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FOREWORD By Ian Rowland It is one thing to have a business card saying you are a

magician. It is quite another thing to do something with your business card that

proves it beyond all doubt. Welcome to on!unction" the most magical thing in the

world you can do with your business card. #agicians have been lin$ing things in

impossible ways since %orever and a day. &owever' very %ew (this lin$ed)to that(

e*ects have the power o% on!unction' or can be said to shine with anything li$e thesame brightness. +he e*ect is as astonishing as anything in the close)up repertoire.

 +he method is' i% anything' even more astonishing still' in terms o% its ingenuity and

the e*ort that must have gone into its development. ,oshua -uinn has clearly

pursued this (holy grail( o% lin$age e*ects %or many moons' %uelled only by his own

erce intellectual re and a stubborn re%usal to accept that anything in this li%e is

truly impossible. +he result is a wonder%ul new principle that will no doubt leave

countless audiences seriously in doubt o% their senses. It will also delight those o% us

in the dar$' deceptive arts with a %ondness %or e*ects so deceptive they border on

mental cruelty. /%ter all' it is clearly insane to suppose that a single' un%a$ed

business card can be torn into two inter)lin$ed squares. Or that this can be done in

real)time' while the audience watch' with nothing to hide or steal away. Or that the

resulting lin$ed squares o% card can bc given away to bc studied and e0amined 1and

they will be23' since there is nothing to nd. +hat4s the good thing about ,oshua" he

$eeps having these insane ideas and then nds a way to ma$e them into practical

pieces o% delight%ul magic. on!unction represents a signicant leap %orward in the

art and science o% (impossible( lin$age. It is 5667 practical' albeit some diligent

study will be required by those wishing to master this particular miracle. It should

also become one o% the most per%ormed' and most tal$ed)about pieces o% modern

close)up magic 1given how o%ten we tend to hand out business cards3. -uite simply'

magic doesn4t get more impossible than this. EFFE+ Be%ore handing out your

business card to someone with whom you4d li$e to leave a strong impression' yougive the card a series o% %olds and tears' in the process transguring it into an

impossible ob!ect" two unbro$en paper rings which end up lin$ed through one

another. 8o what4s the di*erence between this and the pro%usion o% other e*ects

that have cards lin$ing together9 8imple" :ou do it %or real. +he rings are given away

in their genuinely lin$ed state' %rom which they can4t be unlin$ed without ripping

them. +hey can be e0amined indenitely with no danger o% anyone nding any

seams' !oins or tears' because there aren4t any. Furthermore' no glue' tape' or

adhesive o% any $ind is used. Only one card is involved' with no ga*s' gimmic$s or

e0tra pieces' and nothing to ring in' ditch or switch. /nd naturally' i% you4re smart'

the rings will still have your name and contact in%ormation on them' intact' at theend. #E+&OD In essence' the description is the method" :ou do it %or real. ;o

$idding. +his is one o% those rare occasions in magic when you4re actually doing

e0actly what you say you4re doing' and there%ore have 1almost3 nothing to hide. 8o'

how do you genuinely tear two interlin$ed rings %rom a single business card when

any lopologist' origami e0pert' or high school geometry teacher will tell you that

such a thing is physically impossible' and has been $nown to be so %or centuries9

First I4ll show you the basics o% creating the lin$ via a process that requires no

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circumvention o% natural laws' but !ust a slightly di*erent way o% loo$ing at things

1which has evidently eluded centuries4 worth o% topologists' origami e0perts' and

high school geometry teachers3. +hen I4ll discuss how to ma$e the nal product loo$

deceptive. Finally' I4ll teach you what I4ve %ound to be the most e*ective handling'

which will allow you do the whole thing in %ront o% an audience without giving them

any clue how you did il. First o*' let me address a small point o% terminology. +hroughout the te0t I re%er to the lin$ed pieces you4ll be le%t with as (rings( even

though they4re not ring)shaped at all< they4re rectangles with rectangular holes in

them. (Frames( would probably have been a more accurate term' +he result is a

wonder%ul new principle that will no doubt leave countless audiences seriously in

doubt o% their senses. It will also delight those o% us in the dar$' deceptive arts with

a %ondness %or e*ects so deceptive they border on mental cruelty. /%ter all' it is

clearly insane to suppose that a single' un%a$ed business card can be torn into two

inter)lin$ed squares. Or that this can be done in real)time' while the audience watch'

with nothing to hide or steal away. Or that the resulting lin$ed squares o% card can

bc given away to bc studied and e0amined 1and they will be23' since there is nothing

to nd. +hat4s the good thing about ,oshua" he $eeps having these insane ideas and

then nds a way to ma$e them into practical pieces o% delight%ul magic. on!unction

represents a signicant but 5 !ust didn4t li$e it as well. I mention this only so you

won4t read through the whole thing e0pecting to get to the point where you tear the

pieces into circle shapes' only to be disappointed with their rectangularity in the

