Ways to "prove" you have eleven fingers

[Daniel P. B. Smith]

The old way, which my mother taught me:

Using the index finger of the right hand, "count" the fingers on the
left hand, saying "Ten, nine, eight, seven, six..." then hold up the
right hand and say "and five make eleven."

An old acquaintance of mine, Bob Blue, who taught in the Wellesley
elementary schools, showed me a far better version, quite possibly his
own invention:

With the right hand, count the thumb and index finger of the left hand,
saying, "One, two..."

With the right hand, grab the middle, ring, and pinky of the left hand,
and say, "Hold back these three..."

With the index finger of the left hand, count the fingers on the right
hand, saying, "four, five, six, seven, eight... now add back the three,
which makes eleven."

Anyone know any more "misdirection" tricks of that kind?

--
Daniel P. B. Smith
Preferred email address: dpbs...@world.std.com
Alternate email address: dpbs...@bellatlantic.net
"Lifetime forwarding" address: dpbs...@alum.mit.edu
Visit alt.books.jack-london!

[Carl G.]

Daniel P. B. Smith wrote in message ...

>The old way, which my mother taught me:
>
>Using the index finger of the right hand, "count" the fingers on the
>left hand, saying "Ten, nine, eight, seven, six..." then hold up the
>right hand and say "and five make eleven."
>
>An old acquaintance of mine, Bob Blue, who taught in the Wellesley
>elementary schools, showed me a far better version, quite possibly his
>own invention:
>
>With the right hand, count the thumb and index finger of the left hand,
>saying, "One, two..."
>
>With the right hand, grab the middle, ring, and pinky of the left hand,
>and say, "Hold back these three..."
>
>With the index finger of the left hand, count the fingers on the right
>hand, saying, "four, five, six, seven, eight... now add back the three,
>which makes eleven."
>
>Anyone know any more "misdirection" tricks of that kind?
>
>--
>Daniel P. B. Smith

Another "eleven fingers" trick (similar to your second trick) involves
getting the person to say "eight" after you count-off each finger. The
counting goes something like this:

ONE-eight-TWO-eight-THREE-eight-FOUR-eight-FIVE-eight-SIX-eight-SEVEN-eight-
NINE-eight-TEN-eight-ELEVEN-eight.

A "eleven fingers" trick that is similar to your first example is as
follows: Begin counting your fingers and stop after counting the fingers on
the first hand (1, 2, 3, 4, 5). Point to the first finger on the second
hand and ask them what number belongs to that finger. When they say "6",
hold up the last finger on the first hand again and ask them what number
belonged to that finger. When then say "5", ask them,"What is half-way
between '5' and '6'?". When they say "5 1/2", ask them, "If 5 1/2 comes
from counting HALF-WAY between two hands, what comes from counting ALL the
way?".

Carl G.

[Daniel P. B. Smith]

In article <929b3v$pbm$1...@slb7.atl.mindspring.net>, "Carl G."
<cgi...@microprizes.com> wrote:

Oh, that's MUCH better than my first example. That one is actually
disturbing... If 1000.5 is what you get from counting half-way between
two millennia, then...

--
Daniel P. B. Smith

[Mike Williams]

Wasn't it Daniel P. B. Smith who wrote:

>The old way, which my mother taught me:
>
>Using the index finger of the right hand, "count" the fingers on the
>left hand, saying "Ten, nine, eight, seven, six..." then hold up the
>right hand and say "and five make eleven."
>
>An old acquaintance of mine, Bob Blue, who taught in the Wellesley
>elementary schools, showed me a far better version, quite possibly his
>own invention:
>
>With the right hand, count the thumb and index finger of the left hand,
>saying, "One, two..."
>
>With the right hand, grab the middle, ring, and pinky of the left hand,
>and say, "Hold back these three..."
>
>With the index finger of the left hand, count the fingers on the right
>hand, saying, "four, five, six, seven, eight... now add back the three,
>which makes eleven."
>
>Anyone know any more "misdirection" tricks of that kind?
>

If you do it fast enough, counting in the following sequence can
sometimes look convincing:-

right thumb,
fingers of right hand from little finger to thumb
fingers of left hand from little finger to thumb.

--
Mike Williams
Gentleman of Leisure

[Leon Garde]

Daniel P. B. Smith <dpbs...@bellatlantic.net> wrote:
> The old way, which my mother taught me:

> Using the index finger of the right hand, "count" the fingers on the
> left hand, saying "Ten, nine, eight, seven, six..." then hold up the
> right hand and say "and five make eleven."

> An old acquaintance of mine, Bob Blue, who taught in the Wellesley
> elementary schools, showed me a far better version, quite possibly his
> own invention:

> With the right hand, count the thumb and index finger of the left hand,
> saying, "One, two..."

> With the right hand, grab the middle, ring, and pinky of the left hand,
> and say, "Hold back these three..."

> With the index finger of the left hand, count the fingers on the right
> hand, saying, "four, five, six, seven, eight... now add back the three,
> which makes eleven."

> Anyone know any more "misdirection" tricks of that kind?

FAQ !
:)

three men go to a hotel.
each pays $10 to the bellhop, which totals $30.
the bellhop is instructed to take $5 and return it to them (total.)
but gives back omly $1 each. and pockets the rest.

The men paid $9 each,
the bellhop has $2
And that totals $29

So where is the other dollar then ?

Spoiler

The hotel has the $1 ; well it has $25.

The bellhop's $2 is part of the amount the men paid.
and it is included in the false total twice.

correctly totalled,
The hotal has $25, the bellhop has $2 and the men have their $3 refund.

leon