In the magic shop I work in, I was demonstrating many of the facets of Mark Jenest's "MagiCard." For those who don't know, this is a specially made credit card with several gags and effects built into it.

One of the features is that the card says, "member since 10/89," so that you can do the classic 1089 trick.

I'm showing the customer this trick, he gets the total 1089, and I show him the card, and he's amazed. He figures, "let me try to figure that out."

So, he tries with the number 564, and reverses it to 465, and gets 99. He reverses that, adds it to 99 and gets 198 - he's blown away that he got a different total! So, he tries again.

By this time, he's obviously forgotten the requirement that all three digits must be different, because he chooses 151. Reversing that and subtracting gets you 0. Reversing 0 and adding, still gets you 0.

Doing what he perceived as the same process three times in a row (including the performance), he got three different results, and he couldn't imagine how in the world I could've predicted 1089 correctly (and this is a quote), "when it's different everytime."

I just smiled and said, "If it worked everytime, it wouldn't be magic, it would be mathematics!"

Sometimes, even the old stand-bys can be more powerful than we can imagine.

Great story. Love it when things work out like that.

Good Story Scott,

While I'm not aware of the card effect you spoke of (will have to check it out). I am familiar with the 1069 effect.

I was in a grade 7 classroom one time and told the kids I could do mind transference. I asked them all to grab a piece of paper and then proceed to choose their numbers. I asked them to please keep this a secret from their neighbors...at the end I asked each child what they picked. The level of amazment went up each time someone yelled out 1069! I then asked what their original numbers had been..they were completely stumped as they had all chosen different numbers. No one clued in...gotta love days like that!

Glad you both enjoyed the story.

Chrystal, "MagiCard" is great for tying several gags and effects together. There's a card prediction hidden in the credit card's logo and hologram. As I mentioned, it says "Member since 10/89" for the 1089 trick. The bank that supposedly puts it out is the "Bank of Denmark", and there's a picture of an elephant in the background (Guess what effect that leads to?).

There are several great gags, as well. The name on the credit card says, "Your Name." The credit card numbers themselves look ordinary enough, until you turn them upside down, and they become letters and spell a cute/funny phrase. Even on the back, just above the strip, it says, "In the event this card is lost or stolen just call 1-XXX-XXX-XXXX. But then, if this card is lost or stolen, you won't have this number, will you?"

I had a few teachers, too few, that used magic to help get their points across (almost all were math teachers). Too bad, it made it much more interesting! Keep up the good work - you're students will remember you for longer than you would think.

Thanks for the info Scott. I will definitely have to check it out!

What a fun trick. Thanks!