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Flushtration Count

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Revision as of 23:49, 15 July 2009 by Jpecore (Talk | contribs) (Variations)

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The Flushtration Count, also known as the Back Count, is a method for showing that all the cards in a small packet are identical when in fact they can all be different. It was popularized by Brother John Hamman in his trick, Flushtration, marketed by Abbott's Magic in 1969, and as such is commonly attributed to him, but Canada's Norman Houghton published the count nearly 15 years before in Ibidem No. 1, June 1955.

History

In Ibidem No. 1 (June 1955), Norman Houghton prefaces the description of his false count by saying, "This is accomplished by using, in conjunction with the Biddle sleight, the old principle of repeatedly showing the back of the same card, while apparently showing different cards." Later, in Wit & Wizardry (1998), the publisher, Ariel Frailich, notes that Houghton was referring to "... the Harris Solomon Hindu Shuffle technique in the Jinx, 1938, where the same back (or face) is flashed intermittently."

Variations

  • Rhumba Count, by Jean-Pierre Vallarino. An elegant alternative to the Flushtration Count wherein the packet begins face up in dealing position (rather than face down), then is grasped and revolved by the opposite hand as the count is executed in a flourishy manner. First published in Gary Ouellet's Fulminations column (Genii, month, year).
  • Rotating Flushtration Count, by ???
  • Kiss Count, by Boris Wild

Effects

  • list your favorite flushtration-count routine here

References