. As you will discover in reading this work, Bob approaches the subject from every angle. He processes these results and hands them to you on a silver platter. We arent talking
Easy to Master here; however, Bob has done most of the thinking for you.
The Human Phone Number is Bobs rst mentalism release, and I am afraid my
secret source is no longer a secret. When you digest the valuable information
contained in this e-book, you will know why I climbed the mountain to seek the
wisdom of my Mental Buddha, Bob.
Enjoy the rst layer of the onion. There are more on the way.
Jon Stetson

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HUMAN PHONE NUMBER

Introduction
The Phone Book Test is a classic of mentalism. Dunninger performed it on
the radio, and it has been featured in many mentalists acts over the decades. I rst became aware of the Phone Book Test in Bob Cassidys book
The Art of Mentalism published in 1983.
When I read Bobs routine, I loved the conditions and the effect presented to
the audience. I believed then, and after performing various incarnations of
the routine for almost twenty years, I still believe that the Phone Book Test
is simply the strongest book test. Why? There are several reasons.
1) The effect is clear and simple to understand. A spectator randomly
selects any number from a phone book and it matches the target (that
is, the prediction) that has been in full view since the beginning of the
test.
2) All phone books are fairly big; in some cases they are huge. Everyone in the audience knows that there are thousands, if not hundreds
of thousands (perhaps even millions) of phone numbers in the book.
Everybody has at least one phone number. We are all emotionally attached to our phone number. Now with the proliferation of cell phones
most of us have more than one phone number. So at a core level, the
audience inherently knows the number of possibilities.
3) All of the tests covered in this treatise are direct in method, and
appear to give the spectator an absolutely free choice of any phone
number in the book. To me this is the crux of any book test. Most
book tests suffer from limits on the spectators choice of word (such
as think of the rst word on the page) or from shing for information
(so that you can reveal the word). The methods covered here are all
forces of one type or another. They all appear to give the spectator
complete control of his nal choice, although nothing could be further
from the truth.

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HUMAN PHONE NUMBER

4) The forces used are subtle. They are disguised by using language,
a hands-off approach, covered actions, spectator control, and lies.
5) The primary goal is generating the audiences reaction and creating a memorable effect they will talk about for years. The Phone Book
Test is a performance piece that creates an effect that is so staggering
to the audience that on a bad night theyll go wild, and on a good night
youll receive a well-deserved standing ovation. I guarantee it. Since
1988, Ive closed all of my stand-up shows and many of my close-up
shows with the Phone Book Test.

One of the toughest challenges facing the professional stage mentalist is

to make the show bigger and more visual. The Human Phone Number is
my solution to this problem for the Phone Book Test. My goal with every
routine is to create the best routine possible that packs small, but plays big.
Professionals travel, so the size of your prop bag is important.
The Human Phone Number certainly does the job. Even though the display
props pack into a space that is 2 inches by 10 inches by 13 inches, your
nal display on stage will be enormous and easily seen by 1000 people.
The methods presented in this treatise are like a Swiss Army knife. They
are tools that will allow the thinking performer to travel nationally or internationally without having to carry a phone book. No matter what type or style
of phone book you nd in your hotel room when you get to your destination,
youll be able to use it for your show. It can be White Pages, Yellow Pages,
or the type of book that is a combination of the two (White Pages and Yellow Pages bound together in one book). Youll be armed and dangerous no
matter what type of show youll be doing: close-up, parlor, or stage.
Had Barry Wood not shared his routine with me, I probably would not have
fallen in love with the Phone Book Test. Once I performed Barrys routine
a few times I was hooked. And once I discover an effect I love, I never quit
thinking about it. Thanks, Barry!
Over the years Ive shared The Human Phone Number with only three performers, three of my best friends: Tim Conover, Michael Weber, and Jon
Stetson. All of us have had enormous success using The Human Phone

INTRODUCTION

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Number with our own variations of the Phone Book Test. I thank them all for
keeping the secret and helping me all these years.
Id like to thank Barrie Richardson for his kind permission to include his
method in this work. To me, Barrie is a National Treasure for mentalists.
Id also like to thank my good friends Michael and Lisa Close for writing and
publishing this e-book. I couldnt have done it without them.
Bob Kohler
Las Vegas, NV
2006

