lol, fine. FINE. You win. Maybe it's magnets.

Deorum, the only thing you got wrong was he's not checking to see if there's a nail in the chamber when a nail doesn't come out on the board before he shoots Tellers neck. He's checking to make sure he's out of nails.

You mean checking to see if there are any more magnetic nails stuck in the board amirite?

LBR - whenever someone tries to convince you that something is caused by "magnets" they are automatically trolling you.

I think they're using mirrors to hide the man under the table who's pushing the nails up.

this ffs

The internet has ruined magic tricks.

Just spoke to my blue-collar brother, who assured me (without watching the vid), that if you're not pressing down on the nozzle, and you're just shooting into the air, no nail comes out.

/thread

Homeboy just ended his own thread. **** ya'll.

*grunch*

Anyone who knows how a nailgun actually works doesn't think this is anything special.

For those who don't, its definitely a "trick"

There's a six minute clip of Penn discussing the nail gun trick on some site Charlie Tuna...link below but you can google it if you prefer.

http://www.charlietuna.com/2011/03/2...mentary-after/

Penn says in this vid among other things...

I'm saying it's a trick all the way through
The one idea that I want to get across is that tricks have to be safe


Anyone, even someone who knows how a nail gun works, who thinks there are real nails coming out of that gun during this bit is ignoring basic logic IMO.

This is the greatest thread in LoL ever.

EVERYONE is just owning themselves so very hard.

i agree with nuclear, anybody who has ever used or seen a nail gun is thinking this was lame, that we too can put nail guns to crotches or heads without putting nails into penises, or peni, or necks. however, penn and teller were probably right in thinking that most people in fallon's audience, and people on this site or thread, have never used a nail gun before

What he means when he says it's safe and he doesn't want to implicate the audience is that he keeps track of the nails (around 50) and confirms that the nail gun is empty by firing a blank before sticking the gun to Teller's neck. I would even bet that Teller has protection over his crotch.

Shooting himself in the hand doesn't implicate anyone because there's no "crime" in being stupid and injuring yourself. Like Deorum pointed out, he's cupping his hand over the end of the nail gun when he fires. Take two fingers on your left hand and apply pressure to the palm of your right hand. Do you cup it or flex your fingers out when trying to create pressure?

i cant tell if the ******s are leveling the ******ed or the other way around

"What he means when he says it's safe and he doesn't want to implicate the audience is that he keeps track of the nails (around 50) and confirms that the nail gun is empty by firing a blank before sticking the gun to Teller's neck. I would even bet that Teller has protection over his crotch."

yeah the last shot is pretty obv there is no nails in the gun the only dangerous one is the one in the middle...I'd guess teller could've been adequately protected
somehow were it to fire?

You mean the ******ed leveling the ******s?

Am I a ****** or ******ed in your opinion?

how is hulu the only source for this video?

a link to that clip for euros would be appreciated!

You are arguing against yourself. Magicians count on you not believing the lengths they will go to make a trick work. Which is likelier: that Penn practices for hours on end aiming an empty nail gun at precise points to make a trick safe, or Penn practices for hours on end memorizing a sequence/pushing the right amount on the end to prevent a nail from firing? It's the same amount of work, just one is completely safe.

When Penn pushes the gun to the neck of Teller, there should be no question in anyone's mind if there are any nails in that gun at all.

Regardless, some people refuse to believe until evidence is presented to them. Penn and Teller repeated the trick for a UK show called "Fool Us." Lining the clip up with Penn's earlier performance on late Night with Jimmy Fallon:




The nail patterns are the same (don't forget to take camera angle into account). I'm happy to post more screenshots showing the pattern of nails on the entire board continues to match exactly throughout both performances. Either Penn is inserting dozens of nails in the exact same pattern, or he is using a preset board and pulling prop nails out with a magnet.

If that still doesn't "grab" you (ha ha) maybe this will help...

Very impressive, thank you. And no, you didn't "grab" me, until you showed the exposed nail head here:



Now I can't wait to go back and watch the trick again.

Thanks.

In before much recanting.

Still not sure it's magnets, though. I'm thinking spring-loaded. Looks like a little right-to-left action in the slow-mo, like he needs to nudge the nail to spring the mousetrap. Just seems to me a better way to make sure all the raised nails stand at the same height.

Thanks for the correction--yes I meant the nails on the board, not in his hand. Although when I said camera angle I was referring to its position to the left or right of the stage, as the angle has an effect on the appearance of the nail's distances from each other.

You could be right about the spring loading. I would bet it's a combination of a magnet to pull it out, and the spring to keep it at the right height. Notice how he never tests the strength of the nails by pressing down on them.

Going back and watching again is great, it allows you to appreciate Penn's showmanship—and you also realize he always has his eyes on the board when he slams the gun down, ostensibly making sure he lines up with a nailhead!