Make a Pen Penetrate a Dollar Bill

Do you want to start a magic show with a simple yet effective trick? With a few household items you can. If this sleight-of-hand, act of deception, sounds like something you want to do, read on.

Steps

1. Prepare without an audience by cutting a strip of paper about an inch larger in width and length than a dollar bill.
2. Also pre-fold a dollar bill -- roughly "halving" the length -- near the middle but not exactly halfway making a vertical crease, and make the same crease at the same location in your second dollar bill.
3. Cut a short slit in only one of the bills, about one centimeter long (nearly ¹/₂ inch), a little way down (maybe 1/3 of the way) from the top and exactly on-and-along the crease that you made when you "pre-folded the bills".
   • Keep the slit clean, smooth, and unnoticed (don't be observed creating the slit). It will not be in the exact center of the bill so that your puncture (pushing the pen through) will seem random!
4. Unfold and smooth the slitted bill and put it in your pocket along with the strip of paper and a pen and the other creased but uncut dollar bill. You're ready.

Your Performance

1. Call your audience over to you as if you have something for them, and tell them as you pull out the paper and only the slitted dollar, "This is something you should NEVER do with your money."
2. Flatten the slitted bill, for everyone to see, with the crease still visible (be sure that you--but only you--can see the slit), lay it on top of the strip of paper and mysteriously and with a showman's exaggerated hand motions, fold the bottom edge of the paper so that it extends a little bit over the bottom of the dollar (to help hold the dollar) and as part of the "production value" (They're watching while thinking, "What is this about?").
3. Make some attention getting sound or "hum-loudly" a little while quickly preparing like, "Aaah...!, Hmmm...?" Act rather excitedly in a Hocus-Pocus tone, "Now, watch this!"
4. Continuing in quick, exaggerated motions: hold the strip and the dollar together -- be sure everyone can see what you are doing -- "chuckle" theatrically and take the pen out of your pocket, then without warning push the pen through the cut you made earlier and out through the dollar and actually punch the strip. This will give the illusion that you also "punched" the dollar bill.
   • Let everyone see you pull the pen all the way out through the bottom paper where it poked out of the paper strip.
5. Continue acting a little dramatically so your audience doesn't think that you are finished yet as you unfold the edge of the paper and keep the dollar and the paper strip together.
   • Quickly smooth them together and then with the bill facing you show the audience the back and tell them "Observe the ragged hole through the paper." that's behind the bill.
6. Hold onto the dollar but let only the paper drop on the ground or floor as a distraction -- act surprised or dramatically embarrassed (be careful about a windy place or other problems like children that may interfere).
7. Bend down with one side away from the audience and quickly pick up the paper with the front hand and at the same moment with your back hand quickly conceal (hide) the cut dollar and get the uncut dollar (practice to be quick and adroit in making the switch).
   • Then come back up waving the punched paper and the creased dollar bill that was not cut, and let everybody see that the dollar is undamaged! Ask to have the dollar back, and then put the dollar bills and paper carefully back in your pocket.
8. Finished

If they demand that you do it again

1. Decide whether or not to do it again (You could just leave them wanting more.)
2. You might want to act busy making a new undamaged/unpunched strip of paper first, to let the audience get settled just a little and off your case.
3. Re-do the act, but at the appropriate time do something different like 1) "drop" a book or 2) drop your pen on the floor, or 3) act as if you "banged" your knee on a chair or table leg; say "Oooh!" and finally grab your knee and stoop down in pain and make the bill switch -- instead of dropping the paper this time. It's an acting job...
   • Practice so it would be a little different each time (that gives you four possible ways to do the switch).
   • Of course you can't have people behind you--so just refuse to do it again if they are spying behind you and say "Not now wait until another time!"

Tips

• Wear loose clothes like a magician if you want to, and find/make some with extra pockets--and even sew some hidden pockets (compartments) inside of pockets and sleeves.
• Use a kind of long light-weight jacket/coat (not unlike a cape) to help cover (conceal) the tricky parts of what you are doing... and for production value as well, and by using the that covering you might be able to let people get on another side or even behind you--if your tricks are concealed by the coat (or cape) well enough.
• To make it more crazy looking, make use of 2 five dollar bills, or tens or even twenties that will appear to be identical! Who wants to believe that you are actually punching valuable bills... (If they ask, "What are you up to!?" then just answer with "Aaah...!, Hmmm...?" while working quickly...)
• When you pull the cut dollar from your pocket and the strip of paper, make it sudden like the "destructive" trick just popped into your head.
• When the audience takes the dollar with no cuts to examine it, tell them to give it back because no matter what audience you have, they'll want the dollar.
• You might think of a way to use your act in school, children's church, vacation bible schools, kids camps, spring and fall festivals, birthday parties (as part of a magical clown act even)...
• Sleight of hand, or hocus-pocus, is a cleverly executed trick, magic or deception, like conjuring a trick requiring manual dexterity.

Warnings

• Defacing US currency for the purpose of fraud, to cheat someone out of money, is illegal. Defacing US currency for the purpose of a magic trick is good clean fun and perfectly legal.
• Be sure to make the slit just exactly along the crease so it is not noticed too easily.
• Don't let the audience see that you're putting the pen into a cut, and do the punch rather rapidly.
• Supervise children. Be careful with scissors, blade, or sharpened pencil (Use one that's not very sharp!).
• Make sure the dollars appear to be identical!

Things You'll Need

• Scissors or a blade for precision
• 2 dollar bills of exactly the same kind
• A strip of paper about an inch bigger than the dollar
• A pen or a barely sharp pencil
• Effective acting skills

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See also

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• Make a Fireball in Your Hand With Only a Lighter
• Light Matches With Your Thumb
• Do the iPod Cord Cut Magic Trick
• Make a Head in a Jar
• Make a Flame That Does Not Burn
• Do the Dead Finger Trick

What links here

• Fold a Dollar Bill to Make a Finger Ring
• Make a Head in a Jar
• Straighten Out a Dollar Bill
• Win a Dollar with a Trick