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HUMAN PHONE NUMBER

What You Get

Here are some notes from Bob Kohler about The Human Phone Number
Kit:
The Human Phone Number is a kit that provides the professional performer
the necessary training to be able to successfully perform the classic Phone
Book Test in just about any situation.
As a professional, you are never quite sure of the performing conditions
youll be facing when you arrive at the show. Even the best plans can
change on a moments notice. Ive been hired to perform outside close-up,
when a sudden storm forced the party inside. The host wanted me to do a
show for everybody instantly.
The Human Phone Number will give you the tools to be able to effectively
perform in close-up, stand-up, and stage situations. Most of the necessary
materials are common, ordinary objects that you will already have, or can
easily obtain. The included training will show you how to construct the necessary gaffs and how to handle them.
The training will also teach you upgraded handlings and strategies that
have never been published. In some cases, the details are small changes
that really make a difference in the results. Please try the routines methods
as written before making the decision to play with them. All of the included
methods have been audience tested for many years.
Youll notice that, unlike many of my releases, I did not include the presentations. I made this decision because I really dont want everybody doing
exactly the same routine. This product is for professionals. Professionals
should be able to script, block, and choreograph their routines to t their
personalities and styles.
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HUMAN PHONE NUMBER

The main props that are included are the envelopes and the signs. First,
lets talk about the envelopes. I use the bright yellow color. There are three
colors that stand out on stage: white, red and yellow. I did a test at an I.B.M.
convention held at the Fox Theater in St. Louis. I watched the stage shows
from the last row in the balcony. There is no doubt that the best colors for
important objects are white, red, and yellow. You can see them a mile away.
I chose yellow for the envelopes because yellow is a color most people
dont wear. Since youre going to have eight spectators on stage holding
these important envelopes, they need to be seen against their clothing. I
think they do the job quite nicely.
There are eight Tyvek 10 x 13 envelopes included with your kit. Tyvek as a
material is virtually bombproof. These envelopes will last for years.
Youve also received twenty 12.5 x 9.5 signs. Why twenty? This kit will allow you to easily nd phone numbers that youre going to choose to force
phone numbers that are remembered when heard and are easily spoken.
The numbers range from 0 to 9; included are two of each number with the
exception of 6 and 9. Since 6s and 9s are essentially the same number inverted, only three are included.
Personally, I usually dont choose phone numbers that contain 6s and 9s,
because if a spectator who holds a 6 or a 9 happens to turn the sign upside
down, it would look correct to the audience, but it would not match the prediction. However, sometimes you need these numbers, so they are included
in the kit.
So far weve covered nineteen numbers. The last sign is the dash. You
need it between the third and fth spectators to make the sign into The Human Phone Number.
The signs are professionally produced. Every detail has been thought out.
First is the size of the signs. They are big enough to been seen by 1000
people. Shows with crowds larger than this usually have video support.
GE makes the sign material, and it is an industry standard called Sintra. Its

WHAT YOU GET

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extremely tough and wears like steel. Weve rounded off the corners to prevent cracking and to make the signs easy to get in and out of the envelopes.
I also really like the fact that Sintra is black all the way through. If it happens
to get scratched, its not a big deal; it stays black.
The letters are professional-grade vinyl. They will outlast screen-printing
by many years. I selected the font for maximum readability. Its a non-serif
font with sharp, crisp numbers. The audience will instantly be able to read
The Human Phone Number. The numbers are on both sides of each sign. I
found out early on that when the spectators pull the signs out of the envelopes, some would turn their sign around to see whats on it. With the numbers on both sides, this problem has been eliminated.
High-grade vinyl also allowed us to use a matte nish. You cant do that with
screen-printing. The matte nish is a big deal. Since both the vinyl and Sintra are matte nishes, youll discover that the audience will always be able
to read the signs, regardless of the lighting conditions. When the spectators
pull the signs from the envelopes you want the audience to immediately
read the number. Reections from stage lighting or spotlights can turn a
sign into a mirror that would kill the moment. With matte nish signs, you
wont have to worry about that at all.
The end result is a kit thats 10 x 13 and less than 2 thick; it will produce
a display that is 16 wide (estimating about 2 feet of space per person). The
old axiom Packs at, plays big has never been more accurate.

