Transcript
Speaker 2: So you guys know that there’s nothing more magical than the written word, right. Well, I’ve got 13 cards here, ace through king, and we’re going to try to find each of those cards using only its name. We’ll even shuffle them up a little bit. Good?
Now, what’s the first card in that order? Ace, I suppose? Yeah? Let’s hope this works. A-C-E. I guess the next one’s two. T-W-O. Anybody know what comes after two?
Speaker 1: Three.
Speaker 2: Three. That’s right. T-H-R-E, what’s the next letter? E?
Speaker 1: E.
Speaker 2: That’s right. E. F-O-U-R. F-I-V-E. S-I-X. S-E-V-E-N. E-I-G-H-T. N-I-N-E. T-E-N. J-A-C-K. Q-U-E-E-N. And, of course, K-I-N-G. And that’s the world’s greatest spelling trick.
Now, we’re going to show you guys how that one’s done. Here’s how this one works. It’s actually what we call a self-working trick, because it functions using a mnemonic device. I’m going to teach you the mnemonic device right now. It’s a really simple one. In the year 387, right, 3, 8, 7, there was a queen, and she was 64 years old. Now, this queen, she had 2 sons, so she had 2 sons named Jack and Kevin, in the year 1095. That right there is the order, and that’s how you’re going to always remember what order these cards go in.
You’re probably wondering, because I was shuffling them up at the beginning, how did I do that. Actually, it’s a really easy thing to do, because all I did was the overhand shuffle, but I controlled each card. So, once more, the order is really simple. In the year 387 there was a queen, she was 64 years old, and she had 2 sons named Jack and Kevin in the year 1095.
That’s the order for these cards. It’s super easy to remember once you memorize that little story there. Then the trick basically does itself.
And that’s the spelling trick.