end. = /ll right then' lo start with you4ll need" > 8ome business cards > / pen or

pencil > / ra?or $ni%e > / cutting sur%ace Don4t worry' when you do this in real li%e

you won4t need anything but a business card' but %or now you4ll need the other

items to learn how to ma$e the lin$. 8o go get them' and then come bac$. 12 reali?e

per%ectly well that most people reading this will not go get the needed items and

per%orm the actions as they4re described' but will simply $eep reading to discoverthe secret. /nd that4s ne. &owever' $now that those o% you who do go to trouble o%

gathering the materials and ma$ing the lin$ as you read will be treated to an e0tra

little (eure$a( moment that your more instant gratication)oriented brethren and

sistren will miss out on.3 8tep 5" On the %ront o% a business card' draw lines li$e the

solid blac$ lines in the picture below. 1Don4t draw the white dotted lines< they4re only

there to help show you how things align.3 8tep =" +his step involves the ra?or $ni%e.

But be%ore I e0plain it' I4d li$e to relate a story which' someday' I hope to loo$ bac$

at and laugh' though as o% this writing that day has not yet come. I% you4ve loo$ed

ahead in the boo$let' and i% you4re e0tra observant. you may have noticed that I4m

wearing a thumbtip in some o% the illustration photos. +his isn4t used in the e*ect< in%act' it ma$es many o% the steps e*ectively impossible to e0ecute. It4s there

because on the day be%ore I intended to shoot the nal photos' I managed to slice a

substantial chun$ o* the end o% my le%t thumb with a ra?or $ni%e. I happened to do it

while opening a pac$age' and not while doing anything related to this e*ect<

however' it4s !ust as possible to do something equally stupid and equally pain%ul

while per%orming the steps described below. I was o$ay 1relatively spea$ing'

%ollowing a trip to the emergency room3' but a%terward my thumb was mangled and

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%ull o% ugly @ stitches and covered in bandages' and generally in no shape to have

its picture ta$en. I then had the %ollowing internal monologue" (Damn it' now I4ll

have to put o* the photo shoot until a%ter I4m healed. I% only there were something I

could use to somehow disguise my thumb and ma$e it loo$ normal... hey' wait a

minute...2( +he moral o% the story" Be very' very care%ul any time you have a ra?or

$ni%e in your hand. ;ow that my little sa%ety lecture is out o% the way' let4s continue.With the ra?or $ni%e' cut along ali the lines you4ve !ust drawn. 8o you4ll be cutting

small squares out o% two corners' cutting a rectangle out o% the middle' and cutting

two A)shaped slits. +he result should loo$ li$e this" 8tep @" +a$e the pen again and

add the %ollowing %our lines" 8tep " Flip the card over onto the bac$ and add the

%ollowing lines" ;ow ta$e a loo$ at what you4ve got. I% the lines you !ust added to

both sides were actual edges instead o% merely drawn)on lines' you4d have two

lin$ed rings. +he problem is' i% you turned any o% them into real edges by cutting

along them' you4d also be cutting through the (other( ring underneath because

you4re only dealing with a single piece o% card. &owever ) and this is the cru0 o% the

entire method' so pay attention ) this is only a problem as long as you thin$ o% the

card as a two)dimensional ob!ect. Once you start thin$ing o% it as a three)

dimensional ob!ect 1albeit a rather thin one3' other possibilities begin to present

themselves. With that in mind' grab the ra?or $ni%e again and continue... 8tep C"

 +urn the card over to the %ront again. +a$e the $ni%e and with light pressure' draw

the blade all the way along one o% the short lines you !ust drew. Don4t press hard

enough to slice all the way through the card 1and i% your blade is new' that won4t

ta$e much pressure at all3. +he idea is to cut through only the upper sur%ace" We4ll

call this scoring the card. 8core the card along the other three short hori?ontal lines

you !ust drew on this side' then ip the card over and score along the %our short

vertical lines on the other side. I% at any point you mess up and slice all the way

through the card 1and you very well might at rst3' grab a %resh card and go bac$ to8tep 5. C 8tep " /t the two sections where the rings overlap' you4re going to peel

the card apart into two layers' li$e splitting a playing card. +hose o% you who have

tried your hand at splitting playing cards will be happy to $now that business cards

are much easier' and you have much less area to peel. +here4s not much to say

about the technique e0cept grab a ring in each hand ne0t to the intersecting area'

and slowly' care%ully pull them in opposite directions. When you nish one section'

the result should loo$ li$e this" Do this with both o% the intersecting areas' and voila2

 :ou4ve !ust created two genuinely' permanently lin$ed rings out o% a single card ) an

impossible ob!ect' or as aul &arris might call it' a (permanent piece o% strange.(

