(MENTA)LISTS

Alexander May

With presentational ideas by

Warren Thackeray

Copyright 2013, Alexander May

Original front & back cover images courtesy of:

http://www.sxc.hu/profile/smashy
http://www.sxc.hu/profile/calchan

All rights reserved. This book contains material protected under international
copyright laws and treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is
prohibited. No part of this document may be reproduced or transmitted in any
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consent of the author.

CONTENTS

Scene 1

Scene 2

(Menta)Lists

11

The Dirty Little Secrets

21

25

40

14
The Prediction

The Red Herring

25

Full Stage Presentation #1

27

Full Stage Presentation #2

33

Volunteer As Mentalist
25
Safety Net

More Word Possibilities

41
For The Techno Heads
38
Special Thanks

SCENE 1

uring the show, the performer hands five or

six people in the audience an index card
and pen each. They are instructed to all

write down 10 random words any words that pop

into their minds. It is stressed that they have free
choices and there are no forces. He then continues
with the show.
Later on in the programme the audience members
with the index cards are invited to the stage,
bringing their lists of words with them. After the
mentalist had a quick look through all the words, the
lists are mixed and redistributed among the volun-

10.

teers, ensuring that nobody gets their original card.

If it turns out that somebody has their own list, they
should swop lists with the person next to him or her.
Each person is then asked a specific question, like
the day of the week they were born on, or whether
they like rock or jazz.

After receiving all their answers, the mentalist writes

something on a piece of paper, which is placed in a
large envelope. This envelope is given to one of the
people on stage to hold on to.
The mentalist now gives a brief explanation of the
game of word association somebody says a word,
and the next person has to say a new word that is
related or associated with it.
The first person on stage is asked to select any one
of the words on his list. He names it out loud, and
the person next to him is then asked to associate a
word on her list with it.

10.

This goes on down the line, until the last person on

stage chooses a word from his list and says it into
the microphone. As an example, let us say he picks
the word NOTE.

The mentalist now offers the envelope to this last

person, and he removes the piece of paper that the
mentalist placed inside at the beginning of the
routine.
He is given the microphone and asked to read it out
loud. It states:
Tonight, we will play the game of word
association. If I was able to read my assistants
correctly based on their answers - the last
word in this game will be NOTE.

SCENE 2

he mentalist is hanging out with a group of

people at a party and he suggests they play
a game of word association. He states that

he is working on a way to predict the outcome of

this game based on the characteristics of the
individuals playing it.

He takes out a bunch of his business cards and

hands everyone a pen and a card. He asks that they
write down ten random words on the backs of their
cards any random words that they can think of.
Once this is all done, he gathers all the cards and
looks at all the different words before mixing them

10.

up. Then, he hands one card to each guest at the

table, and turns to the first person on his left.
He asks this person to name a celebrity he would
take with to a desert island.
Based on his answer, the mentalist writes a word on
the back of another business card, which he folds up
and leaves in full view on the table.

He now asks this person to select any word on the

list he has in his hand, and to name it out loud.
Then, the next person names a word from his list
that he can associate with the first word selected.
He might have difficulty to find one seeing as the
words on the cards are totally random, but
eventually he settles on a word.
The next person then associates a word from his list
with that word just selected, and it continues until
the last person has chosen a word off his list, as an
example well use the word BOW. The mentalist
then points out that there were literally thousands of

10.

possible outcomes, depending on the different words

written by each person in the beginning as well as
the random associations made.
He points to the folded card on the table and asks
someone to open it and read the word he predicted.
Written large on the card is one word BOW.

(MENTA)LISTS

(Menta)Lists is a system I created that allows the

mentalist to predict the outcome of a game of word
association.
We all know the concept of word association. One
person thinks of a word, and then the next person
says another word that can be associated with it,
and so it continues. For example: Frog Green
Apple Tree Squirrel etc.
Of course, these associations are pretty obvious. You
can also stretch the imagination for more unusual
associations, which is what makes the game fun.

12.

