Bill in Egg by Mark Traversoni

Mark Traversoni's Bill in Egg I was inspired to come up with this after buying Jeff Lee's Bill in Egg. I wanted a method for some routines I was performing on a regular basis. I used Jeffs method for a week and then stopped as the preperation was taking the best part of a day. With my method you will be able to prepare an egg in about 5 minutes or less plus a little drying time. !ou are going to need to in"est in a few things to accomplish this effect but if its something you would like to do its not a lot to spend. The effect: # note is borrowed and serial number noted it then "anishes later it reappears in an egg that the audience memeber places into a $ar shakes and finds the borrowed %&' note inside( Method: )he bill has to be placed in the egg before you start you make a fake for another note to make the serial number the same as the note that is in the egg and switch the note you borrow for this. How: # %&' note is folded * times in half and half again until you are left looking at $ust the small portion with the serial number on the bottom right corner of the rear of the note. !ou need to note how big this piece is as you need to make a copy of this small section and stick it to another note. )he small peice you copy needs to be a bit bigger than the amount in "iew so they don't see the edge of the fake when it's folded up. +ow you need to take the %&' note and scan that part of the note with the number on on your computer. It is actually illegal to scan notes but we are only copying the "ery small part where the serial number is. ,n an English %&' the serial number is on a white section of the note so all you are doing is copying some numbers not copying the pattern or images on the note. In other countires where you may be copying a patten off your note etc make sure you are not breaking the law in doing so. )o scan the note you will need to make a paper template to co"er all the note appart from the small bit we need because most computers will not allow you to scan the whole note because it is illegal.

!ou lay the template o"er the note co"ering it all apart from the bit you need and scan or copy it. )his small piece is then cut out and stuck with repositionable glue -so you can remo"e it and spend it if you wish. to another %&' note faking it with the number from the one you $ust scanned. !ou fold this faked note up so the number part is the only bit showing on one side -the edges of the small scan piece folded out of "iew. and put it in a de"ils hank' I use to "anish and switch the note. In performance you switch their note for this one and show the folded note to another person to "erify the number. )hey don't see it for too long so won't notice the fake. If you are unsure don't ha"e a scanner or are unhappy about the scanning process you can $ust call out the number of the bill in the egg instead of the actual number on the bill you borrow you can't ha"e this checked but it the flow of a routine it will pass by. )o do the switch and "anish. I place the genuine note in the hidden pocket in the hank and then say /we did not note the serial number/ I put my hand back in bringing out the faked note that has been held in the top corner of the pocket by my fingers all the time. !ou can sew a paperclip inside the pocket to hold the note if you wish so you ha"e an easier way you can grab it 0uickly on the way out. !ou ha"e the number noted and then "anish the bill in the de"ils hank a de"ils hank if you don't know is a cloth with a hidden pocket in. If you don't like the idea of using a de"ils hank you can switch and "anish the note howe"er you wish. ,nce the note has "anished its all presentation in whate"er routine you are doing that in"ol"es and egg being left at the end. )he & routines I use are making the note "anish as a laugh and then making them gamble to win their money back in a chop cup routine producing a ball an egg cup and an egg as final loads. or 1anish as abo"e and lead into 2te"e 3rice's ,melette 4oulette routine which lea"es you with and egg at the end. In both routines the spectator is asked to pick up the egg carefully and place it in a $ar put on the lid and shake it the egg breaks and the note is inside. I ha"e some tongues and wipes handy for the mess and a new note to gi"e them so I get my one back to use agian. %&' notes wash well under cold water so you can use it to put in the ne5t egg you prepare.

What You Need 2crew cap co"ers si6e 789 -see photo. # blunt thick needle -see photo. 2uperglue gel not normal superglue 2mall childrens paint brush 2cissors Emulsion paint for non white eggs 4epositionable glue

How to get the note into the egg )hats the bit you all want to know( Before you started this process you will need to buy some eggs buy them from a local shop as colours do "ary shop to shop. Look at the eggs and you will notice they are actually slightly different colours. 3ick an egg that is midway in colour or : eggs lightest darkest and mid;way. I actually $ust use a mid colour but really it depends how fussy you are because you now need to do to your local <I! shop and ha"e some paint mi5ed the same colour as your egg or eggs. )his may sound e5pensi"e but I had a sample pot of emulsion made up &5'ml for less than %:. )he good shops ha"e an electronic eye that will colour match the egg once they get o"er your strange re0uest you lea"e with paint matching you egg. !ou also need some screw cap co"ers the same <I! shop should ha"e them. )he type that ha"e a base and a snap on lid co"er -see photo. these come in & types a "ery thin or thick egded to the cap lid. Both work but I prefer the thin edge ones as they sit flusher with the egg but it does not really matter. !ou trim the top co"er off with scissors -ask and adult if you are under =7. discard the base lea"ing you with the domed part. I normally by biege colour caps but the colour does not really matter. if you ha"e white eggs buy white ones. +ow you need to make a hole in the egg. !ou will notice an egg is flatter at one end the end that you would naturally put in an egg cup this is the end we are going to use.