 +his is the basic principle behind on!unction" cutting the card 1or tearing it' asyou4ll do in a moment3 into the shape o% a (silhouette( o% two overlapping rings'

then peeling apart the two sections that overlap in such a way that the rings end up

lin$ed together. O% course' doing it li$e you !ust did leaves you with a piece o%

topological s$ullduggery that4s interesting and clever' but per%ectly obvious in its

origins. +o turn it %rom that into something that seems truly impossible' a little more

e*ort is required... &IDI;G +&E WORH 1I; O;E+3 I% someone handed you a set

o% lin$ed rings li$e the $ind you !ust created' you could easily tell how they were

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made even i% you didn4t see the process. What gives it away are the highly

conspicuous (bald spots( where the card is peeled apart. I have good news and bad

news about those bald spots. +he good news is' you can ma$e them go away. +he

bad news is. in order to do so. you4ll need to use a card that meets certain

requirements in terms o% what is and isn4t printed on it' and what type o% paper it4s

made %rom. +his means you may not be able to do the e*ect with your currentbusiness card. But even i% you can4t' and you4re completely in love with your current

card and you4ve !ust ordered 56'666 o% them' there are other options %or you that I4ll

get into later' so don4t despair. With that out o% the way' there are three things that

ma$e the bald spots obvious" the %act that they4re blan$ when they 1possibly3 should

have printing on them< the rough te0ture o% the pcelcd)apart paper< and the small

but visually and tactilely obvious edges where you4ve scored the card. I4ll address

each o% those things in turn. First' the issue o% blan$ness where there should be

printing. +he solution is so obvious I almost %eel silly typing it' but here it is. :ou

can4t ma$e the peeled sections not be blan$' so instead you have to approach the

problem %rom the opposite direction" ma$e sure the parts o% the card that will be

peeled o* are blan$ to begin with. In the sample photos above I deliberately used

the worst $ind o% card" one that4s covered entirely with te0t and graphics. I4ll go into

more detail about what you can and can4t have on the card later' but %or now suce

it to say you4ll need a card with a substantial amount o% blan$ space on it. ;e0t' the

te0ture. 8imilar to the blan$ness issue' there4s nothing you can do to the peeled

sections to ma$e their rough te0ture match the smooth te0ture o% the rest o% the

card. Instead' you have to use cards made %rom paper that camouages the

di*erence between the peeled te0ture and the unpeeled te0ture. 1/nd when I say

paper' Fm tal$ing about card stoc$.3 Intuitively you might thin$ the best way would

be to use paper that already had a rough te0ture. +hat4s what 5 thought when I

started developing the e*ect' but eventually I discovered that paper with a small'busy' random)loo$ing visual pattern running through it does %ar more to hide the

di*erence than any physically te0tured paper I %ound 1and I4ve tested literally

hundreds o% di*erent $inds3. Fortunately' whereas physically te0tured paper is

relatively hard to nd and can be e0pensive' patterned paper is cheap and readily

available at any printer or copy shop' and is %requently used %or business cards. I%

you loo$ through any samples o% available paper colors' they4ll be broadly divisible

into two groups" solid colors' and patterns that loo$' %or want o% a better word'

(spec$led.( #ost any spec$led paper will do' although the (spec$lier'( the better.

 +he only catch is' the pattern must run all the way through the paper and not !ust

be printed on the sur%ace. 1I% the paper loo$s li$e blue spec$les on the sur%ace butturns solid white when you peel it' that won4t help much.3 Fortunately' very nearly

all the spec$led paper I4ve ever seen is spec$led through and through' so that4s

really not an issue. /s o% this writing' the most obvious place to go %or this sort o%

thing 1in the J.8.3 is Hin$o4s' and the best patterns they o*er are the ones called

8ea 8pray' Glacier #ist' and 8andstone. K Finally' the scored edges. Jnli$e the

blan$ness and the te0ture' you can !ust ma$e the edges go away. &ere4s how. +he

picture below represents the corner o% one o% the rings' with the thic$ness

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e0aggerated %or clarity. What you4ll do is remove the sections that are shaded

below... ...thus e*ectively turning the noticeable (steps( into imperceptible (ramps(

L +o e0plain how to do this' I4ll rst have to tal$ about a certain %acet o% card

splitting 1or card peeling' which means the same thing< I4ll use the terms

interchangeably3. When you split a card into two layers and pull them apart' the

layers will tend to maintain equal thic$ness as long as you pull them both away%rom each other with equal tension" But i% you only pull on one layer and leave the

other one alone' the layer you4re pulling will tend to get gradually thinner until it

tapers o* into nothing and brea$s o*" M Do that with a suitably camouaging

paper... ...and sweet mother o% Bob' the boundary where the paper tapers o* and

brea$s becomes invisible" From what I4ve described so %ar' you might thin$ you

could simply separate the two layers at the scored edge' peel away the unwanted

one while leaving the other one alone... 56 ...and the unwanted one would taper o*

into nothing and brea$ o*' li$e this" /nd while that is essentially what you4ll do' you

can4t do it quite li$e that. +he problem is that the tapering e*ect generally doesn4t

happen when you4re peeling down a narrow strip o% card< it only wor$s reliably when

you4re peeling %rom a wider area. 1I don4t have a good e0planation %or why this is<

it4s !ust something I discovered through e0perimentation.3 8o i% you try it with the

rings you4ve !ust created' you might get luc$y and it might wor$ as pictured above.

