Penn & Teller's How to Play in Traffic
This is unlike any other book of magic tricks I've seen. Most of the activities in Penn & Teller's very amusing How to Play in Traffic are better described as pranks, but they're not mean-spirited. Most of them are benign ways to delightfully mystify friends and strangers alike.
One of my favorites is The Gideon Bible Card Trick, which you can perform the next time you're staying at a hotel. You ask your friend, or the bellman, or anyone you want to trick, to shuffle a pack of cards and draw a one while you are across the room. Then you pull out the Gideon Bible that all hotels have in the bed table drawer. Ask your friend to turn to Revelation, chapter 17 ("which is all about abominations, and sounds for all the world like an invitation to hell"). Then you hand him a warm clothes iron and tell him to iron the page while keeping one hand on the card. What happens next is chilling:
"Slowly, brownish bloodstains appear on three isolated words of text --
(Click on thumbnail for enlargement) 
The book has complete instructions for performing the trick. There are lots of other equally fun tricks in the book. $12.89 on Amazon
Comments
If there's something better than a bleeding bible I'd like to see it.
Posted by: will | January 11, 2006 1:48 PM
I hope the tricks are better than this one... Here's a hint, I had a book on "spying" when I was ten that included a similar method of communication. There's a fruit juice that is prized for its invisible properties.
Posted by: jim | January 18, 2006 1:07 PM
Another classic from P&T is How to Play with your Food. The exploding-creamer-package-near-eye-with-fork-in-hand is a family favorite! Although waitresses don't tend to approve.
Posted by: shawn | January 20, 2006 11:25 PM
The "$20 Bill In An AirPort Locker" trick *rocks!
Posted by: CaryMG | February 6, 2006 12:56 PM