John Thompson’s Telephone Book Test

This is the first of several items that were drafted for The Magic of Johnny Thompson but for one reason or another were not included in the final version of the book. In this case, this is a thoroughly deceptive book test using a local white pages phone book, which John developed after a suggestion from Simon Aronson. We eventually withheld this from the book because a printed phone book is all but an historical anachronism these days. However, they are available from your local phone providers, and if someone was to put this together, and “hang a lantern” on the no longer common phone book by making some jokes about its use and extinction, this would still produce a thoroughly mystifying effect. (Don’t forget to mention that we used to have a phone number to dial called “Information.”)

Anyway, for the record, here is Johnny Thompson’s Telephone Book Test.

Telephone Book Test (Thompson/Aronson)

In the 1960s, Simon Aronson – well-known Chicago amateur card man, mentalist, and influential memorized deck creator – gave John an idea for a telephone book test. John tackled the project with his typical energy and determination, and not only created the necessary props, but developed a routine that he would go on to use for more than a decade in trade shows, on stage, and on television (where he performed it on The Merv Griffin Show).

THE EFFECT  is clean, clear, direct, and convincing. The performer introduces a local telephone book, which he briefly pages through and then hands to a spectator, who stands at his seat. Returning to the stage, the performer directs the spectator to open the phone book anywhere he wishes.

The spectator holding the book is looking at two pages. Another spectator is selected by the performer and asked to choose left or right. The performer explains that there are five columns on every page, and another spectator is selected and asked to choose which column.

At this point the spectator holding the book is directed to the chosen page (left or right), and asked to look at the last entry at the bottom of the chosen column.

The performer takes out an artist’s drawing pad and writes something on it. The spectator reads out the chosen name and phone number. The performer reveals the matching information on the pad.

THE METHOD is based on a force book consisting of three force banks; in a typical large white pages book, the force banks are about 300 pages each. We will describe how John originally constructed the gimmicked phone books.

John began by purchasing 300 “white pages” phone books. Each book (John built 50 for himself) will require accumulating three force banks. For 50 books, therefore, you will gather 50 different banks of three sets of 300 duplicate pages.

Also reserve 50 sets of the standard opening six pages or thereabouts of an ordinary phone book, and similar sets of last pages. These make the books appear ordinary at first glance, as the performer pages through the book on stage before handing it out. Also, carefully peel complete covers, consisting of front cover, spine, and back cover, all in a single piece, from several books. With some practice, this becomes a relatively easy skill to master.

After collating the 50 sets of three groups of 300 pages each, collate the piles into approximate phone books. Because different municipalities have different thicknesses of phone books, John also made books that contained smaller force banks – for example, of 100, 150, 200 pages each or thereabouts.

Add a section of first and last pages to each collated book pile. 

The pages are now bound together into books, most without covers. Complete as many books as needed with the covers on hand. However, the rest of the inventory is maintained without covers, so that when traveling to different locales, the cover can be removed from a local book and readily glued onto the gaffed book so that it appears ordinary.

Jay Marshall showed John how to trim the pages and bind the books. In an issue of Tops magazine, Frances Marshall included in her column a photo of John, eyes crossed from a full week of late nights assembling the books upstairs from Magic, Inc. until two or three in the morning.

In addition to preparing the phone books, the drawing pad on which to write the name and phone number is prepared as a cheat sheet (or crib, or what school kids in the 40s called a “pony” for some reason).

Obtain an artist’s pad, with a glued rather than a spiral binding, approximately 12” x 18”.  Prepare a crib sheet consisting of three horizontal rows, the length of the pad (12” in our example), and whatever height is necessary to accommodate the size of print that you can readily read. The sheet provides a list of 30 names and phone numbers, five from each page totaling then for each of three force banks.

Originally John would write the crib sheet directly on the pad cover. These days it will likely be preferable to print on a computer and mount on the inside of the cover, of course being careful to match the paper color. 

Assume for sake of description the finalized crib sheet is 18 inches wide by two inches high. Position the pad horizontally, with the binding at the top, and open the cover. Glue the crib sheet inside the cover, with its bottom aligned with the binder edge of the cover. Now at the very top edge of the crib text, place a sharp crease in the cover, bending it away from you. Re-close the cover and clip it down with a permanent marker that you will later use to write on the pad.

THE HANDLING & PERFORMANCE begins with your presenting the phone book with the appropriate remarks, commenting on its locale, paging through the cover and first few pages, which even from a distance are readily recognizable as typical. Approach a spectator and page through these few pages, and also through a couple of the banks, pointing out a couple of different names in the midst of the pages. Hand the book to the spectator (John would have Pam bring the book out to the audience), and ask them to remain standing at their seat, rendering it impossible for you to see a page number, for example, or for that matter for anyone else to see, preventing anyone from secretly communicating any information to you. “So you don’t think that I have someone looking over your shoulder or a camera hidden in the ceiling I want you to look at the last phone number at the bottom of the page of the chosen column.” Having he spectator stand eliminates the possibility of someone peering over the spectator’s shoulder.

Direct the spectator to open the book anywhere he wishes, and wait for further instructions. Choose another spectator and explain that the book person is now looking at two pages; ask if he should use the left or the right page? Ask the book-holder how many columns are on each page. Choose another spectator and ask which of the five columns he should use. Now direct the spectator to look at the bottom entry on the appropriate page, and note the name and phone number.

Meanwhile, the moment to spectator opens the book, you have estimated which force section he is looking at. Most of the time this will be obvious, and you will already know everything you need. On occasion, however, the spectator will open the book relatively close to one of the two divisions between sections. In this case, you will have to “fish” only one time, since you will be able to see if the spectator is close to the division between, in our example, C and L, or between L and S.

Assume the latter case. Direct the spectator to concentrate on the first letter of the name. You have a 50/50 shot here, so take your best guess based on where you see the book is opened. “Does it begin with an L?” If the spectator says “No,” John would treat the entire thing as a deliberate joke: “Then make sure you don’t think of one that starts with an L!”

Retrieve the drawing pad and remove the marker. Lift the cover and flip it over the back, pressing it against the back of the pad with the fingers of the left hand; by slightly pushing the cover upward with the fingers, thanks to the fold the crib sheet will remain facing upward toward the ceiling, out of view of the audience. At the appropriate moment, by pressing the thumb downward and the fingers upward, the crib sheet will now tip up into your view (there is no need to overdo this), and the back of the cover still appears flat against the pad from the audience’s vantage.

Find the necessary information on the sheet. Write the name on the pad. You may wish to reveal this now. Then direct the spectator to concentrate on the phone number. Again, consult the crib sheet, copy the phone number, and reveal in whatever dramatic fashion you prefer. 

While the preparation is demanding, this is an extremely practical piece for the working mentalist, and thanks to certain subtleties, is extremely deceptive. Those who go to the trouble of preparing the materials will have a useful tool in their arsenal.