I started working on the routine after a friend told

me over drinks one evening that he would be very
impressed if a mentalist could ask people to play a
word association game, and correctly predict the
word named by the final player.

It sounded like a fun routine, especially the fact

there is inherent comedic potential in the
associations made, together with the impossible
effect it would create.
It is also one of the rare routines that could work on
stage and in strolling situations.
There are a couple of routines available that are
similar in concept (see page ??), most of them seem
to based on the original idea of Ned Rutledge.
However, none that matches what I wanted to
achieve. The main objective for me was that THE
PARTICIPANTS TO WRITE THEIR OWN WORDS! I
set myself some other strict criteria for the effect as
well:

13.

- The words MUST appear random and unrelated.

- I wanted to have all the words and cards examinable, unlike other effects where a few seconds of
inspection leaves the method blatantly obvious. I
also wanted to use only words and not phrases.
- No fishing for the word or number at which the
word is located.
- It needed to be a strict & pure word association
game - somebody thinks of a word, then the next
person thinks of a word that can be associated with
it. Not a word that rhymes with it or starts with the
third letter or anything that can compromise this
point.

- No forces to start off with - the volunteers must

really have a free choice of what to write.

After many trials and errors, I finally came up with

the method you are about to read.

DIRTY LITTLE
SECRETS

ime to share. The main secret lies in the last

two cards that the participants receive. All
the other cards contain completely random

and unrelated words. You will also make use of

clever wording to keep everything on track. Lets
break it down.
THE CARDS
All the participants write down ten random words on
their cards, and as far as they know you have no say
in the whole process. However, seeing that we as
mentalists are sneaky, all is not as straight-forward
as it may seem.
13.

Once everyone has joined you on stage, you will

gather the cards and hand them to one of the
people to mix them and make sure nobody receives
their own card. The reason for mixing the cards of
course has nothing to do with that.

Before the show, you will need to prepare two cards

in a very special way. These cards will be called the
PRIMING CARD and the FORCE CARD.
These two prepared cards are secretly added to the
stack and are the main secret to the effect. It
doesnt matter how many people take part in the
game, as only the last two sets really play a part in
the effect.
We will get to how you can add them to the stack of
cards written by the audience members in a bit. For
now, lets get back to the cards.
All the participants receive a card (or paper) each
with different words on. These cards really contain
random words, except for the two very special
cards
13.

that are given to the two people at the end of the

line.

THE PRIMING CARD (held by second last

participant) has two sets of five words at
alternating positions. These words are all related to
two words on the second special card.
THE FORCE CARD (held by final participant)
contains two force words and eight random words. I
put force in brackets, as it is not a hard force, but
works more on a subliminal linguistic principal.
The two force words are NOTE and BOW.
The words on the PRIMING CARD are all closely
related or synonyms of those two words:
NOTE: Money, Memo, Post-It, Piano, Pen.
BOW: Hair, Violin, Arrow, Bend, Arch.

13.

Regardless of the word that is chosen from the

PRIMING CARD the last person should always
associate either BOW or NOTE with it.

MONEY
MONEY
HAIR
HAIR
MEMO
MEMO
VIOLIN
VIOLIN
POST-IT
POST-IT
ARROW
ARROW
PIANO
PIANO
RIBBON
RIBBON
PEN
PEN
ARCH
ARCH

PRIMING CARD

NUANCE
NUANCE
DIFFERENT
DIFFERENT
SINCE
SINCE
NOTE
NOTE
JUMPING
JUMPING
BOW
BOW
DURING
DURING
ACTUALLY
ACTUALLY
GUILE
GUILE
PARTLY
PARTLY

FORCE CARD

The other eight words on the FORCE CARD were

carefully selected and are virtually impossible to
associate with any other ones, as long as you use
the wording correctly.