But more li$ely' you4ll end up splitting the entire length o% the ring until you reach

the other peeled section' leaving you with something li$e this" +he way to get

around this problem is to peel o* the parts that need to be peeled when the card is

still in one piece' be%ore you turn it into rings. /nd how' you as$' do you do that9

Well' that4s all part o% the integrated process o% tearing the rings by hand %rom

scratch' with no blades' cutting or scoring ) which is a topic so important' it gets its

own section... 55 &IDI;G +&E WORH 1I; R/+IE3 Earlier I said the basic process

involved tearing the card into a silhouette o% two overlapping rings' then peeling theoverlapping sections apart so that the rings end up lin$ed. While that4s

%undamentally accurate' it4s in the wrong order< in reality' you4ll peel the layers

apart rst' then tear and peel o* the parts you don4t want to be there' and then tear

the card into rings. +hat4s the process I4ll describe here. /t the ris$ o% stating the

obvious' you don4t need to use a suitable card to learn how to ma$e the lin$. In %act'

I suggest not using the sample cards included with the boo$let until a%ter you4ve

learned what you4re doing' so you can appreciate the results. /ny old card will do

%or practice purposes' so now you have something to do with all those cards you4ve

%elt too guilty to throw out even though you have no intention o% ever contacting the

people who gave them to you 1li$e the one on the previous pages' %rom some hac$piano player with delusions o% competence3. For the illustration photos' you4ll see

I4ve used a custom card that4s designed to clari%y the orientation and ma$e the

peeled sections as visible as possible" 5= Obviously this is the e0act opposite o%

what you want in real li%e' but %or teaching purposes it ma$es it easier to $eep trac$

o% what4s going on. With that in mind' grab a card and let4s go... 8tep 5" Fold and

un%old the card in hal%' both lengthwise and widthwise. Bend the %olds bac$ward and

%orward so they can easily %old in either direction. 8tep =" repare the upper le%t

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corner o% the card to be split. :ou can do this either by !ust digging your ngernail

into the edge right at the corner' or by (dog)caring( a small part o% it 1say an eighth

o% an inch3 bac$ and %orth a %ew times until it separates into two layers on its own.

5@ 8tep @" 8tart peeling the card apart' moving %rom the corner inward at a C)

degree angle' %orming a right triangle o% peeled area. Heep peeling until the corner

o% this triangle reaches the hal%way point o% the le%t short edge. 1;ote" ard peelingis a $nac$y thing' and while it4s a lot easier with business cards than with playing

cards' it still ta$es some getting used to. I% this step gives you problems' then don4t

worry about the %olds %or now and !ust practice peeling some cards until you get the

%eel %or it' then come bac$.3 8tep " Repeat this peeling procedure with the bottom

right corner. ongratulations2 :ou4ve !ust nished hase 5' the separating o% the

layers. ;ow you4ll move onto hase =' the tearing and peeling o* o% the parts you

don4t want to be there 1in other words' creating the steps and then turning them

into ramps3. 5 8tep C" +ear a square out o% the upper)le%t corner' about a

centimeter per side. 1+ear through both o% the layers you4ve !ust created.3 1;ote" all

distances are appro0imate and e0ible. 8o $now that %rom here out' when I say (a

centimeter'( I mean' (about a centimeter' more or less' though you4ll later be able

to ma$e it bigger or smaller i% you want.(3 8tep " :ou4re now going to grab only the

upper layer o% card' and tear it along the %ollowing imaginary line until it tapers and

brea$s o*" 8o grab it between your right thumb and inde0 nger as shown' grab the

area ne0t to it with your le%t hand' and peel it straight bac$. &ope%ully it will taper

o* and brea$ be%ore you reach the opposite end o% the card. But i% it doesn4t' and

you end up with something li$e this... ...that4s ne %or now. Ai$e I said' peeling is a

$nac$y thing' but it will come to you with practice. For now' $eep going. 5 8tep K"

 +urn the card over to the bac$. :ou4re now going to do the same thing again' but

along the short edge rather than the long edge. In other words' you4re going to tear

the layer that is now closest to you down the %ollowing imaginary line" 8o grab thelayer between your thumb and %orenger and tear it straight downward. /nd again'

i% it doesn4t taper and brea$ be%ore you get to the bottom' don4t worry about it.