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A Brief History
Joseph Dunninger was probably the rst to do a book test with a phone
book. Actually, the rst might have been Thomas Watson, Alexander Graham Bells assistant. (Watson had a big advantage, however, since at that
time there was only one phone number in the book.) Dunninger performed
the trick on the radio. Theodore Annemann published his Test of the Tiber in
1932. (It was included in J.G. Thompsons book My Best in 1945.) Using a
billet switch, Annemann forced a page from the phone book, but allowed for
the free selection of one of the rst nine phone numbers of the rst column
of the forced page. These nine names and phone numbers were penciled
in on a slate, and, through the use of judicious pumping, Annemann was
able to reveal the phone number the spectator was thinking of. In 1935,
Annemann published a different version (that eliminated the billet switch) in
Annemanns Complete One-Man Mental and Psychic Routine.
Paul Curry created an ingenious version of the Phone Book Test, titled Out
of This Phone Book. It was published in The Phoenix (No. 25, December 2,
1942), and later reprinted in Paul Currys Worlds Beyond (Hermetic Press,
2001). Curry, inspired by Franklin Taylors Peek Deck, turned an ordinary
phone book into a peek book. Currys trick was not designed as a prediction, although Bruce Elliott used it as such in a routine called The Master
Mentalist (Magic as a Hobby, 1958). After determining the phone number
(using Currys peek phone book), Elliott used a thumbtip with an attached
ball bearing to write the number on a piece of paper sealed inside three envelopes. (The innermost envelope had a piece of carbon paper in it.)
Bob Kohlers interest in the Phone Book Test was sparked by Bob Cassidys
Phone Book I and Phone Book II, both published in The Art of Mentalism
(Collectors Workshop, 1983). Most book tests limit the selection of the word
on the page. (Think of the rst word on the page, or, Think of the word at
the end of the fourth line.) These restrictions seem nonsensical. Instead of
a phone number, Cassidy divined the name of the person. He would force
a page, and all of the surnames on that page were the same. This would
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allow the spectator to run his nger around the page, stopping at a (supposedly) random name. Unfortunately, Cassidys gaffed phone book is very
time consuming to construct. Billy McComb came up with a variation thats
in his book The Professional Touch. He also did a surname version.
At the time Bob Kohler became interested in mentalism, one of his closest
friends and condants was Barry Wood. Barry developed a Phone Book
Test that exploited a new principle. It is a remarkably fair-looking book test
that Bob Kohler performed for several years. Barrys routine is the subject of
the next chapter.

The Barry Wood Routine

Barry Woods Phone Book Test was a prediction, and it made use of the Yellow Pages
phone book. Barrys big breakthrough was
this: Many pages of the Yellow Pages contain
multiple listings perhaps a hundred or more
businesses listed per page, Photo 1. But there
are also pages (in major categories, such as
orists or tire stores) that only contain one,
two, or three ads, Photos 2 and 3. When displaying the phone book to the audience, the
performer ips to the pages that have multiple
listings. However, when the time comes to select a page, a page that has only one ad (and
Photo 1
one phone number) on it is forced. The assisting spectator knows he only has one phone number to pick, but the remainder of the audience (who cannot see the page) thinks he has a multitude of
choices. Heres how Barry used this principle.

Photo 2

Photo 3

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HUMAN PHONE NUMBER

Before the show, Barry searched through the Yellow Pages and found three
different pages, each of which had only one big ad with one phone number on it. He found one near the front of the phone book with the ad on the
right-hand page; one in the middle of the book with the ad on the left-hand
page; and one near the back of the book with the ad on the right-hand
page. The three page numbers were written on one side of an Add-a-Number pad. Each of the three phone numbers was written on a large sheet of
paper, and each sheet of paper was sealed in a large envelope. But heres
a key point: Each of these three envelopes was slightly different in size.
These three envelopes were then sealed in an even larger envelope, with
the envelopes placed in descending order of size, Photo 4. This allowed
Barry to easily locate and remove the proper envelope in an instant.

Photo 4

Barry would display the Yellow Pages phone book to the audience, showing
pages that had multiple ads. Hed then bring a spectator up on the stage,
hand him the phone book, telling him to look through it. Barry would then
walk through the audience, getting three three-digit numbers written on the
Add-a-Number pad. Hed then walk back on stage, ipping the pad over,
and hed lay the pad down on the table in front of the assisting spectator.

THE BARRY WOOD ROUTINE

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Hed then walk over to the big prediction envelope. Hed tell the spectator
to think of one of the three numbers on the Add-a-Number pad, turn to that
page in the Yellow Pages, and put his nger on the center of the page.
From across the stage Barry could see if the spectator had opened the book
near the front, the center, or the back. The side of the book the spectators
nger was on conrmed the location, so he knew what the number was
going to be. Barry would time it so as soon as the spectator put his nger
down on the page, he would open the large envelope, take out the correct smaller envelope, and then toss the bigger envelope aside. The bigger
envelope went away so early that no one even remembered that it existed.
The moment was very clever.
Barry then had the spectator close his eyes, move his nger around the
page, and stop anywhere he wanted. He then told the spectator to remember the phone number that is closest to his nger. He would also give this
important instruction, If your nger is in an ad, remember the closest number in that ad. (This is vital. If the spectators nger is near the spine of the
book he might remember a number on the adjacent page.) The spectator
read out the phone number; Barry opened the envelope and revealed the
prediction. To the audience this seems like the fairest test possible.
This routine has stood the test of time. Bob Kohler has used it mostly for repeat shows (that is, audiences that have seen The Human Phone Number)
and for shows in a parlor situation.
Barrys idea of the multiple-out envelopes construction and the moment of
extracting the correct envelope may be very well suited for other multipleout prediction type effects. Its certainly worth thinking about.