Remember to write the two prepared cards in

different handwriting as the two people holding the
13.

cards are standing right next to each other and

might just catch a glimpse of each others cards!
The other lists that the participants write can consist
of ANY words that they like, as they obviously have
no impact whatsoever on the outcome.
Let us consider an example chain quickly. You have
asked all the participants a random question and
made your prediction (we will discuss this part in
depth in a second).
Turn to the first spectator in the line, and ask him to
select ANY one of the ten words that appear on his
card, and to name it out loud. Let us say he decides
to go for CIRCUS as his word. The next person
associates CIRCUS with a word on his list, which
might be CROWD. The next person can associate
CROWD with FESTIVAL on his list.

The next person may go for BAND to associate

with this word, again, it really makes no difference
what he says.
13.

Now we come to the crux of the effect. The next

person (second last in line) is holding the PRIMING
CARD and is about to do all our work for us.
He looks at his list for something to associate with
BAND and by doing so will influence the final
spectator to choose either one of the two force
words.
Let us imagine he chooses the word VIOLIN from
his card. The last person now picks an object from
his list the FORCE CARD - to associate with
VIOLIN. He has no real choice but to choose
BOW.

As you can see all the words chosen by the first

couple of spectators have no impact on the effect,
as all the work is done by the last two spectators.
You should always end up with either the word
BOW or NOTE.

13.

CARDS ACROSS
The two prepared cards are ready and waiting in an
easily obtainable place. While one of the participants gathers all the other cards and mixes them,
you secure them in a palmed position. When he is
done mixing, he gives the cards back to you and you
start handing them out one by one to each person.

Here is where the move comes in. There is a

classic magic effect known as Cards Across which
you can find in numerous magic books. The usual
effect is that you count ten cards into two
volunteers hands, then make three fly invisibly and
when they are recounted the first volunteer only
holds seven cards and the other now has thirteen.
We will use the principle here and in the process
ensure that the final two participants receive the
PRIMING CARD and the FORCE CARD as opposed to
the real cards they wrote.
13.

As you get the mixed cards back, you place the two
palmed cards on top of the stack, with the FORCE
CARD on top. You now start handing out the cards
from the end of the line, meaning the last person in
line receives the FORCE CARD, the person next to
him gets the PRIMING CARD, the person next to him
receives a random card that was written on earlier,
and so forth. As you get to the first person in line,
you simply hand him a card and keep the remaining
two cards hidden in your palm. They are easily
ditched in the pocket as you remove a pen or the
like.
For a more detailed description on exactly how to
perform the Cards Across refer to The Royal Road
to Card Magic by Hugard and Braue.
The effect of this procedure is that while everyone
else has a card with random words on, the last two
people in the line are each holding a specially
prepared card.

13.

WORDING
Preparing a proper script for the presentation of this
effect is quite necessary. As you go from person to
person, you will be giving them subtle instructions
that will ensure a successful conclusion.
Instead of asking them to associate a word with the
one they just heard, they are told to associate
SOMETHING with the word they just heard.
It plays a crucial role, as you want them to
think of a physical object and not just a word.
On the final card held by the last spectator, there
are only two real objects listed - the other eight are
abstract words. These two words are our force
words.
Limiting their choice to an actual object ensures that
the final person chooses either of the force words,
and doesnt make some weird association in his
head.
13.

For example, your presentation could go like this,

Good, so he chose elephant, now I want you to
associate something on your list with an elephant.
Or, Which object on your list would you associate
with a cabinet?

 The Royal Road to Card Magic by Jean Hugard & Frederick Braue,
World Publishing Company.

THE PREDICTION

s you will understand by now, you will need

to make two predictions for this effect, as
there are two words that can be chosen.

There are countless books and DVDs that offer

solutions and methods for this situation. I will
discuss my way of dealing with it; you are obviously
free to use any other method you may prefer.
ON STAGE
Performing this on stage, the easiest way to reveal
the prediction is within a two-way envelope. I am

22.

sure you are familiar with the concept depending

on which way the envelope is opened, you will find a
different prediction paper inside.
The one side of the envelope is pre-loaded with a
prediction for BOW. You can either just place a
paper inside with the word written in large print
across it, or you can have a longer message that
somebody on stage can read.

