faking.net

How to Fake a Thumb Removal

Posted on January 20th, 2008 in Killing Time by Faking

What you are gonna do is fake the removal of a piece of your thumb (more specifically, the distal phalanx of the pollex), creating the illusion by using the natural flexibility of your hand and a bit of misdirection.

First, for purposes of this demo (you can reverse the hands you use if you find it more comfortable), we will be removing the piece from the right thumb and holding it in the left hand. Position your right hand as shown below:

______________________________________________________________

Flex your thumb until it reaches a 90-degree angle. Optionally, you can tuck the thumb behind your fingers:

______________________________________________________________

Here’s how it should look from the top:

______________________________________________________________

Next, position your left thumb in a similar fashion and line it up with your right thumb:

______________________________________________________________

Here’s where it gets tricky. While keeping the left thumb as still as possible, slide your left index finger out and place it over where the two thumbs meet:

______________________________________________________________

I know, it doesn’t look very convincing, but remember that this is from your point of view. You will need to perform these steps very quickly. If you do not tell your audience that you are going to be doing something with your hands, you can do this while they are not paying attention to your hands. Once you get this set up, you can then draw attention to your hands. Here’s how it looks to others:

______________________________________________________________

This is where you sell it. With your left hand, twist back and forth. Do it slowly at first, and don’t twist a lot. After a few twists, start twisting it progressively more and more. Make it look like you are doing this very carefully. Remember to move your wrists, but keep your fingers still. Now, for the money shot:

______________________________________________________________

The angle is important. Here’s how it should look to you:

______________________________________________________________

You can try tucking your right thumb behind your fingers, but it is not necessary if you pay attention to the angle.

______________________________________________________________

It should be obvious that you are now going to need to put your thumb back together, so touch your hands together and do a couple slight twists as if you are re-attaching your thumb.

Use the rest of the fingers of your left hand to cover up your real thumb. As you pull away your left hand, extend your right thumb. This must be done very quickly:

______________________________________________________________

If you wiggle your right thumb, then their eyes should be on your right hand. Get your left hand out of the way as you open it:

That’s it! If you have done this correctly, then you can totally fake out the kids. It is almost certain that they will want you to do it again, so make sure you practice this trick until you get good at it. There’s not a lot to this trick; if you find it to be too simple or were expecting more, you could always try it with your toes.