Bizzaro - Bill Breaker
Category
🦄
CreativityTranscript
00:00 [silence]
00:05 Let me see, uh, diddle diddle diddle, see I have one, uh, uh, uh.
00:09 Can you turn a one dollar bill to a hundred?
00:12 If I could do that, sir, I would not, I would not be out here.
00:16 I, I, uh, I can, however, wave my hand and turn it into a five, is that okay?
00:20 It's not a hundred, obviously, but.
00:22 Can you turn my dollar to two or five?
00:24 No, I can only, they don't last long, it doesn't stay that way very long.
00:26 It's the weirdest thing.
00:28 [music]
00:34 People are always asking magicians if we can change one currency to another.
00:37 If we could just wave our hands over it and change it, then we would, obviously.
00:40 But we can't, so don't ask us to do that.
00:42 However, with Bill Breaker, now you can.
00:45 You can even change a five into five ones, just by waving your hand over it.
00:49 It's a very visual, self-contained bill change, that's pretty easy to do.
00:53 So, let's get to it.
00:55 [music]
01:04 And this is a 20, uh, peso from Mexico.
01:08 And you can sit here and change it to a New Zealand five, like that.
01:12 Let's show you something kind of fun here.
01:14 [music]
01:18 See, but the problem is it doesn't last very long.
01:20 It's magic, it just fades away, which is very strange.
01:24 [laughter]
01:26 Because it doesn't stay that way for very long.
01:28 Magic doesn't, it doesn't last.
01:30 [music]
01:32 [laughter]
01:34 [music]
01:41 So, the effect Bill Breaker I came up with when I was on tour with a side show.
01:44 I wanted to put something a little more magical, quick and flashy, into our, uh, my set.
01:49 It's just kind of a prelude into what's going on.
01:51 And I started thinking about people who are like, "Oh, can you turn my one into a hundred, ha ha ha," whatever.
01:56 And I thought, "That's, I wonder if I could do something quick and flashy like that."
01:59 So, I started playing with the idea of just gluing bills together into a flap idea.
02:03 So, I could sit here and I would shake it.
02:05 That was the original, that's how it all started, was this.
02:07 Just going like this and changing, which I thought looked great.
02:09 Unfortunately, it was a little too subtle for some people.
02:11 I would talk about how, uh, so you know, people ask me to change money all the time.
02:14 I do it in a different denomination, but if I could do that, uh, I wouldn't be here.
02:17 So, I obviously can't do it.
02:19 And so, it was just a shake, but it was too subtle.
02:21 So, I started playing with the idea of, uh, actually having a magical moment and then having it subtly change back.
02:27 So, I started playing with this idea of having it change when I wipe my hands across and then change it back like this.
02:32 Which gets a great reaction from people.
02:34 And then we've added, uh, some new stuff as well.
02:36 The, uh, the ability to squeeze off, uh, four ones, uh, out of a five to break the bill.
02:42 And also a transposition, which you'll also see near the end.
02:45 So, uh, this is, uh, Bill Breaker. I hope you, uh, learn something and use it.
02:50 So, I'm going to teach you the construction here of the effect called Bill Breaker.
03:02 It's pretty easy. It requires three, uh, three, uh, three bills.
03:06 Two denominations the same. Uh, one different.
03:09 So, you're also going to need some glue stick, just like this.
03:13 And possibly some scissors. These are here just in case. We'll explain why later.
03:17 So, what's going to happen here is we're going to take the five and the one.
03:21 You're going to fold it in half, uh, and glue only one side to here, like this.
03:27 So, you've got these here.
03:29 And we're going to run some glue stick over it, like so.
03:34 And you, like I said, you only want one half.
03:36 Well, you're going to want both halves, but for right now we're going to do one half.
03:39 So, do-do-do-do-do-do-do.
03:43 Go all the way out to the edge. That's very important to hit the edges.
03:47 Like there. Like that.
03:49 You shouldn't need to do the other side.
03:53 Line these up as best you can.
03:54 The nice thing about glue stick is you can push it into place.
03:57 You can also use rubber cement.
04:00 Uh, but I find glue stick works fine.
04:07 Flatten it out. Squeeze out any excess glue or any wrinkles you may have.
04:12 Just like that.
04:17 And make sure it's lined up. So, there we go. Perfect.
04:20 Just like this.
04:21 Now, you're going to put glue all over this bill.
04:24 And you're going to want it face up, because you're going to want the back exposed, like this.
04:29 So, we're going to put glue all over, all around the edges.
04:35 You're going to get to it when your fingers deal with it.
04:39 Just like this.