Once you are on stage you then take a piece of

blank paper and write the prediction for NOTE on
it, without letting the audience see of course. You
fold it up and slip it inside the envelope, which is
placed somewhere in full view.
Once the final word has been selected, all that is
needed is for you to open the correct side of the
two-way envelope.
You can now offer it to one of the spectators on
stage to remove the paper inside and to check
23.

that there is nothing else inside. This is quite a nice

way to remain hands-off from the prediction.
A good idea is to mark one side of the two way
envelope so that you always open the correct side!
STROLLING & CLOSE-UP

If you are working in a more intimate setting, you

may consider writing the prediction on the back of
your business card, which is folded up and placed on
the table. You do of course need another, similar
folded card already written with the other word
hidden somewhere, ready for a billet switch.
The reader no doubt has his own favourite billet
switch and I am not about to reinvent the wheel.
There are numerous books available that describe
ways to switch billets. Just go to the classics of
mentalism like Corindas 13 Steps to Mentalism. I
personally use Jay Sankeys Paperclipped Prediction
Switch, it just works for me.
13.

Out of experience, it seems that for some reason

NOTE is selected more often than BOW and I
always make the card I write in performance with
NOTE on.

This means that if the final person does choose this

word, I dont even have to touch the

prediction

card. I simply point to it and repeat that it has been

lying on the table the entire time and then ask one
of the people to open it and read my prediction.
Of course, should they select BOW I can just get
the already prepared card from my pocket and do
the billet switch. At this point all the attention is on
that person reading the prediction and it is easy to
dump the other card.
Another solution would be to make use of a Himber
Wallet. You can carry the lists inside the one compartment together with one prediction slip, and the
other prediction is of course placed in the other side.
This will keep everything together and the effect is
self-contained.

 An easy method to make one can be found in Practical Mental

Magic by Theo Annemann, Dover Publications, Inc.
Thirteen Steps to Mentalism by Corinda, Louis Tannen N.Y.C.
Jay Sankey Paperclipped,
http://www.sankeymagic.com/detail.aspx?ID=48076

THE RED
HERRING

hile cards are always shown openly to

the audience, it might be a good idea to
utilize another bit of misdirection to lead

them down the garden path. The easiest would be to

throw in a red herring that can send them in the
complete opposite direction should they try to
reverse engineer the effect.
The idea is to ask every person taking part in the
game a seemingly random and arbitrary question,
and then pretending that whatever they say has a
profound influence on your prediction.

26.

Simple questions like asking them to mention the

day of the week they were born on or which
celebrity they would want to be stranded on an
island with, will do the trick. Once you have these
answers you act as if they are very interesting, and
now you are able to make your prediction.

Read through the STAGE PRESENTATION #1

section to see how these questions are used during
the actual performance.
While it has no influence on the routine, if you play it
correctly you can convince the audience that this is
how you were able to achieve the effect.
Remember, the main secret lies in the sets of words
on the last two cards, so downplay their role and
make a big deal about your questions and the
participants answers.

STAGE PRESENTATION
#1

ix people are lined up on the stage to assist

you with your next miracle. The first five all
received an index card earlier in the show

and were asked to write down any ten random words

on each.
You gather all the cards, have a quick glance at all
the words on them and then give them a quick mix.
They are now redistributed so that all five are
holding a list different than their own.
You now move to the first person in line.
Thank you so much for being willing to take part in
this experiment. I need to ask you just one question,
13.

and I need you to answer as truthfully as possible. Is

that a deal? Good. How old were you when you had
your first kiss?
Hmm I was 15 I think.

Perfect! Thank you very much. Now we move on to

you madam. If you can, please tell us which day of
the week you were born on?
On a Wednesday.
Very good thank you. You sir, if you could choose
between a holiday on a tropical island or a European skiing village, which one would you rather go
to?
Id go for the tropical island!
Perfect. Madam, if you could please tell us, what is
the colour of the car you are currently driving?
Blue.

13.