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The Combined White

Pages/Yellow Pages Test
As was mentioned in the previous chapter, Bob Kohler used Barry Woods
effect for several years. As Bobs mentalism act evolved, however, he
changed to a different method. He was using Add-a-Number in another trick
in his show, so he needed a different method for forcing the page. Also, he
discovered that he often encountered phone books that had the White and
Yellow Pages bound into one book, so he created a funny gag to be used
with the combined book.
First, heres the gag: Bob found the spot where the White and Yellow Pages met, and, using a very sharp knife, he sliced down the spine vertically,
separating the White Pages from the Yellow Pages, Photos 5 and 6. This
sounds like its easy to do, but its not so easy. You need a real knife to get
the job done; an Exacto blade wont do it. Bob would then cut out several
pages from the front of the White Pages section to construct a new spine

Photo 5

Photo 6

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for the book. This is done by placing the two halves of the book together
(carefully lined up), and then gluing a piece of the white paper to the spine
using a glue stick. This piece of paper is trimmed down to t the spine, and
the glue is allowed to dry. Then another piece of paper is glued to the rst
sheet. This process is repeated several times, until a new spine has been
constructed. This spine will hold the book together, but can be easily torn,
Photo 7.

Photo 7

In performance, Bob holds the phone book toward the audience, with his
ngers in the book at the spot where the White and Yellow Pages meet. He
says, Tonight youve seen several examples of mental power. But I want
you to know that I am also physically powerful. Im going to rip this phone
book in half, right in front of your eyes. Because of the way hes holding the
book, people think hes going to tear it across the middle, the way a circus
strongman would. He builds this up, opens the book in the right spot (between the White and Yellow pages), and then he tears the book along spine
into two halves one with the White Pages, one with the Yellow Pages. Its
a good gag.
As in the Barry Wood routine, Bob would invite a spectator on stage and
would hand him the Yellow Pages section of the phone book. Bob would
then go into the audience with the White Pages section, and he would use
that section to force the proper page in the Yellow Pages. (Remember, this
is a page with a full-page ad with only one phone number on it.) Bob used
two methods to the force the page: The David Hoy miscall (from the Hoy
Book Test) or a rife force. The Hoy method should be familiar to any wellread mentalist. If he planned to rife force the page, Bob attached a small,
white paperclip to the lower edge of the page to be forced in the White Pag-

THE COMBINED WHITE/YELLOW PAGES TEST

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es, Photo 8. (For security, Bob made sure that several pages were forced
into the jaws of the clip. In this way, theres no chance the clip will accidentally fall off.) The paperclip forms a break in the book, and it is easy to open
the book at the break as the pages are being rifed and the spectator says
stop. When the book is opened, the ngers cover the paperclip.

Photo 8

By this time in his performing career, Bob had changed the Yellow Page
ad idea a little bit. He wanted the onstage spectator to feel as if he had a
greater freedom of choice. So, Bob would nd a page (in the Yellow Pages)
where the bottom half was one ad (with a single phone number) and the top
half contained two quarter-page ads, each with a single phone number. Bob
likes to use a page that has ads for orist shops. Florist shops have lots of
colors; they have lots of odors. If he has an audience of all men, Bob uses a
page of tire shops lots of noises, lots of smells. (In a moment youll understand why Bob wants a shop that can be vividly described through sounds,
smells, or colors.) Bob memorizes the phone numbers of the two ads in the
upper half of the page, and uses the phone number of the lower-half ad as
his big prediction. Having three ads on the page opens up the possibility of
some bonus effects.

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There are three scenarios. Bob has forced the page in the White Pages,
and his onstage spectator opens his Yellow Pages to that page. Bob tells
him to close his eyes and bring his nger down onto the page. (Its important that you are as far away from the phone book as possible during this
stage. However, you must make sure that you can determine which quadrant of the page the spectator is in.)
If for some reason the spectator stops right in the middle of the page, Bob
tells him to move his nger around in a circle, stopping anywhere. This
will bring him to either the lower half of the page or to one of the two upper quadrants. If he ends up in the bottom half (which contains the phone
number that matches the prediction), then the trick is over. If he stops in
the right-hand quadrant (for example), Bob will rst give him a chance to
change his mind. If he doesnt, Bob tells him to look at the phone number
thats nearest his nger. Bob knows this number, so he can then read his
mind, calling off the number the spectator is looking at.
Bob now tells him to move his nger to another spot on the page. Hell either go to the other quarter-page ad, or hell go to the half-page ad. So, if
the spectator goes for the second quarter-page ad, Bob rst describes the
shop (using the images of color, smell, or sound), reveals that it is a orist
shop, and then gets the number. (Please dont leave out the apparent remote viewing of the shop. It is necessary for the impact of the routine to
build properly.) The spectator again moves his nger to another location;
the only place that remains is the lower ad at the bottom of the page. Bob
has the spectator call out that number, and Bob reveals it as his prediction.

