No, I'm not just putting random filler text in the title.
Ever hear the expression “the oldest trick in the book”? In this post, you'll learn about a card trick that certainly qualifies, as it's known to date back at least as far as 1769!
I'll start by letting Brian Brushwood perform and explain his version of this classic routine (YouTube link):
Now, you'll note that Brian teaches this with the words:
MUTUS
NOMEN
DETID
COCISUsually, the 3rd word down is DEDIT (note the switched T and final D). Brian's version still works because there's still two of each letter, so there's still ways to arrange the cards.The original pseudo-Latin words, while traditional, can be hard to remember. Fortunately, over the years, many English substitutes have been developed for this trick. Specifically, you need are N words of N+1 letters each (for example, 4 5-letter words, or 5 6-letter words), each of which have only 1 doubled letter, set up so that any pair of words shares a common letter.
In the long-running Word Ways magazine, they've been playing with this idea since 1969. In pages 185-186 of the August 1969 issue, they mention the following English arrangement as an already-standard substitute:
BIBLE ATLAS GOOSE THIGHEditor David Silverman goes on to propose 2 original alternatives, as well:
LIVELY RHYTHM MUFFIN SUPPER SAVANT PILLAR RHYTHM MUFFIN CACTUS SNOOPYAt the end of a November 1968 article, mentions the challenge of developing a list of 6 7-letter words, which would require the use of 21 different doubled letters of the alphabet, as well as most of the deck (42 cards, obviously).
It wasn't until February of 1972 that the first answer arrived:
MEACOCK RODDING GUFFAWS TWIZZLE RHYTHMS KNUBBLYIn the May 1994 issue of Word Ways, Christopher McManus used computer analysis of word lists to take things to an entirely new level, in “Goose Thighs Rehashed”.
Although you probably won't use it, often, A. Ross Eckler did manage to develop versions using all 26 letters and all 52 cards in his article, “A Card Trick Mnemonic Revisited”.
Play around, and memorize your favorite mnemonics for this routine, and I think you'll be surprised by not only the reactions you get, but your own abilities to remember them, as well!
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