Thank you. And finally sir, if you had to buy your

wife an anniversary present, would you go for
diamond earrings, or a pearl necklace?
I guess diamond earrings.

Great! I have now asked all these people a question

which has given me enough information about them
to tell me exactly which choices they will make
tonight. I am going to write down a prediction on
here and place it in this envelope which I am going
to give to you sir for safe-keeping.
Everybody holding a list is told to hold it so that they
can see all the words on their card. The first person
chooses any word he wishes from all ten random
words and names it out loud. The person next to him
then associates a word on her list with the one just
mentioned, etc.
Once the final word is chosen and named out loud,
you can write it on a big white board for all to see.
As an example, lets say the last word is NOTE.
13.

You move your attention back to the gentleman

holding the envelope.

Sir, you have been holding on to my prediction that

I made before we got started. Would you please be
so kind as to read what I have predicted?
Of course, the prediction contains only one word,
NOTE.
Thanks to the two prepared cards you secretly
added, the wording you used, and of course the
double envelope your prediction matches perfectly.
The rest is all theatrics and showmanship, hiding the
real method behind the smoke and mirrors of the
questions being asked inferring that the answers
will lead you to the right word.

STAGE PRESENTATION
#2

erforming (Menta)Lists on a stage or platform is going to require you to bring a certain

number of people on stage. Here is an idea to

make use of this fact and turn it into a full stage

routine.
If you can blend two good effects into one flowing
routine, you can get a good amount of stage time
and entertainment value in one go.

What is described here is just one concept that the

reader may find useful, or may inspire other routines
featuring (Menta)Lists.

13.

In this routine, the lists are already made and they

will not write their own words. While this might take
away the impromptu feeling of the original routine,
you will make up for it by adding more layers of
deception.

Eight people are invited to join you on stage. They

are lined up to fill the stage from left to right. The
person on the far left is asked to mix up eight big
envelopes that each has a large question mark on
the front.

While he is busy with that, you ask each of the other

participants to name any celebrity they would like to
invite to dinner. You now make a prediction based on
their answers, which is sealed in another envelope
and placed in full view on a table.
You return to the person mixing the eight envelopes.
Once he is satisfied that they are all mixed up, he
hands every other person on stage an envelope,
keeping one for himself.
13.

Everyone now opens their envelopes and is

instructed to remove its contents. Inside they find
one large laminated paper containing random words.
The reverse side of each list is also a different
colour, to distinguish them.

You now start with the first person in the line on

stage and instruct him to select ANY one of the
random words on the list he is holding. Once he
names it, you turn to the next person in line, asking
him to associate any word on his list with the word
just mentioned.
This goes on down the line, until the final person has
chosen a word off her list. Hold the mic to her and
ask her to name it out loud. She says, NOTE.
You now point to the prediction envelope that has
been in full view on the table the entire time. The
contents are removed and the lady is asked to read
what it says.
13.

Tonight, [insert your name here] will attempt a

dazzling feat of mind reading and prediction of
human behaviour on not one, but eight different
individuals. If he is successful, a random game of
word association will end with the word NOTE!

Not only that, but he will also have influenced

the random mixture of envelopes in such a way
that the order on stage will be, from left to right:
Green, yellow, red, blue, purple, orange, white
and black.
The eight people on stage hold up their lists with the
colour side showing, and would you believe it all
eight colours in perfect order as predicted!
***
The working is pretty straight-forward and allows
you to concentrate on your presentation. The
(Menta)Lists part is still more or less the same as

13.

described earlier, only dressed up and paired with

another great routine.
Obviously there is no need to secretly add the two
prepared cards anymore, as they are in play right
from the start.

The mixing procedure followed by the person

shuffling is obviously controlled. In other words,
regardless of how well the envelopes are seemingly
mixed, the outcome is always the same.
The classic books of card magic are full of these
false shuffles and counts, which can easily be
adapted to envelopes.
One very practical example would be the Swindle
Switch by Paul Curry (often referred to as Deal or
Switch). It can be found in Paul Currys Worlds
Beyond and there are also a number of other
routines available that uses the principle. Another
very convincing technique of apparently mixing
13.

envelopes is published in Doug Dyments Stimulacra.

