tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post2822059168741766726..comments2023-05-10T08:55:47.701-07:00Comments on Richard Carrier Blogs: Penn & Teller's Magic BulletRichard Carrierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.comBlogger54125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-90716320274680000212010-08-05T12:31:00.789-07:002010-08-05T12:31:00.789-07:00I agree.I agree.Richard Carrierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-11581334747807749982010-07-29T19:44:20.686-07:002010-07-29T19:44:20.686-07:00Ok, maybe something else is going on here. I found...Ok, maybe something else is going on here. I found 3 versions of the trick on the web, and in each one, the places where I wanted to watch the complete footage of the bullet from signing to gun is edited always in the same place. Also where they get the closest to the vest and backdrop is always cut up a bit. These are professional videos and I'm sure these versions have been closely Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14966242975638494678noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-60216597537110734292010-07-29T01:07:07.523-07:002010-07-29T01:07:07.523-07:00As I describe in my blog (based on notes I wrote d...As I describe in my blog (based on notes I wrote down the same day), I marked the bullet in both places and put it in the chamber myself, at all times I had control of the bullet and could see my markings on both tip and casing as it went into the gun (which at that time he was holding). And I watched him click the chamber closed in front of me.<br /><br />Definitely a different trick.<br /><br /Richard Carrierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-65966539515749623282010-07-28T18:53:40.536-07:002010-07-28T18:53:40.536-07:00interesting. I did find another video where they s...interesting. I did find another video where they showed the full bullet going into the chamber. It was shown from the back, you could see the tip but I couldn't make out any markings on the bullet tip. Can you remember vividly exactly how you loaded the bullet? Did Penn/Teller ever let go of the bullet until the tip was in the chamber and the casing was shown?<br /><br />If you are 100% Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14966242975638494678noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-77537008886190205262010-07-28T14:40:36.157-07:002010-07-28T14:40:36.157-07:00Kevin said... so if the tips are gone, it would be...<b>Kevin said...</b> <i>so if the tips are gone, it would be impossible to view the entire bullet after this, and you never do.</i><br /><br />But I did. In Vegas. That's my point. I put the bullet into the chamber myself. That's not what happens in the YouTube video. Thus, the trick I saw was much more sophisticated. Hence your solution won't work for the Vegas edition. It works Richard Carrierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-73177842022910129312010-07-28T14:40:08.491-07:002010-07-28T14:40:08.491-07:00Pretzelsofwar said...
Bullets have a large tenden...<b>Pretzelsofwar said...</b><br /><br /><i>Bullets have a large tendency to break apart even hitting the softest of materials at the speed in which they are fired.</i><br /><br />Not in a ballistic tank. That's why forensic experts can get rifling photographs off pristine bullets fired from actual guns.<br /><br />Nevertheless, non-firing techniques are entirely possible as you suggest, it&#Richard Carrierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-22636689884512509532010-07-28T14:38:48.210-07:002010-07-28T14:38:48.210-07:00Rob said... Has anyone thought that perhaps there ...<b>Rob said...</b> <i>Has anyone thought that perhaps there is a person off-stage firing a rubber bullet through the glass at the same time P&T fire? It comes from, for example, the right of Penn and exits the stage to the right of Teller, missing them both easily, but both are wearing vests just in case. </i><br /><br />That would be unnecessarily dangerous (liability insurance again would Richard Carrierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-37569003264977439952010-07-21T20:42:36.997-07:002010-07-21T20:42:36.997-07:00eliminate the impossible is the key to figuring ou...eliminate the impossible is the key to figuring out magic tricks on video. i have figured out may illusions this way... Once you rule out the impossible, the solution just leaps out at you.