3ut the egg upside down in an egg cup so this flatter end is facing up take a thick needle it does not ha"e to be sharp a blunt tpye one will do or anything you ha"e that is thin and narrow a "ery tiny flat head $ewellers screwdri"er would also do as long as its thin and small in diameter. Be careful not to hurt yourself use a thimble to protect your finger. >old the egg and cup and push the needle through the centre of the flat bottom of the egg making a "ery small hole -again under =7's ask an adult for help. you now chip away at the edge of this hole making it a bit bigger forming a circular hole about the same si6e as the circular shape on the underside to the screw co"er you ha"e -see photo.. !ou now take the screw co"er and pace it o"er the hole checking it's about the right si6e if it is push down gently lining both up the circular part of the screw co"er will break the hole to the corret shape. <on't push too hard or you will push straight through the egg. If its not easy the hole is too small or the wrong shape. >a"ing pushed the cap into the hole you should be left with the screw cap co"ering the hole in the egg. ?arefully remo"er the co"er and put to one side. +ow fold up the genuine note who's number is on the fake so its shorter than the lenght of the egg. !ou now need to roll the note as tight as you can it will go through the hole in the top of the egg. 2ome yoke may come out but if put it in slowly not much should come out if some does $ust wipe it off and dry the egg. With a @A %&' the folding I describe earlier works well with the serial number showing you then roll the folded piece lenghtways. By doing it this way when the note is re"ealed they don't ha"e to open all the note to see the serial number causing a lot of mess. +ow the note is in the egg push it out of the way of the edge of the hole because we are now going to glue the screw cap o"er the hole and don't want the note to stick to it. 2uperglue Bel is the best for this -if under =7 ask an adult. put a thin bead of glue around the edge of the hole and put the co"er on holding for a few seconds for the glue to stick the cap to the egg not your fingers( )he note will be alright in the egg for at least a few days so you can do this prepertaion a few days ahead if you need to. If your eggs are white and you bought white screw caps you egg will look 0uite good if the colour does not match procced as follows. !ou can now paint the screw co"er only so it blends somewhat with the rest of the egg. When dry you now ha"e an egg with a bill in but the end will not be =''C e5aminable. )here are a number of ways of showing the egg one is to hold it at finger tips in one hand between thumb and inde5 finger your thumb o"er the screw co"er you can make a "ery nice display this way or you can hold by the sides of the egg with the screw cap facing you palm so the spectator sees all sides apart from the screw cap end.

)he other is during you routine produce an egg cup and then the egg and put it screw co"er down into the cup. #nother is 2te"e 3rice's roulette rountine where all the eggs sit in samll holder for the whole routine so the base is ne"er seen. In the last & methods during a performance the spectator can be asked to carefully pick up the egg and drop it into the $ar. By saying carfully they understand its fragile and will do $ust that without really taking much notice of it. )he other reason is that at this point they ha"e no idea the note will be in the egg so they are $ust putting an egg into a $ar. )hey shake the $ar and can see the note in the egg in the $ar. When shopping for eggs in the future take a piece of card painted with your paint to ensure the eggs you buy will be the right shade. If you had : tins mi5ed you will ha"e a good range to choose form. 3hoto below showing the blunt needle and screw co"er before trimming off the lid. It also shows the round recess which is the si6e of hole you need to make in the egg you can see the cap is actually bigger than this circle so it will co"er the hole. If you do make a mess of the hole you can use some fle5ible decorators filler which comes a tube like silcone sealant and use that to repair the egg around the screw co"er you then paint his as well as the screw co"er. )he neatness of the $ob you do is not that critical as long as the hole is sealed so the egg does not leak. With many bill to fruits you ha"e to co"er a huge hole with you thumb with this method the hole is not actually open so you ha"e a lot more freedom and co"er but you can still co"er it with your thumb as you would with the fruit methods if you wish. )his process may sound comple5 but once you ha"e e"erything to hand it really only takes a few minutes to prepare the egg. If I'm in a rush sometimes I don't e"en paint the screw co"er depending on the routine I'm doing making the process e"en 0uicker.