04:41 I am getting glue stick all over the nice cutting board.
04:44 Now, you're going to, again, line this up as best you can onto here.
04:50 Just like this.
04:52 Get on there. There we go.
04:58 Line up the edges as best you can.
05:02 Lay that flat.
05:05 If you've ever made a Easy Money, Hyundai 500, whatever it's called, gimmick,
05:11 you'll be kind of familiar with this construction already.
05:14 So, you won't be doing anything new.
05:17 So, I'm going to flatten that out.
05:20 Just like this. Flip this to the other side, like that.
05:24 Flatten that out.
05:27 If there are any creases, make sure everything is kind of lining up.
05:30 And this is actually a little bit off, so I'm going to fix that before it sets.
05:37 You may have to go back in after it dries and find some spots you might have missed and re-glue them a bit.
05:44 That does happen from time to time.
05:48 And if for some reason the bill isn't completely lining up in spots, that's actually okay.
05:52 That's what the scissors are for.
05:56 I'm going to put the lid on this.
05:59 Bust a cap on it.
06:02 The cops are after me. I busted a cap on something.
06:06 Just like this.
06:07 Now, this is pretty much all the construction you need to do.
06:10 But like I said, you are going to want to check the edges to see if they're okay.
06:14 Like this edge here overlaps a little bit.
06:17 So, I'm going to take my scissors and I'm going to cut right there to get rid of that.
06:22 So, I don't need that anymore.
06:25 This edge right here, it doesn't exactly line up either.
06:30 So, I'm going to trim this like that.
06:34 It's okay if you have to cut into the glued bills a little bit too.
06:39 As long as it lines up as best as possible.
06:43 So, just like that.
06:46 And then there is your bill construction.
06:49 You're going to want to let this dry, by the way.
06:52 This is still a little wet, so it's a little hard to use.
06:54 But there is your gimmick.
06:57 So, here is the get ready and the performance set up for a bill breaker.
07:07 And what you're going to need is you're going to need four ones folded like this.
07:10 Folded in half, folded in half again.
07:12 It doesn't matter if they're facing outward or inward.
07:15 And we're going to have these like this.
07:17 And I'm going to put these in a pocket here where I can pull them out like this.
07:20 I want to be able to palm them out like this in my hand.
07:23 So, this just goes in my pocket off to the side.
07:26 And then in my wallet, I have the gimmick to bill with the five or whatever dumb animation you use facing out.
07:33 So, this goes in my wallet like this.
07:36 If you use a money clip, that's fine as well.
07:40 So, that goes there.
07:41 So, you go up to somebody and you say, "Here's a pack of gum."
07:43 And they say, "Oh, it's like a dollar and three cents," which would be very strange.
07:48 And you're like, "Okay, hold on a second."
07:49 You reach in your pocket, searching, and now I'm going to palm out these bills.
07:53 It's like, "Oh, hold on."
07:54 And I go for my wallet, open up my wallet and pull out.
07:57 It's like, "Oh, I only have a five."
08:00 "That's okay. Hold on a second. I'll just make change."
08:04 And now you're going to do the change, which is like this without the bills in my hand.
08:09 You're going to push this as you pull it across.
08:13 So, it looks like this in slow motion, like this.
08:19 This is what's going on right there.
08:21 That's the change effectively.
08:24 And one thing with all the other bills, this really isn't that big a deal.
08:28 If you ever just do the change by itself, which you can do, you can come here and change it like that.
08:33 One of the biggest problems you can have is you can flash the buckle here.
08:37 If your hand starts too far off to the side, so it's actually better to start a little further over and not over here.
08:43 You want to start right where this fold is, like this, because you're going to push this under your fingers anyway.
08:49 So, you come here like that.
08:51 That's just one way to do the bill change.
08:53 But what's happening is you're holding out all these bills here.
08:57 And so, you're going to do the exact same thing.
09:00 And as you do it, you're going to just work the bills out of your hand like this.
09:05 And now you can fold it and show it's also a one, like that.
09:09 And now, after you do the bill break move, you can say, "Oh, there you go, $2."
09:13 And the look on their face should be priceless.
09:16 There's a number of different changes you can do with this, aside from the basic one where you strip off all of the ones.
09:28 The original reason this was created was I wanted something--
09:31 I was in a traveling side show and I wanted to just do some magic people would understand.
09:35 The original routine went like this.
09:37 I would come out and I would say--
09:39 You know, it's funny. A lot of people say to me, "Oh, can you turn a 1 into a 100?"
09:43 I'm like, "Look, if I could wave my hand over money and change it into something else, I totally would, but I can't.