The Scroll
In the Barry Wood routine, the predicted phone numbers (remember, there
were three, each in an envelope inside a large envelope) were written on
large sheets of paper. One of the most difcult aspects of mentalism is to
nd a way for a routine to play big. Writing a prediction on a big sheet of
paper helps this.
Another method of revealing the phone number is to use a scroll. This will
not work for the Barry Wood version (which uses multiple outs). It will work
for both the method described in the previous section and the method that
will be described in the next section. Bob takes several sheets from a big
drawing pad and tapes them together. Barrie Richardson uses a scroll
made from shelf paper. Using shelf paper eliminates the need to tape
sheets of paper together, but Bob doesnt use this method because he carries the pad with him for another trick, and this way doesnt have to carry an
extra prop (the shelf paper). Regardless of the type of paper used, it should
be rolled up nice and tight and tied with a red ribbon. This way it looks like
something, not just a prop you made up in your room.
Bob uses the scroll in a way inspired by Steve Spill a gag Bob learned
at the Brook Farm Inn of Magic. Spill and Bob Sheets used a hula-hoop in
their levitation presentation. Theyd hand the hoop to someone in the audience and say, Later on in the show, Im going to scream out, Who has the
hoop? and youre going to yell, Ive got it, Ive got it! Addressing the entire
audience, Spill would say, Your job is to go wild.
This strategy accomplishes two important things. First, it trains both the
spectator holding the scroll and the audience what to do at the climax of
the trick. This insures the ending will build properly and move forward at the
proper pace. Second, it generates a ton of energy just before the climax of
the trick. This insures a tremendous reaction and can often lead to a true
standing ovation (as opposed to the begging type of standing ovation).

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HUMAN PHONE NUMBER

A free major benet is that this scenario is packed with laughs and entertainment value without telling a joke. Depending on your character you can
play this situation in many ways. Kohlers patter is this: Sir, you are going
to be the single most important person in the entire show. You are Guardian
of the Scroll. [The spectator is handed the scroll.] Later in the program Im
suddenly going to get the urge to yell out, Whos got the Scroll? Your job
is to stand up, hold it high above your head, and scream out at the top of
your lungs, Ive got it, Ive got it! And thats the audiences cue to burst into
thunderous applause. Sir, I dont think youve got it. I think we need a practice run. So, Ill just be walking around doing what I do. [Bob walks nonchalantly around the stage.] Whos got the Scroll?
Depending upon the type of individual youve selected, their reaction will go
from inhibited to wild. Both reactions can work. If they go wild, your job is
done. If they are inhibited, rather than chastise them, simply say, Weve got
to do it again, and were going to do it until you get it right. Everybodys job
is to go wild and inspire him.
The second time the guardian will do much better, and the crowd will go
wilder. Its almost better when this reaction happens. Some of you may feel
that this approach puts the spectator in an uncomfortable position, and to
some degree, it does. But the payoff is huge. The smartest thing you can do
is to determine the best person to use either before the show or during the
performance. This isnt rocket science. Pick out somebody who is outgoing
and laughing.
The idea of enlisting the aid of a spectator who will participate with a lot of
noise and hoopla is something that Kohler has incorporated into his Bill in
Lemon routine and other routines with Steve Spills permission. This technique is also featured on the training DVD for Scott Alexanders The Final
Answer.
(Incidentally, Barrie Richardsons Theater of the Mind contains a very valuable suggestion on how to unroll the scroll to produce maximum audience
response.)

The Human Phone

Number Routine
The nal step in the evolution of the Phone Book Test combines an apparently free choice of any phone number in the White Pages with a revelation that lls the stage. This routine is The Human Phone Number, and it is
Kohlers preferred method for performing the Phone Book Test. The method
for revealing the prediction is an original idea of Bobs that he came up with
around 1987. The method of forcing the phone number is based on Barrie
Richardsons One in a Million, which was published in the December 1977
issue of Pabular. A more complete explanation (including Barries presentation) was published in Theater of the Mind (Hermetic Press, 1999). We will
rst discuss the forcing method, including the construction of the necessary
props, and then we will outline the routine and the proper way to handle the
revelation.
The phone number force is based on an old trick called Wordo. Bruce Elliott
applied this principle to a paperclip in a trick called Fate, which was published in The Phoenix (No. 177, May 1949). The gimmick is simply a paperclip that has a small piece of paper from a phone book glued to it, Photo 9.

Photo 9

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HUMAN PHONE NUMBER

The paper is glued and trimmed so only one number can be seen through
the loop of the clip. When this clip is placed on phone book, the white-onwhite principle goes to work, and it looks as if a number from the phone
book can be seen through the clip, Photo 10.