<br /><br />If they dont cross the line, they MUST give the bullet to someone else <br />bullet tips are palmed, which is easy to see, teller's bullet goes in left pocket (you can see about 4 frames of thisUnknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14966242975638494678noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-27820935599797971252010-07-09T09:44:31.327-07:002010-07-09T09:44:31.327-07:00I like your post, although I'd have to disagre...I like your post, although I'd have to disagree with the fact that multiple guns were being fired. I do think that their guns probably didn't fire any bullets, but your bullets would have been practically destroyed if fired by any gun into any substance. Bullets have a large tendency to break apart even hitting the softest of materials at the speed in which they are fired. More likely thebrawler839https://www.blogger.com/profile/15382590560181891848noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-12029736904268007852010-04-20T22:34:40.502-07:002010-04-20T22:34:40.502-07:00Great post! After watching the YouTube video I imm...Great post! After watching the YouTube video I immediately thought they were dropping the bullet down the tubing supporting the glass. It looks like Teller is taking his hand out of pocket as he walks up to the glass, and Penn takes a long time to position the glass justtt right after bringing it forward on the stage. I'm guessing this is where it's sliding down the tubing below stage. Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09674243780557229177noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-25179939337646875872009-12-08T09:36:23.496-08:002009-12-08T09:36:23.496-08:00Matt, the scenario of using the glass stands as co...Matt, the scenario of using the glass stands as conduits for exchanging bullets between a below-stage handler would be conceivable on the Vegas stage, but I'm not so sure it would work on the stage in the YouTube Video. However, that could well be why the trick appears to be done differently at each venue.<br /><br />As to insurance, they can certainly get insured for having people who claim Richard Carrierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-52248661923497064712009-11-30T20:30:17.934-08:002009-11-30T20:30:17.934-08:00also keep in mind that using sights and letting pe...also keep in mind that using sights and letting people touch the guns would be a liability as well. the trick is completely safe so that means the risk of someone tweaking a sight would be too much.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17807282640663847859noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-2340210837310363712009-11-30T20:28:24.201-08:002009-11-30T20:28:24.201-08:00I am surprised that nobody has even thought of the...I am surprised that nobody has even thought of the extreme liabiliy they would have if they were to hand a gun to a random person and have them load it. No insurance company would allow this to happen and TRUST ME they are insured.<br /><br />That right there implies that the bullet head is in a round that has no gun powder in it. as for the smell of bullet, nobody smells the bullet before handUnknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17807282640663847859noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-36512811607657203062009-11-09T21:32:03.375-08:002009-11-09T21:32:03.375-08:00Also, I think the laser sights are more than laser...Also, I think the laser sights are more than lasers - I think they remotely trigger the guns below stage. Even with a theatre full of echoes, if the timing was left to humans, I don't think it would be reliable.Matthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16504390612570883448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-67171305096821224822009-11-09T21:20:23.722-08:002009-11-09T21:20:23.722-08:00I say don't look up, look down. When they tap...I say don't look up, look down. When they tap the glass with the casing-doodled bullets, I think they're dropping the initialed-slug bullets below stage. When they put on their goggles and helmets, they drop a dummy slug into their mouth, which we see immediately after they shoot. The initialed slugs are shot back up into the glass-holding stands, where P&T retrieve the bullets Matthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16504390612570883448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-53030823529987816072009-10-05T17:59:51.839-07:002009-10-05T17:59:51.839-07:00Scoffee said... Listen to Penn starting at 8:17 in...<b>Scoffee said...</b> <i>Listen to Penn starting at 8:17 in the youtube video. ... Talking normally with it in his cheek would have been trivial.</i><br /><br />I have no doubt. But as noted several times earlier in this thread, I noted several significant differences between the way the trick was carried off in the YouTube video, and the way it was carried off on stage in Vegas. Hence theories Richard Carrierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-47376307089090071102009-09-18T12:10:54.854-07:002009-09-18T12:10:54.854-07:00I think there is something leaving the gun barrel ...I think there is something leaving the gun barrel that actually breaks the glass, but I am not gun expert. Is there a load that could break the glass but be harmless to Penn and Teller based on their distance and positioning? Perhaps sand or water?