The article explains the secrets behind two famous magic tricks performed on "Got Talent" shows.
The first trick is Stephen Brundage's Rubik's Cube magic, where he appears to solve a mixed-up cube instantly by tossing it in the air. The secret is that Stephen is an expert at solving Rubik's Cubes and had already solved most of the cube before tossing it. He also uses misdirection to distract the audience while he makes the final moves to solve the cube.
The second part of the trick involves Stephen solving the cube by flipping it over. However, the cube was already solved on three sides, which he concealed from the camera. He then uses the cube to reveal a torn piece of a random card selected by a judge. The secret is that Stephen had pre-arranged the torn pieces of 15 cards inside the cube, and he knew which square contained the selected card.
The second trick is Jamie Raven's incredible card trick, where he appears to use a cartoon deck to reveal a randomly selected card. The secret is that the deck is a gimmick deck, where each card has a cartoon drawing of a specific card on one side and a blank on the other. The cards are arranged in a specific sequence, and Jamie uses misdirection and sleight of hand to reveal the selected card.
Here are the key facts extracted from the text:
1. Stephen Brundage performed a Rubik's Cube magic trick on America's Got Talent.
2. Brundage mixed up a Rubik's Cube on all six sides and then instantly solved it by tossing it up in the air.
3. He also flipped over an unsolved Rubik's Cube to magically solve it again.
4. Brundage had a guest judge hold a cube in her palm and then told another judge to name any random card out of the deck.
5. He ripped off the corner part of the chosen card and revealed it to be in a corner piece of the cube.
6. The trick consisted of three major parts: tossing and solving the cube, flipping over and solving the cube, and pulling out a torn piece of the selected card from inside the cube.
7. The first and second parts of the trick were real and skill-based, while the third part was an illusion.
8. Brundage mixed up the cube while talking to the judges and set himself up to solve it in milliseconds.
9. He made the last few moves in his right hand before tossing the cube in the air.
10. Brundage knew the puzzles on each side of the cube and it was not a deep scramble.
11. He solved the cube with one hand, which is a common skill in people who play with twisty puzzles.
12. The third part of the trick was an illusion, where Brundage pulled out a torn piece of the selected card from inside the cube.
13. The deck used by Brundage consisted of 52 cards, but only 15-16 cards were shown to the judge to choose from.
14. The 15 cards shown to the judge already had their corners ripped off before the act.
15. Brundage remembered which square contained the six of diamonds and took out the missing corner from the square to end the act.
16. Jamie Raven performed an incredible card trick on Britain's Got Talent.
17. Raven brought a deck with a cartoon figure of a magician drawn on it and asked Simon to name any card he wants.
18. Simon selected the seven of Hearts, and Raven took the deck and ran through the cards, which became an animated cartoon.
19. The cartoon magician on the deck of cards came to life and magically found out Simon's chosen card.
20. The deck used by Raven was a gimmick deck known as a cartoon deck.
21. The deck had two cartoon characters drawn on each card, and the cards were arranged in a sequence.
22. Every card picture that the cartoon character revealed had that real card placed below it.
23. Raven never touched the deck, which made the trick tougher to execute.
24. Raven created a story around his act and got a choice of card from Amanda and Alicia.
25. Simon was given the option to overrule the first selected card and chose the seven of hearts.
26. Raven knew hearts were at the top of the deck and ran through the deck, counting seven cards.
27. He applied a pinky break in between the sixth and seventh card to secretly mark a spot in the deck.
28. Raven used his thumb to control the seven of Hearts pictured card and pulled it back.
29. He rotated the card to the other side, where the cartoon was pictured, revealing the seven of hearts.