As you can see from the above description,

(Menta)Lists can be used as a stand-alone effect,
but also work well as part of a bigger presentation.
You probably already have other ideas for your own
routines!

Paul Currys Worlds Beyond by Paul Curry, Hermetic Press.

Stimulacra by Doug Dyment, Self-published.

VOLUNTEER AS
MENTALIST

f you are a fan of the Spectator as Mind Reader

ploy you can easily adapt (Menta)Lists and fry
their brains a bit more. Instead of you as

performer predicting the final word, you can have

one of the audience members make the correct
prediction!
Now you are only the facilitator in the experiment
and you are endowing them with insane powers.
Think of Derren Brown standing on the sidewalk with
a sign reading, Be a mind reader for 10p in one of
his first TV shows.

13.

The market place is full with books and effects that

can make you achieve this. The principles of dual
reality or instant stooging are used most of the time,
and as a mentalist you will undoubtedly have your
favourite ways of doing this. While I am not about to
give away other peoples secrets, you can easily find
the material with an internet search.
Imagine if you like, having another person join you
and you have a quick chat with her in a soft voice
so that nobody else can hear. The final person
playing the game (the one that will choose either
BOW or NOTE) then doesnt say his word out
loud, but rather writes it on a white board or
clipboard.
You of course only have to peak at the first letter he
writes to know which word he went for, and you can
now cue the volunteer mentalist to write down the
correct word as well.
***

13.

If you go back to Stage Presentation #1 on page ??

you can also try the following variation which will
turn a member of the audience into a mind reader.
This method does not involve either dual reality or
instant stooging, if you are someone who is not a fan
of these principles.
Variation to Stage Presentation #1
As all the people who wrote a list join you on stage,
you ask another audience member to come up as
well. This person does not have a word list, but you
explain that he will actually be the mentalist in this
game.
On the table in front of him are 10 numbered pay
envelopes. In a few moments, he will have to pick up
one of those envelopes. But before he does so, you
are going to ask each of the other participants a
question and you explain that you want him to listen
very carefully to their answers.
13.

After everyone has answered, you move back to

apprentice mentalist, who you now instruct to keep
all the answers he heard in mind, and then pick up
any one of the ten numbered envelopes in front of
him. This is a free choice and he can really pick any
one he wishes. He is instructed to hold on to this
until the end of the game.
The game of word association is played as normal
and once the final word has been selected you move
your attention back to the person holding the
prediction envelope.
Sir, you heard all the answers these people gave
and based on that chose envelope number 3. Did
you ever feel forced to do so or were you free to
choose any one you wanted?
I believe it was a free choice.
I would like to show you something very interesting
regarding the other nine envelopes left on the
table.
13.

You proceed to open all the other envelopes left on

the table and show that they are all EMPTY there is
nothing inside any of them. You open the envelope
that the participant selected, and inside there is one
folded piece of paper with only one word written on
it. You hand it to the participant to read, and it is of
course the word NOTE.
***
This utilizes the old Bank Night principle, which
can be found in books like Darwins 101 Thumb Tip
Tricks. The only difference is that here you will
need two thumb tips, each containing a slip of paper
with one of the two force words. You can have a
thumb tip in each of your pockets and once you
have shown all the other envelopes empty, you
simply get the correct thumb tip in position.
All the envelopes are obviously empty, so it does not
matter which one he picks.

13.

Tear open the top of his selected envelope, stick

your thumb and index finger inside and take the slip
from the thumb tip. The thumb tip remains inside
the envelope which you can crumple up and place in
your pocket.

 101 Thumb Tip Tricks by Gary Darwin & Geno Munari, Houdinis
Magic Shop Press.

SAFETY NET

hile you are pretty much guaranteed a

successful outcome as long as you
follow the scripts as outlined in this

book, there is of course a real possibility that some

clown will not follow the instructions and choose a
wrong word of the last card.
Many mentalism effects carry this risk and with
experience comes the knowledge to avert them,
whether it be by knowing who to choose as
assistants or by proper scripting and wording.