<br /><br />This is what led me to that conclusion:<br /><br />First, Banachek's original trick used a scope, and Penn and Teller changed it to aUnknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01606557542079613733noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-23982862344452850622009-09-18T01:18:18.573-07:002009-09-18T01:18:18.573-07:00Listen to Penn starting at 8:17 in the youtube vid...Listen to Penn starting at 8:17 in the youtube video. His voice is barely distorted while holding the bullet in his teeth. Talking normally with it in his cheek would have been trivial.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01606557542079613733noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-19595008654033785312009-07-24T11:59:15.816-07:002009-07-24T11:59:15.816-07:00Jason said... I'm surprised by the fact that ...<b>Jason said... </b> <i>I'm surprised by the fact that nobody has postulated that the cameras on stage might have played a part - at least in creating the holes in the glass perhaps?</i><br><br><br /><br />I have no idea what you could possibly mean.<br /><br />The other things you suggest have been suggested here already.<br /><br /><b>Shep82 said...</b> <i>They did this trick on British tvRichard Carrierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-67920160258610503012009-07-15T12:07:16.398-07:002009-07-15T12:07:16.398-07:00I saw the Penn and Teller trick last week at the R...I saw the Penn and Teller trick last week at the Rio. Given the fast hands and deception these guys do on a regular basis is seems most likely they pull the cartridge out of the gun as soon as it is signed. At one point they walk back to the stage with their backs to the audience. Then, I theorize, they move it off stage, in the jacket as suggested earlier, or a hole in the floor, where someone Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08336676196793088455noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-61405934214812985082009-06-16T06:34:09.681-07:002009-06-16T06:34:09.681-07:00They did this trick on British tv many years ago b...They did this trick on British tv many years ago but due to Britain having strict gun laws they had to do the trick with catapults and lyma beans. I remember there was no glass involved in the trick.<br /><br />The show was called The Unpleasant World of Penn and Teller and if you can find the torrent watching it might help you see the things they do the same but in a different context.shep82https://www.blogger.com/profile/08926037710416781230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-44276057708074442922009-06-05T23:27:43.337-07:002009-06-05T23:27:43.337-07:00I'm surprised by the fact that nobody has post...I'm surprised by the fact that nobody has postulated that the cameras on stage might have played a part - at least in creating the holes in the glass perhaps?<br /><br />I'm also curious if when they bang on the glass when they move the stands if maybe they're misdirecting somehow - either sending the bullet down through a channel in the post (to a backstage person) or something else.Jasonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07482708650504107558noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-7923208187048300992009-04-12T11:56:00.000-07:002009-04-12T11:56:00.000-07:00Again, the Vegas show was different, as I noted. A...Again, the Vegas show was different, as I noted. Among those differences, I certainly was asked to smell the bullet for gunpowder (and still have the bullet).Richard Carrierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-59019691993402013392009-04-10T18:20:00.000-07:002009-04-10T18:20:00.000-07:00Bullet switcharoo: At 0:35, while the audience mem...Bullet switcharoo: <BR/><BR/>At 0:35, while the audience member Mike is holding the bullet he chose, Penn takes a bullet into his right hand from his pocket and keeps his fist rolled up around it. Teller does the same at 0:50. Their right fists never unroll after this point and until they switch the bullets.<BR/><BR/>After Penn shows the audience the initials at 1:40 (while his right fist is Bohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05447413973812455887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36959219.post-5376521962825418452009-01-29T16:15:00.000-08:002009-01-29T16:15:00.000-08:00Thanks, Clayton. But the trick I saw was a little ...Thanks, Clayton. But the trick I saw was a little different than the one shown in this video, so there are still unsolved questions.<BR/><BR/>First, this video makes a big deal about the third leg of the glass-plate stands being under a curtain. When I was in the trick, the stands were entirely out in the open. I could have walked completely around them if I wanted. I assume <I>those</I> stands Richard Carrierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17577206926510030146noreply@blogger.com