How to Perform the Danish Elephant Trick

This is an amazing trick that works almost every time.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Pencils
• Envelopes
• Notebook Papers
• Pens

1. Before the performance, write the words "Denmark," "Elephant" and "Grape" on a piece of paper. Seal this paper in an envelope.
2. Set the sealed envelope on a table before starting the trick.
3. Ask for a volunteer from the audience and have him or her perform the following steps:
4. Think of a number between 1 and 9.
5. Subtract 5 from the number.
6. Multiply the difference by 3.
7. Square the product (multiply the product by itself).
8. Add the digits of the new number.
9. If the sum isn't a 1-digit number, add the digits of the new number together. Keep adding the digits of each new sum until you get a 1-digit number.
10. If the new 1-digit number is less than 5, add 5 to it. If it's greater than 5, subtract 4 from it.
11. Multiply the difference by 2.
12. Subtract 6 from the result.
13. Think of the letter of the alphabet that corresponds to this new number. (A=1, B=2, etc.)
14. Think of a country that begins with that letter.
15. Think of an animal that begins with the second letter of the country's name.
16. Think of the animal's color.
17. Think of a fruit that begins with the first letter of the animal's color.
18. Once the volunteer has gone through all of this, call attention to the sealed envelope that has been sitting on the table throughout the proceedings. Ask the volunteer what country, animal and fruit he or she thought of.
19. Have the volunteer open the envelope and display its contents. The volunteer, along with the rest of the audience, will be amazed at the fact that you knew the responses ahead of time.

Tips & Warnings

• The success of this trick depends heavily on the volunteer. The mathematical steps always yield the number 4, and most people think of Denmark when asked for a country beginning with the letter D. Similarly, most people think of gray elephants for animals starting with the letter E and grapes for fruits beginning with G. The volunteer may think of the Dominican Republic instead of Denmark, an emu instead of an elephant or a guava instead of grapes. Be prepared for such foul-ups.
• One of the most important rules of magic is to never reveal how a trick is performed. If you do, your audience will be disappointed and everyone you know will start doing your trick.