When you4re done' the card should loo$ something li$e this" 5K 8tep L" +urn the card

bac$ to the %ront' and rotate it 5L6 degrees so it4s upside down. ;ow repeat steps C

through K with the diagonally opposite comer 1that is' the comer that you would call

the (lower right corner'( but which is now at the upper le%t because the card is

upside down3. +he result should loo$ li$e this" 1;ote" +he rings and everything you

do to them are completely symmetrical' so these instructions will contain a great

deal o% (do this and this and this' now do it again on the other side( )!ust so you

$now what to e0pect.3 5L 8tep M" Fold the card in hal% widthwise' with the bac$ side%acing out and the %olded edge at the top. 8tep 56" 8tarting at the top' a centimeter

inward %rom the right edge' ma$e a downward tear through the card along the

%ollowing imaginary line" 8top when you reach the point = centimeters up %rom the

bottom' 5 centimeter up %rom the edge o% the square you tore out earlier. 5M 8tep

55" Ai%t the %ront ap o% the card upward partway' so the rear hal% is e0posed to you.

Grab only the rear hal% and e0tend the tear you !ust made an additional centimeter

downward' bringing it to 5 centimeter up %rom the bottom edge. =6 8tep 5=" Re%old

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the card and rotate it M6 degrees cloc$wise. Be%ore tearing any more' you need to

chec$ something rst. /t the le%tmost end o% the tear you !ust made 1at the point

circled above3' the card should be split into two layers. hec$ and ma$e sure it is. I%

it isn4t' grab the layers and peel them a bit more so that the peeled section e0tends

 !ust past the end o% the tear. /n eighth o% an inch past it is plenty. 8tep 5@" :ou4re

now going to tear and peel o* another part that you don4t want to be there. +his isprobably the tric$iest step to e0ecute and to describe' so bear with me. What you

want to do is tear only the upper layer o% card along the %ollowing imaginary line" =5

 +his is one o% the tears that will separate one ring %rom the other. It4s only a

centimeter long' but it4s tric$y to get to. +o do it' insert your right thumb into the

tear you !ust made' %rom underneath' and slide it to the le%t as %ar as it will go. /t

that le%tmost point' pinch the card 1all layers o% it3 between your thumb and

%orenger. +hen slip your le%t %orenger in between the two split layers o% the card'

and move it to the right until it almost touches your right thumb. == Bring your le%t

thumb down and pinch the upper layer o% card between your thumb and %orenger.

;ow ma$e the tear by twisting both hands away %rom each other. /s I said' the tear

only needs to be one centimeter long' but i% it4s longer it won4t hurt anything. It

should loo$ li$e this 1my thumb is moved out o% the way so you can see the tear3"

=@ 8tep 5" +he point %rom which you started the tear you !ust made is now a

corner. /t that corner there should now be a (ap( o% card one layer thic$' separate

%rom the layer beneath it" +his is why you chec$ed to ma$e sure the card was split

at that point a moment ago. Grab that ap and peel it at a C)degree angle until

you4ve peeled out to the end o% the short tear you !ust made. = 1I% it4s already

peeled that %ar' then don4t worry about it and !ust continue.3 +hen change direction

and peel it parallel to the long tear you made earlier... ...until it tapers and brea$s"

1/nd again' i% you reach the edge be%ore it brea$s' it4s no tragedy.3 =C 8tep 5C" +urn

the %olded card over and repeat steps 56 through 5 along the opposite edge. Whenyou4re done' the result should loo$ li$e this" 8tep 5" :ou4re now going to per%orm

something equivalent to steps 56 through 5C again' but on the other side o% the

card and along the opposite a0is. Jn%old the card' turn it over to the %ront side' and

%old it lengthwise' with the %olded edge at the top. = 8tep 5K" 8tarting at the top'

about a centimeter inward %rom the right edge' you4re going to ma$e a %airly short

downward tear. /s be%ore' stop when you get to = centimeters above the bottom

edge' 5 centimeter above the torn)out square. 8tep 5L" Ai%t up the %ront hal% o% the

card' grab only the bac$ hal%' and e0tend the tear you !ust made until it meets the

1now hori?ontal3 tear you made earlier. =K 8tep 5M" Re%old the card and rotate it M6

degrees cloc$wise. ;ow it4s time %or another one o% those tric$y 5)centimeter tearsthrough !ust the top layer' along this imaginary line" ut your right thumb into the

tear you !ust made' as %ar to the le%t as it will go. ut your le%t inde0 nger between

the two layers o% card' pinch the upper layer with your thumb' and tear along the

imaginary line as be%ore. =L 8tep =6" /s be%ore' nd the one)layer)thic$ ap at the

corner you !ust created and peel that part o*' tapering it into the other layer. :ou4ll

probably need to either un%old the card or peel around the %olded edge o% the card

%or this. 8tep =5" Re%old the card' turn it over' and repeat steps 5K through =6 along