09:47 So, don't ask me."
09:48 And that was the original routine.
09:50 And that is, of course, doing the change from here to here, just swiping your hand across like I taught a little bit ago.
09:56 And then there's this change, the shake change.
09:59 What's happening is I'm pushing this off, and the flick is causing this to rotate to the other side like that.
10:05 So, you've got it like that, and you can just kind of wave it, and it changes like this.
10:09 And you can do it nice and fast, a little bit slow.
10:11 You don't want to do it like-- Don't do this, because that's a little suspicious.
10:15 Just one or two little shakes, and closing it works great.
10:18 And then you can show it on all sides like this, and then put it away.
10:22 And those are the-- That's the original routine.
10:25 The new routine is breaking a bill by holding these out in your hand like this, four stacked bills, holding out like this.
10:36 And what I do is I do the-- Wiping my hand across change like this, and I just let go of the bills, which really hide that flap.
10:45 And I fold this, and I start unfolding the bills.
10:49 And now you have a really nice visual way to do a bill change that makes sense.
10:54 It's motivated, which is probably one of the best things about this is, "Hey, I need to make change for a bill. I can do that."
11:01 Like that.
11:02 So, that is some of the alternate handlings and other changes you can do with this.
11:06 So, there's a couple of extra things you can do with this.
11:16 My friend, Jungle Josh, out in Vegas, and I have played around with this in a number of different scenarios.
11:21 He does a lot of street performing and gets foreign currency, which is very interesting.
11:25 The weird thing about foreign currency is most-- A lot of them are plastic and also different sizes.
11:30 So, he thought, "I wonder if I could do it with a different size bill."
11:33 And this is a 20 peso from Mexico, and you can sit here and change it to a New Zealand 5, like that.
11:41 But, of course, if I want to change it back, I just have to turn it around like this.
11:45 And the weird thing is this is a different size bill.
11:47 It's kind of hard to tell, but the 20 is about this big, and the New Zealand bill is a little bit bigger.
11:55 You can see the change in difference in size here.
11:58 So, the interesting thing about having a different size bill is it affects a different kind of change.
12:03 So, you can show this here, do the change, and because of this gap, what you can do is you can now turn this bill around,
12:12 and it's almost like a very visual instant change back into the other bill.
12:16 One thing he told me he had to do with this when he made it was he actually had to sand down the bill,
12:21 and he put contact cement on it.
12:23 So, the plastic money is a little odd.
12:26 If you can find different sized paper money and do it, it will work a lot better.
12:30 This bill, as well as another one that we made, has something extra in it.
12:35 Embedded in between the two bills is a piece of thin wire, much like a twist tie for bread.
12:41 If you strip off the plastic, you've got really thin wire inside of there.
12:44 And what he's done is he has put a piece of wire in here, which you can bend to kind of help keep it.
12:51 If you're afraid your bill is going to be the wrong shape or something, you can put wire in all the edges if you'd like, as well.
12:59 I don't find that's necessary, but it seems to help him.
13:02 So, that is just another kind of add-on to the bill change if you'd like to mess with it.
13:08 [Music]
13:29 [Music]
13:41 How's it going?
13:42 So, here's an idea using this gimmick that gives you a transposition kind of effect, if you will.
13:47 For this, you will need two bills that match the gimmick you're using, in this case, a $5 bill and a $1 bill.
13:53 And you also need a little bit of a modified version of the gimmick, as well.
13:57 What I've done is on the back, I've glued half a 5 and half a 1.
14:02 Now, of course, you can use this normally, if you'd like, as well.
14:04 So, when you go from, let's say, you have a 5, say, "Watch, I'm going to change the 5 to a 1," like this, and then you can close it.
14:11 So, now you can show the back, and it's a little more deceptive.
14:14 You don't have to do that. It's just an add-on. But for this, it really helps sell it.
14:18 So, you're going to need a 5 and a 1. You're going to fold up the 5 like this.
14:24 And I would do it where the numbers are not facing out. This is just the text and the building.
14:28 And do the same thing. It's probably a good idea to pre-fold the 1.
14:32 You don't have to, but it's probably a good idea to. And also, no numbers are visible at the time.
14:37 So, the $5 bill is folded up, and the 1 is unfolded.
14:42 I wrap it around the gimmick, like this, and the 5 goes behind. So, this is your setup.
14:49 And I start it out like this, with the fold on this side.
14:52 And I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but depending on if you're left-handed or right-handed,
14:57 it's going to depend on where your gimmick starts.
