Jinx Navigator Podcast — Episode 16: Issue #16

Issue #16 rings in 1936 with Annemann reporting from a turbulent SAM club night, closing the Burling Hull matter with two words, and delivering a book test built on a pocket index, a magic square from a birthday, a comedy coin-to-candy-cone switch, and a thought-of card transposition that Annemann couldn't crack until Dr. Jacob Daly figured out the core method in about five minutes of conversation.

Effects Covered

[0:58] Editorial — Theodore Annemann Annemann skips the standard SAM club night recap in favor of what other reporters missed — including Cardini spending the final three minutes of a magnificent eleven-minute act doing a deliberate expose of a rubber band trick, which Annemann says ruined everything that came before it. He closes the Burling Hull dispute with a two-word response: "I apologize." He also welcomes Percy Abbott's new monthly publication The Tops with measured skepticism — though Jay notes from the future that it ran for 21 years, relaunched, and ran another 33.

[3:05] A Visible Cigarette Vanisher — Lou Brent A cigarette holder of the kind actual smokers carried in the 1930s is shown openly with the cigarette seated inside — then both vanish. The prop never registered as apparatus because it looked like an ordinary accessory, which Annemann notes is exactly how magic props should look. He adds a practical tip: adhesive tape inside the holder keeps the cigarette firmly seated during the vanish. Jay suggests the principle adapts naturally to vaping, with an obvious presentational angle ready-made.

[4:15] Again, a Prediction — Doc Mifflin A card is freely chosen from a mixed deck, the helper opens a small book of poems to the matching page number, finds the word at that same position, and the prediction already in the cup matches it exactly. The method requires thirteen outs and a pocket index — and Jay points out that if you have a pocket index collecting dust and never knew what to do with it, this is the answer.

[4:59] The Lucky Number Magic Square — Royal V. Heath A helper names their birth date, the performer writes it above a blank 3x3 grid, the helper makes two apparently free choices along the way, and the completed grid is a magic square — every row, column, and diagonal adding up to the same total. That total reduces to the helper's personal lucky number, the whole thing fits on the back of a business card, and Jay notes in the comments at jinxnavigator.com there's a free crash course on numerology readings to pair with it.

[6:10] Burr — Otis Manning A borrowed nickel vanishes under a handkerchief and reappears as a candy ice cream cone, handed to the helper as an even trade. The cone was a one-cent candy counter item in 1936 that passed for the real thing at three feet, and Annemann notes the second laugh when the helper realizes it's candy is just as good as the first. Jay acknowledges his earlier snarkiness about nightclubs and handkerchiefs and admits the effect has genuine promise — and suggests there are plenty of modern substitutes for the candy cone worth exploring.

[7:27] The Acme Thought Card Pass — Dr. Jacob Daly and Theodore Annemann Two people each silently think of a card from a packet held in the audience — both packets are sealed in envelopes, one pocketed by a helper, one kept by the performer. The thought-of cards travel invisibly: the helper's envelope comes up two short, the performer's has two extra, and both named cards are right there. Annemann had been trying to crack this with unprepared cards for a long time; Daly solved the core method almost immediately when the subject came up in conversation, with the preparation built entirely into an ordinary stack of envelopes.

[8:46] Outro Links and a preview of Issue #17 — featuring Otis Manning's Finger Exercise.

Jinx Navigator Podcast — Episode 15: Issue #15

Issue #15 is a compact but well-stocked issue — a three-way out envelope used for real election-night publicity, a self-working spelling effect updated for American audiences, a coat-mounted ball retriever that takes Jay on a nostalgic tour of his heavily rigged performing jackets, and a parlor effect that Annemann calls the best drawing-room conception he knows. The editorial is sharp, covering glowing promotional eyes, a handwriting expert working a crystal ball act, and Annemann's blunt thoughts on how the magic community handles exposers.

Effects Covered

[0:52] Editorial — Theodore Annemann Annemann opens with a photo of Otis Manning landing a three-column front-page picture — full details promised next issue. He covers a lobby display trick using luminous paint on a promotional photo, a crystal ball act secretly backed by a handwriting expert sending personalized notes about audience members, and a practical tip about writing predictions on your own business card so people keep them. He closes with a pointed editorial on magic exposers — formal expulsion doesn't work, he argues, and watching the community immediately surround a known exposer asking to see his latest stuff proves it.

[3:42] An Original Faked Envelope with a Publicity Angle — Theodore Annemann A three-compartment envelope that opens to a different compartment depending on which end is trimmed — content simply falls into the helper's palm, no fumbling required. Annemann describes using it during a local election: writing a prediction, having a newspaper editor sign it, apparently having second thoughts and sealing a new envelope, then returning after the results came in to verify it — leaving the clean original on the table and pocketing the faked one. Clean entry, clean exit.

[5:21] A Different Card Spelling — George C. Hannemann A refinement of a spelling effect from Gibson's Houdini's Magic, updated for American audiences who don't call Jacks "knaves" or 2s "duces." A helper spells out their card's suit and lands on a matching suit, then spells the value and lands on a matching value — two separate arrivals, both exactly on cue, with no sleight of hand. Nineteen cards in a specific order near the middle of the deck, and the trick essentially runs itself. Hannemann also offers a handling that avoids a force entirely.

[6:42] An Original Ball Dropper — Otakar Fischer A coat-mounted device that delivers a palmed ball with nothing more than a slight lowering of the arm and two fingers of gentle pressure — gravity does the rest. Fischer's key note is that the hand stays completely still throughout, and the dropper lies flat against the body once empty. Jay takes a nostalgic detour through his performing jackets of 40-some years ago, which apparently housed doves, pinned cards, a vanishing candle, and a giant card against the breast pocket simultaneously.

[7:57] Diabolical Influence — Harris Solomon The performer writes a prediction, covers it with an initialed sticker, and leaves the room — from outside, he directs a series of apparently free choices: a card at a counted position, a named card, three random numbers. He returns, peels the sticker, and the prediction matches the card at the counted position. Two more cards match the other selections. The three numbers add up to the sum written under the sticker. The pocketed card is named, the deck shown complete. Annemann calls it the best parlor and drawing-room conception he knows, and Jay says he's going to try this one.

[9:31] Outro Links and a preview of Issue #16 — featuring Doc Mifflin's "Again, a Prediction."