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the opposite edge. When you4re nished' the card should loo$ li$e this" =M From

here you4re in a per%ect position to peel o* the upper layer along the long edge' so

go ahead and do that. ;ow un%old the lengthwise %old and re%old it in the opposite

direction. +his will e0pose the other dog)eared corner 1to you3' and hide the corner

you !ust tore. eel this corner' tear the square out o% it' and then peel o* the long

edge' !ust as in the last step. ;ow you have to peel o* the short edges on the bac$side. +o get to them' you have to reverse both the %olds. 8o un%old the card

completely' then %old it widthwise in the opposite direction 1bac$ side out3' then

lengthwise into quarters. @@ eel o* the upper layer along the short edge' going

around the %old i% needed. @ ;ow your instinct might be to reverse the last %old and

peel o* the other short edge' but be%ore you do' you might notice something. :ou4re

now in the per%ect position to ma$e the vertical tear and peel o* the other piece o%

this section 1steps 56 through 5 o% the original handling3' but with the card %olded

to hide the wor$ %rom the audience. 8o go ahead and do that now. Once you4ve

done that' then reverse the lengthwise %old and repeat both peels on the opposite

corner. 1I4m assuming you get the idea by now' so there aren4t photos %or that part.3

@C ;ow you4re ready to do the equivalent tears and peels %rom the other side' on

the ad!acent a0is 1steps 5 through =6 o% the original handling3. Jn%old the card'

%old it lengthwise with the %ront %acing out' then %old it widthwise into quarters' with

the single %olded edge to the le%t and the double %olded edge on top. #a$e the short

vertical tear %rom the top' ma$ing sure you only tear through one o% the %olded

halves. Ai%t up the %ront ap' and e0tend the tear on the bac$ ap downward to

meet with the vertical tear. @ :ou4ll probably have to un%old the widthwise %old

partway to do this. Re%old it' then rotate the card cloc$wise' put your right thumb

into the slit' and ma$e the by)now%amiliar 5)centimeter tear through the upper

layer. ;ow you4ll peel o* the section %rom the new corner ap' but because the card

is %olded' you4ll have to un%old the widthwisc %old and tear around the card. Reversethe widthwise %old' and repeat the short tear and peel with the opposite corner as

be%ore. @K ;ow you4re once again down to the nal step ) tearing out the center. I

mentioned earlier that when you reach this point' the most straight%orward way to

do it is to start at one corner and tear all the way around the edge. Jn%ortunately'

this is also the most boring thing you could possibly do. I mean' thin$ about it.

 :ou4ve gotten the dicult part out o% the way as quic$ly and eciently as possible.

8o now that you4re down to the dead easy part' why not have some %un and throw in

some theatrics9 I4ll give you two very di*erent but equally e*ective ways o% doing

this. +he rst way is to ma$e the simple part loo$ complicated' and ma$e it appear

that you4re doing a lol more than you really are. :ou4ve got this card with all sorts o%weird aps and loops and %olds in it' so use them. Jn%old part o% the card' wrap

something around something else' then ma$e part o% the tear. +hen %old it the other

way and pull some part through some other part' and ma$e another part o% the tear.

When you start stretching the di*erent parts away %rom each other' their split'

layered nature becomes ob%uscated' so that4s no longer a concern. /nd provided

you don4t tear where you shouldn4t' nothing you do will a*ect the outcome' so get

as convoluted as you li$e. Remember' you4re creating a topologically impossible

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ob!ect' so it stands to reason that it should involve some pretty intricate

manipulation o% the card. /s long as you believe that you4re e0ecuting a

painsta$ingly comple0 and precise process that you learned through hours o%

practice' and not !ust randomly moving parts around' your audience will believe it

too. When you4re done' ideally you should be le%t with a tangled' spaghetti)li$e mass

o% paper %rom which you can e0tract the rectangular center' and then untangle theremains to reveal the lin$ed rings. I% they pop instantly and dramatically into view'

that4s good. I% they end up twisted within themselves and require some untwisting

on your part' that4s even better. +he other approach is simpler but more elegant'

and involves some nice spectator participation. Go bac$ to when you4ve nished the

last peel and the card is %olded into quarters. From here you4re only one A)shaped

tear away %rom being nished" @L 8o ma$e the short part o% the tear' then turn and

start on the long part' but stop when you get about hal%way through it" +hen hand

the card to a spectator and' ma$ing sure to give her clear instructions' have her

nish the tear hersel% and hand you the center. +hen let her un%old the remaining

pac$et and discover the lin$ed rings. With the card %olded into quarters' the result

isn4t obvious as soon as the tear is nished' li$e it is when you do it with the card

un%olded. 8o not only has the spectator per%ormed the nal' crucial step hersel%' but

she also then gets to reveal the outcome. +his lends more o% a %eeling o% the two o%

you accomplishing something impossible together. 8+/NI;G OFF /B,E+ BOREDO#

 +he downside o% this e*ect is that in and o% itsel%' there4s nothing remotely

interesting about it until the end' and most people4s attention spans will give out

long be%ore you get there. I can do a card in about two minutes' which I4ve %ound is

about a minute and %orty seconds longer than most people nd it interesting to

watch someone %old and tear paper. +o ma$e up %or this' you4ll need a spiel. / rap. /

pitch. / story. 8ome sequence o% verbiage with which to engage the audience while