Photo 10

As mentioned above, Barrie Richardson

uses the idea of the gimmicked paperclip, but he actually attaches the clip to
the edge of a freely selected phone book
page, Photo 11. There are some issues
with this. One problem is that you must
limit the spectator to the far right column
of phone numbers, which seems to negate
the freedom of choice that you are trying
to establish. Nevertheless, Bob used this
method in his shows. But on one occasion
he was stymied because the local phone
book he had to use had grayscale printPhoto 11

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ing along the right edge of the book. The paperclip was not only too short to
reach the proper position, because of the discrepancy that appeared in the
printing along the side when the paperclip was attached, it was obvious that
something was not as it should be. That night Bob developed the idea of the
oating paperclip.
To make the gimmicked paperclip youll need the following items: UHU
brand glue stick, Dennison Removable Glue Stick (Photo 12), several large
paperclips (Photo 13), and an X-acto brand knife (Photo 14). The video clips
on the next page will teach you exactly how to make the gaff.

Photo 12

Photo 14
Photo 13

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Click Here To View Video Clip

Paperclip Preparation
Part 1

Video Clip 1

Click Here To View Video Clip

Paperclip Preparation
Part 2

Video Clip 2

THE HUMAN PHONE NUMBER ROUTINE

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Here are some points to remember: The UHU glue stick is important because the glue starts out purple in color and then dries clear. This makes it
easy to see where the glue has been applied. The phone number choice is
important, because you want a phone number that is memorable; one that
the audience can chant easily. Also, you really want to avoid phone numbers that contain the digits 6 or 9 (because the spectator who holds that
envelope could remove and hold the number upside down). Be sure that
the glue sticks you use are fresh. The success of the trick depends on the
gaffed paperclip. If the glue is old, the piece of paper stuck to the clip might
fall off. At the end of this section youll nd a method for salvaging this situation, but it is not the preferred solution. You should be charging enough for
your show that you can afford to buy fresh glue sticks.
The gaffed paperclip must be brought into play secretly. You could keep it
in a pocket, but there is the chance that the glued piece of paper could be
dislodged. Also, the paperclip must be in the proper orientation. Bob has
solved all these problems by gafng a small ashlight to act as a secret
holder for the paperclip. Youll need the following items: a MiniMag AA ashlight (Photo 15), some black gaffers tape or duct tape (Photo 16), and some
small, thin, exible magnets (Photo 17). The video clips on the next page
explain how to prepare the ashlight.

Photo 15

Photo 16

Photo 17

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Click Here To View Video Clip

Flashlight Preparation
Part 1

Video Clip 3

Click Here To View Video Clip

Flashlight Preparation
Part 2

Video Clip 3

THE HUMAN PHONE NUMBER ROUTINE

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In addition to its secret function, the ashlight serves a practical function

as well. Through hard experience, Bob discovered that even in places with
good lighting, it can be hard to read the phone number that is glued to the
paperclip. The MiniMag AA ashlight has a beam that can be focused to a
sharp circle, clearly illuminating the phone number. The ashlight is held so
the light is shining in from the performer toward the audience; that is, the
beam points away from, rather than toward the spectator. If you accidentally
aim the ashlight so that the beam reects back towards the spectators
eyes, you can actually make the number more difcult to read.
Now that we have constructed all the necessary props, heres how the routine works.
The ashlight (with the gaffed paperclip attached in the proper orientation)
is in the right-hand jacket pocket. The performance table is stage left. Bobs
table has a top that is about the size of an opened phone book. This table
was marketed and sold by comedy magician Bruce Gold. Although light
weight, it is very sturdy. On the table is the phone book, which is closed.
On top of the phone book are the eight prediction envelopes, each containing one digit of the phone number that will soon be forced. Bob takes the
precaution of numbering each envelope one to eight using a pencil. These
pencil marks should be light enough that they are not obvious to the audience, but should be bold enough that you can easily see them.
The spectator who will select the phone number is now chosen. When he
comes to the stage, Bob positions him behind the table. Bob picks up the
envelopes and offers the spectator a chance to ip through the phone book,
making sure that it is free from guile. As this is happening, Bob enlists the
aid of eight people to hold the envelopes.
If the stage is big enough, Bob will call up the eight people, handing each
one an envelope as they come up on stage. These spectators will stand
stage right, in a row. Each will hold an envelope in front of him. Because the
envelopes are numbered, Bob can make sure that they are handed out in
the correct order. The numbering also serves as a check: Before the nal
revelation, Bob can walk over to the spectators and make sure that no one
has switched his envelope with another spectator while Bob wasnt looking.