14:59 If you're left-handed, it feels more comfortable to do it with your right hand, or vice versa,
15:03 you probably want to start the flap on the 5B here, instead of on this side.
15:08 Just a little tip there. So, I start out with the 5 in between the 1.
15:13 Now, what I can do, I started out with my finger in here, inside, so I can easily get to the gimmick.
15:19 You don't have to do that, but it's a lot easier if you do.
15:22 So, you're going to fold open the 1, and you're going to fold open the 5.
15:26 Now, it just looks like a 1 and a 5, without any issues.
15:29 And I'm going to take the 5 and put the tip of this in my mouth to keep the gimmick together,
15:33 and holding the folded 5 behind the 1. So, this is going to go here.
15:37 For this sake, we're just going to put it in my pocket like this, so I can talk.
15:42 So, now what you're going to do is you're going to fold up the 1.
15:45 It's almost like you're doing a thumb-tipless bill switch.
15:48 So, I'm folding this up, keeping the 5 behind it like this.
15:52 Just make sure it doesn't separate or move out, because that's a little suspicious.
15:56 So, now I show the 1, and I would remove the 5 from my mouth like this.
16:00 And I'm going to put this in my mouth, but what's actually happening is I'm sliding the 5 forward
16:05 and putting this in my mouth while I'm showing the 5.
16:08 So, all the attention is here.
16:10 So, I do this, and I'm supposed to put the 1 here, and I bring this up, and I push the 5 into my mouth.
16:16 And I bring the 1 forward, hiding it behind the 1 like this.
16:21 I'll do it again for you.
16:23 So, here's the 1, here's the 5, and I come forward like that.
16:28 So, now I'm holding the folded-up 1 behind the gimmicked bill.
16:34 Now, you can do the change while holding the bill behind it like that.
16:40 And now that changes.
16:41 So, now I'm going to do a little snap, a little prover that the bill is solid and everything like this.
16:46 Boom.
16:47 Which transfers the folded bill from here to here.
16:51 So, what I'm doing, I'll show you from behind, is effectively this.
16:55 Now, be careful with this.
16:56 You don't want to push too much and separate these, so be careful with that.
17:00 But it's just a little fold, a little transfer like that.
17:03 And then you can fold this in half and show the front and back.
17:08 So, I'll remove this from my mouth, unfold it, and show it's a 5 like this.
17:14 And then I'll also fold it in half so everything looks symmetrical, so this doesn't look weird.
17:19 And that's a little transposition using the billbreaker gimmick.
17:23 And enjoy.
17:25 With this effect, you don't have to just use a 5 to a 1.
17:36 You don't have to just squeeze off, you know, this to this, obviously, like that.
17:41 You can also do a 10 and have 4 1's and a 5 mixed in, so you can squeeze that off like that.
17:50 I wouldn't exactly suggest doing a 2, like a 2 to a 1 isn't that impressive, but it does look kind of weird.
17:58 So, feel free to use other denominations.
18:01 You could easily use a $100 bill to 5 20's.
18:04 You can do all sorts of stuff. You're not just limited from this to this.
18:08 If you can find a foreign currency that is the exact same or very similar size to one of our currency, I would suggest doing that.
18:16 You know, it's like, "Oh, I don't seem to have any-- I just have-- I don't have any of your pounds or whatever, if you're in England, on me.
18:22 Let me just change it." Boom.
18:24 And so, and that, I think, would be a really nice visual moment for people as well.
18:28 So, there's some other ideas with the billbreaker gimmick.
18:32 [The Billbreaker Gimmick]
18:37 As I mentioned before, if you've ever messed with a easy money gimmick, $100, $500, whatever those are called, then you'll be very familiar with this kind of gaff.
18:46 The original one, of course, has a-- is more of a cross. It has two flaps on either side.
18:52 And so, this-- it really-- the real credit should go to Patrick Page and anybody who has ever messed with this kind of stuff.
19:00 So, and that's the closest thing I could find to this.
19:02 There's also another bill change that recently came out that looks similar but has a completely different working.
19:08 It's called the Devlin Dollar. It is a much different idea, but looks-- it looks very similar, but the workings are completely different.
19:16 But it does look good, so I'd look into that as well.
19:18 So, if you're into bill changes that are not folded and stuff, there's also the Infinity Switch, which Sean Fields put out.
19:26 And Lonnie Chevrie also has another bill change.
19:30 None of them-- none of these work the same, but they're all very visual and kind of cool.
19:34 So, if you're looking for open-faced bill changes like this, those are some other avenues you can pursue.
19:39 [Music]
20:08 [Music]
20:28 [BLANK_AUDIO]