you4re doing the wor$. +his involves two steps" coming up with something to say'and getting com%ortable saying it while ma$ing the lin$. +he rst part I can4t give

you much help with< your spiel will depend entirely on things li$e your persona and

your audience and your per%orming conditions and what you want to convey. I4m not

including mine here because it wouldn4t t anyone but me. But the one thing I can

tell you is to be sure to impress upon your audience the %act that tearing a piece o%

paper into two solid' lin$ed rings is impossible. Without having that established in

advance' people won4t quite $now what to ma$e o% the result' and it will ta$e a %ew

minutes o% contemplation %or them to decide whether they should be ama?ed or

not. /s %or the second part' I have some more concrete tips. Obviously' you4ll need

to practice ma$ing the lin$ while delivering your spiel out loud. But be%ore you startdoing @M that' you may nd it help%ul to practice loo$ing away %rom your hands as

much as possible while ma$ing the lin$. 1+hose o% you who have wor$ed on a center

tear will be in %amiliar territory here.3 Don4t close your eyes' because you4ll never

want to do that in real li%e< instead' practice loo$ing up away %rom your hands' at

the spot where a spectator4s eyes would be i% there were one there. Being able to

loo$ someone in the eye rather than constantly staring at your hands will go a long

way toward $eeping people engaged all by itsel%. Once you can do that' spea$ing at

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come a long way3. On the other hand' doing them yoursel% allows %or more

e0perimentation and doesn4t stic$ you with a whole bunch o% cards that you then

have to either use or waste. /nd now %or something that many people have told me

I4m a %ool %or tipping" the Rolls Royce o% card stoc$ paper and how to get it.

;umerous %riends have opined that rather than revealing the origin o% this stu*' I

should !ust buy a bunch o% it wholesale and then sell it to on!unction users at areprehensible mar$up. /nd while the idea is not without a certain appeal' the

bottom line is that dealing with receiving' storing' and shipping large quantities o%

heavy paper is not my idea o% a good time. &ence' my hedonistic la?iness is your

gain. I mentioned earlier that having a visual pattern in the paper is more help%ul

than having physically te0tured paper' and that4s true ) but it4s even better to have

both. +he best is a combination o% a good visual pattern and what4s $nown in the

paper bi? as a (%elt( te0ture' which consists o% small' random bumps and ridges not

unli$e' well' %elt. It4s the closest thing you can get to the actual te0ture o% paper

that4s been peeled apart. It4s not identical' but when combined with the visual

pattern' the di*erence really is unnoticeable. +here are a number o% brands out

there that t the bill' but as o% this writing the best ones available are" > 8undance

Felt paper' made by the Fo0 River division o% the Gilbert aper ompany' in the

;ava!o White or #ai?e colors. > Nia Felt paper' made by #ohaw$ aper' in the Fla0

or ,ute colors. Out o% the hundreds o% papers I tried' these two in the colors I4ve

listed are the cream o% the crop. +hey hide the wor$ well' they practically peel

themselves' and they ma$e great loo$ing cards. +he samples you got with this

boo$let are made %rom one o% those. I#OR+/;+" Whatever $ind you get' you4ll have

to speci%y the weight you want it in 1which' in paper bi? terms' means how thic$ it

the paper is3. +he weight you want is (L6) pound cover.( ;ote that both parts o% that

phrase ) the (L6)pound( part and the (cover( part ) are important. :ou don4t want

L6)pound te0t' which is regular writing paper' and you don4t want C)pound cover'which is imsier' tougher)to)wor$)with card stoc$. ;ow that you $now what to get'

the tric$y part is nding it. +he only place I4ve %ound that carries both brands' and

will sell them in quantities %rom individual sheets to cartons' is a company called

Glodan' reachable on the web at wvvw.glodan.com. :ou can also order 8undance

paper direct %rom the manu%acturer at"

www.gilbertpaper.com%o0paperssundancebuy @ I also had some luc$ with +he

aper #ill 8tore 1.com3' who didn4t stoc$ any o% the ones I wanted but o*ered to

order it %or a good price' provided I bought a carton 1C66 sheets3. +here. ;ow don4t

say 5 never gave you nothin4. IF :OJ4D R/+&ER FIG&+ +&/; 8WI+& 5 reali?e that

many o% you reading this will not want to have new cards made up %or this e*ect'either because you4re attached to the design o% your current card' andor because

designing a new one to meet the requirements o% the e*ect seems li$e too much

trouble. /nd that4s ne. I4m not hurt. ;o' really. I mean' I only put three years o%

sweat and toil into developing this e*ect' tenderly nurturing it %rom its promising

but problematic conceptual in%ancy' onward through a long' clumsy' aw$ward

adolescence %raught with impractical handlings' elaborate preparations' imper%ect

method concealment' and draconian design requirements' be%ore nally seeing it

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through to its maturation into the elegant piece o% mystery so lovingly presented to

you here. 8o there4s absolutely no reason %or me to be upset i% people get this %ar

only to decide not to use it because they can4t be bothered to spend a pleasant

evening4s wor$ ma$ing up a new business card. Really' it4s no problem at all. I4ll !ust

be in the corner wailing and gnashing my teeth. But seriously' there arc a number o% 

options that don4t require changing your current card' %or those o% you who areunwaveringly intent on riding roughshod over the creative e*orts o% one o% your