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If the stage is too small to accommodate the eight spectators, Bob will ask
eight people to stand, either at their seats in the audience or by the stage.
Again, these people should be stage right. (Or, to put it another way, they
should be to the left as the audience looks at the stage.) The reason for this
is that people read from left to right, and positioning the assisting spectators stage right makes it easy for the remainder of the audience to read the
phone number when it is revealed.
If possible, its also benecial to have them stand facing the audience in a
straight line. Your goal is to position them so that the rest of the audience
will be able to easily see the nal revelation.
As Bob moves back stage left, he brings out the ashlight. The spectator is
instructed to open the phone book at any point he wishes. As he does this,
Bob steals the paperclip from the ashlight; the right thumb simply pushes
the paperclip out of the holder. Because of the removable glue, the paperclip will stick to the right thumb. The left hand takes the ashlight as the
right hand retains the paperclip.
Note: In Barrie Richardsons handling, the paperclip begins
clipped to the phone book. It is then removed, and reattached to
the right edge of the selected page. The clip is then slid down
the page to the spot where the spectator has placed his nger.
As you will see, Bobs handling is much freer, and there is much
less for the audience to see.
The spectator has opened the phone book at a random point. Pointing to
the right-hand page, Bob says, This is the spot where you wanted to open
the book, correct? (Bob uses the right-hand page, because that page will
lie at, making it easier to position the paperclip properly.) The spectator replies in the afrmative. Bob says, Okay. Let me mark the page. He moves
his right hand over the right-hand page, and immediately deposits the paperclip near the bottom of the page. The paperclip is easily dislodged from
the thumb. The paperclip should land in the proper orientation so the phone
number could be read through the clip. In other words, it lands with the correct side up. Without hesitation, Bobs hand moves to the upper right-hand
corner of the page, and he folds the upper corner of that page, dog earring

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it slightly. To the audience (who cannot see the face of the pages of the
phone book) all Bob has done is turn up the corner of a page. It does not
matter if the paperclip lands slightly askew, the assisting spectators attention is on the folded corner.
Remember, all these actions take place on top of a table that is of a good
size to hold the phone book. The table should also be at a height that the
assisting spectator doesnt have to bend over too far when he puts his nger on the book.
It is now time for the spectator to select a number from the right-hand page.
Most phone books have four columns of numbers per page. Bob prefers
to work with the center two columns. Bob directs the spectator to place his
forenger near the top of the page (indicating the area of the middle two
columns.) The spectator is told to close his eyes and move his nger very
slowly back and forth as he moves his nger down the page. Bob tells him
to stop whenever he wants. The spectator stops anywhere. If he stops between columns, Bob says, Well, youre in between columns; move left or
right just a little bit. This will place him on an entry in the phone book. Bob
now says, Okay, hold your nger steady, and lets mark that spot. Bob
slides the paperclip so it lies just above the spectators nger (touching it,
in fact), and lines it up so the gaffed phone number is in perfect alignment.
(Use the small inner loop of the paperclip as an aid to lining up.) He then
pushes the clip against the paper so the removable glue holds it in place. If
the spectator hasnt opened his eyes by this point, Bob tells him to do so.
Once the paperclip is in place, Bob shines the ashlight on it, narrowing the
beam so the spectator can easily see the phone number. (Remember to
hold the ashlight so it is shining away from the spectator.) The spectator
reads the number. Bob leans in toward the spectator so his lavaliere microphone can pick up the spectators voice. The spectator reads the number
out loud.
After the spectator says the number. Bob says, Lets say it together, and
Bob and the spectator repeat the number. Then Bob says, Lets all say it
together, and he gets the entire audience to repeat the number. The audience repeats the number four or ve times, until everyone is participat-

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HUMAN PHONE NUMBER

ing and the excitement builds into a small frenzy. Then Bob says, When I
count to three I want you to pull out the card thats in your envelope, place it
against your envelope, and hold it up so everyone can see it. Ready? One,
two, three! This is done, and the audience sees the entire phone number.
To clean up: Bob shakes the assisting spectators hand. He starts to close
the phone book with his left hand (which now holds the ashlight) as his
right hand moves onto the right-hand page and removes the paperclip. The
left hand transfers the ashlight to the right hand, and the paperclip magnetically sticks to it. The left hand tosses the phone book to the stage as the
right hand pockets the ashlight. Bob gathers the envelopes and numbers
as he dismisses the spectators. The show is over.
The reaction that this routine gets makes it impossible to follow with another
trick. Bob has never done a trick on a stage that got a bigger reaction, and
for that reason The Human Phone Number was always his closer. People
will remember this effect and talk about it later.
Notes:
1) On two occasions, Bob prepared the gaffed paperclip using a stick of
UHU glue that was not fresh. When he removed the ashlight from his
pocket, the paperclip was there, but the piece of paper with the phone
number on it had fallen off. Bob managed to get through the trick by
simply miscalling the phone number that showed up through the (now
ungaffed) paperclip. This requires huge cajones, and is not a recommended procedure. Instead, be sure to use a fresh glue stick.
2) Bob always refers to the phone number as a target and not a prediction. The idea is that the assisting spectator will somehow be psychically steered to select the proper phone number. This eliminates the
possibility that spectators will bug Bob to give them the next weeks
winning lottery numbers.
3) When the spectator has opened the phone book to the page they
want, you should take a look at the page. Depending upon where the
book has been opened you may nd that the column closest to the