However, if you are not somebody who likes to stare

fear in the face and laugh or simply someone who
13.

does not like effects that are not 100% guaranteed,

there are remedies available to ensure your
prediction will ALWAYS be correct, regardless of
whether they choose the force words or not.
One method is to use a pocket index, where you
substitute billets for the cards. Many magic shops
sell these and you can also find instructions on how
to construct your own in the book Practical Mental
Magic by Theo Annemann.
It would be a very simple matter to obtain the
correct billet from the index and switch it out with
the original prediction via a billet switch.
Paul Brook also has an effect called Underhanded
available on his website. Here is the ad copy for it:

The performer removes a single folded post-it note from his

pocket. There is nothing else in his hands and he can show
both hands to be empty except for the folded post-it note.
He closes his hand around the folded post-it and keeps both
hands in full view the entire time.
The participant freely names any one of thirteen drinks. She

13.
takes the billet, and opens it and the only thing written on the
billet is her chosen drink.
Being a utility gimmick you will be able to use up to thirteen
of anything for the participant to select. You are not limited to
drinks!

Indeed, you are not limited to drinks, you can also

use words!
With either a pocket index or Underhanded as your
safety net there will be no more risks involved and
all ten words on the final card are covered. It might
be worth a look if you are afraid that your last
participant might not play ball.

 Practical Mental Magic by Theo Annemann, Dover Publications,

Inc.
http://www.paulbrook.co.uk/heknows/underhanded.htm

MORE WORD
POSSIBILITIES

y now you understand that the concept of

(Menta)Lists is based on the fact that you
are limiting the possible associations that

they can make by using words that are either closely

related or synonyms of the force words.

While trial and error has shown that NOTE and

BOW are the best and most successful for this
routine, you may want to choose your own words
and that is certainly very possible.
One thing to keep in mind is that the whole point is
to ensure that your priming words are not blatantly
obvious. If vehicle is your force word, having
priming words such as car, truck, taxi, automobile,
13.

sedan, bus and the like is most certainly NOT what

you should be going for!
To get you started, here are just a couple of ideas to
get you started off:
RING: Diamond, Doorbell, Telephone, Sphere,
Jewelry.
ROCK: Boulder, Concert, Meteorite, Guitar, Pebble.
ROPE: Knot, Noose, Skip, Nylon, Line.
While I wouldnt suggest using these words, you can
see the thinking behind it.

FOR THE TECHNO

HEADS

f you are a fan of using technology in your

perfor-mances, the following idea might be of
interest to you.

Instead of having the prediction written on the back

of a business card or the like, why not have it
printed as a QR Code on your card?
Once the last person has selected a word, somebody scans the QR Code that has been in full view
the entire time, which redirects to a dedicated page
on your (hopefully mobile friendly) website. On that
page they will find the word as chosen by the last
13.

person perhaps even a short video of you making

the prediction!
There are a bunch of free QR Code Generators
available on the net, so once you have your
prediction ready simply type it in there and you are
sorted.

CREDITS

he original idea that this is based on is

usually credited to Ned Rutledge (Minding
The Store). For related effects, see also:

Mental Yarn Bill Goldman

RhymeTime Mick Ayres
RhymeTime Sublime Bill Cushman
To-do Voodoo Rick Lax
Magic List Jim Pace

If I have left anyone out, please let me know and I

will correct the omission.

SPECIAL
THANKS

big thank you to everyone who assisted in

the creation of the effect, especially Warren
Thackeray who very generously contributed

his ideas. A word of thanks as well to Aubrey de Wet

and of course to everyone else I have bugged while
ironing out the effect.
Please do get in touch and share your thoughts and
ideas regarding (Menta)Lists with me. My inbox is
always open!
Alexander May
alexander@alexander-may.com