%ellow P8top it. ) ed.Q Right' sorry. Basically' i% the piece o% paper you use %or the

e*ect is not your business card at all' but rather a completely separate card that

you utili?e to demonstrate something interesting and impossible' then a whole

world o% choices opens up to you. +he easiest and most obvious one is to use a

blan$ card. Why blan$9 Well' maybe something about a blan$ piece o% paper

representing innite possibilities' andor impossibilities' and even the gray areas

where the two intersect... but that will be %or you to wor$ out. Or the card could bear

a pre)printed message that tics in with your presentation ) something li$e' (I am

impossible'( (I can4t e0ist'( 4(Impossible is only a word'( etc. /nother option is to

start with a blan$ card but write something on it that lends itsel% to the

circumstances. I% you4re per%orming %or a couple' a nice idea is to have them write

their names in the appropriate spots' and end with them 44!oined together.( Or i%

you4re wor$ing a corporate event or trade show. I(m sure you can come up with

some word or phrase that would be benecial to ma$e 44intrinsically lin$ed( to the

company or product you4re representing. 1/h' I can smell the corporate cheese

already" (8ome people will tell you it4s impossible to ma$e 5667 customer

satis%action an integral part o% a company4s identity' but here at 8chmuc$+ech' we

do the impossible...( I con%ess I loo$ %orward to my e*ect being used %or such

purposes with the same anticipation with which one loo$s %orward to one4s daughter

becoming a whore.3 :et another possibility is to have a diagram o% two lin$ed ringsprinted on the card' and use that picture as a starting point %or discussion. I hope

the above provides enough alternative ideas that those o% you who were e0pecting

to use your current card can now be persuaded to put down the pitch%or$s and

torches. W&/+48 :OJR FJ;+IO;9 I4ll be the rst to admit that as e*ects go.

on!unction is an odd bird. It doesn4t t within any o% the standard categories o%

magic plots ) vanishes' appearances' trans%ormations' transpositions' penetrations'

levitations' etc. When I4ve described the e*ect to magicians' many o% them have

said' (Oh' so you mean it4s a one)card lin$.( Well... no. +hough the similarity is

obvious' there4s a subtle but important di*erence. In a one)card lin$' the rings start

out separate and then lin$ together' so the impossible act is the passing o% solidob!ects through one another ) a standard and easily dened plot. +hat never

happens with on!unction' as the rings are lin$ed %rom the moment they come into

e0istence. 8o the impossible act becomes the very creation o% an ob!ect that should

be uncreatable ) not e0actly a soundbyte)%riendly premise. 8o' you may as$

yoursel%' what4s it good %or then9 /s with many things in our eld' the answer is'

(whatever you choose to ma$e o% it.( With the right %raming it can be a ne piece to

use as an e*ect within a close)up per%ormance' be it %ormal or impromptu or

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anywhere in between. ersonally I tend to use it more as a thought) and

conversation)provo$ing promotional and mar$eting tool ) a way to ma$e mysel% and

my business card more memorable and more li$ely to be tal$ed about a%ter I4m

gone. I4ve %ound it4s an e*ective thing to do %or someone whom you4re trying to

convince to hire you' as it leaves them with a tangible piece o% impossibility that

serves as a constant' hard)to)ignore reminder o% you. /nd in a eld where the word(pu??le( has become one o% the most derogatory terms in the le0icon' it can ma$e

%or a ne one in the best sense o% the word< not something to be solved and

de%eated' but something with which to challenge people to thin$ about what is and

isn4t possible. +ruth be told' it4s also a great way to win %ree drin$s %rom engineers

and topologists. ;ote also that this doesn4t have to be per%ormed as an E*ect with a

capital E' with all attention %ocused on it. In a casual environment you can !ust grab

a card and start ddling with it' without calling attention to what you4re doing until

the appropriate time. It4s worth pointing out that when I per%orm' I do so as a

mentalist' with no (straight( magic included< I deal solely with abilities o% the mind'

and I don4t ever ma$e things vanish' appear' transpose' levitate' or !ump to the top

o% the dec$. But I do use on!unction' because although it has nothing to do with

what we thin$ o% as the standard mentalism %eats 1demonstrations o% telepathy'

precognition' tele$inesis' etc.3' it is a ne e0ample o% the power o% the human mind

to overcome accepted limitations and accomplish things that are considered

impossible. /nd it helps that unli$e most premises and !ustications in mentalism'

that happens to be an accurate characteri?ation rather than a line o% unmitigated

bullshit. 8imilar ground has been e0plored by such mentalists