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spine has a pronounced curve in it. You must get the spectator to stop
with their nger on a at part of the page. The two center columns are
always at.
Heres a strategy that limits them to these two columns but seems incredibly fair: Have the spectator put the rst nger of each hand on
one of the center columns. Now have him close his eyes and move his
ngers down the columns. It doesnt matter if the hands move together
at the same speed. Once the spectator stops, you can make a big deal
about the fact that their next decision is the most important one of the
show. They are now down to two phone numbers. Heres the patter for
this important presentational moment: Even if Ive somehow managed
to inuence your decision to open the book to the right pageeven if I
somehow managed to get you to stop one of your ngers on the number
thats my targetyou still have one last decision that will affect either
the success or failure of this test. Ask them to lift either nger; the nger
that remains on the phone book determines the nal position.
Obviously, this is all BS. It makes absolutely no difference what nger is
lifted, but it gives you a great way to sell the impossibility.
When using this presentation, Bob has heard his assisting spectator
wondering (after the show) how he controlled their nal decision.
4) Barrie Richardson has an excellent presentation for this effect. It
would be well worth your time to study One in a Million in Theater of the
Mind.
5) Bob always picks a spectator who is wearing glasses. In any type of
book test there is the danger of the assisting spectator announcing that
he cant read the text because he doesnt have his glasses with him.
Choosing a spectator who is already wearing glasses minimizes this
possibility.

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The Paper Airplane

This parlor/close-up version of the Phone Book Test came about as Bob,
Bob Sheets, and Jimmy Gibson were driving to Montreal airport after one
of Bob Fitchs performance camps. Bob Kohler had worked on The Human
Phone Number during camp, but nothing radically new was added. In the
cab, Jimmy Gibson suggested that the prediction be a paper airplane that is
sailed into the audience to nd the spectator who will help with the trick. The
airplane is tossed around the audience, and the fourth spectator to catch it
comes up. This gave Bob the idea of using a big sheet of paper and adding
a genuine paperclip to the nose of the airplane to aid in its ight. In a parlor
situation, it is almost impossible to hide the existence of the gaffed paperclip
from the audience, because they can see the top of the phone book. Bob
solved this problem by (apparently) using the paperclip from the nose of the
airplane. Actually, he switches paperclips, bringing the gaffed clip into play.
Here are the details.
The phone number that will be forced (using the gaffed paperclip) is written on a large sheet of paper. This piece of paper is folded into a paper
airplane, and a genuine paperclip is placed on the nose of the plane, ostensibly to provide a bit of weight and aid in its ight. Bob sails the plane into
the audience. Whoever catches it sails it to someone else. This is repeated
twice more, and the fourth person to catch the plane brings it forward to the
performing area. Bob also asks the two people sitting to either side of this
person to come forward as well.
The spectator who caught the airplane stands directly behind the table; he
will use his nger to nd a phone number. Bob stands next to this spectator. The other two spectators stand on either side of the table; one spectator holds the real paperclip that was on the nose of the airplane (a genuine
clip); the other spectator holds the airplane (which will later be opened revealing the prediction).

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The spectator behind the table begins to examine the phone book. The
gaffed ashlight is in the left jacket pocket. In this routine the paperclip goes
in the pocket upside down from way shown in Photo 15. In other words, the
open end is up. The left hand removes the ashlight and steals the clip. Bob
asks, Whos guarding the paperclip? His right hand reaches for clip. As
soon as the right hand takes the genuine paperclip, the left hand puts ashlight in right hand as the right hand apparently transfers the clip to left hand.
Actually, only the ashlight is transferred. The right hand holds on to the
genuine clip (which is now covered by the ashlight), as the left hand places
gaffed clip onto the selected page exactly as in the previous version. In this
case, the paperclip is openly used as a method for exactly marking the spot
where the spectator places his ngertip.
A phone number is now selected as in the previous version. The spot is
marked with the paperclip exactly as before. The spectator reads the number and the audience chants it along with him. As the crescendo builds, the
paper airplane is unfolded, revealing the phone number.
It is a simple matter to remove the gaffed clip from the book and switch it for
the genuine clip (simply reversing the earlier moves) during the pandemonium at the end of the trick. Everything is now examinable, and all the props
can be left with the audience.

A Final Word
You now have in your possession one of the strongest and most dramatic
mental effects possible. In addition to the Human Phone Number revelation,
you have at your disposal several very powerful methods and advanced
handlings for accomplishing the Phone Book Test. With these methods you
will be able to adapt to any performance conditions.
Although the methods explained are not difcult, they will require practice
so that all your energies can be directed toward a dynamic performance.
The Human Phone Number has been a well-kept secret for many years.
The few professionals who were given the routine have valued it as an important feature of their acts. Please treat the routine with the respect it deserves. The Human Phone Number is a reputation maker, and it will serve
you well.

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