"The Mysterious Puzzle of The Missing Dollar Bill" book
by Nicholas Einhorn
Suggested Retail USD$20.00
Available from your favorite dealer
In a Blink: 10 Out of 10

"The Mysterious Puzzle of The Missing Dollar Bill", a booklet by Nicholas Einhorn, takes a simple math puzzle and makes it magical in a paradox-creating, mentally-binding, and wonderfully entertaining routine that throws logic out the window.

Okay, okay, so I'm a sucker for utilizing math puzzles and paradoxes as presentational hooks for magic effects. Give me a good paradox with some clean handling and I'm in Happy Land. Einhorn has done just that here and done it exquisitely well.

Let's start by looking at the puzzle. This is an old one, and has been presented under various guises. The version taught here begins with a waiter and three diners and goes like this:

Three diners finish their meal and the waiter gives them the bill, which is $30. Naturally, the diners divide the bill into thirds, and each diner gives the waiter $10. Later, the waiter realizes he's made a grave mistake: the check should have been $25, not $30. The waiter, being a paragon of honesty, returns the $5 to the men, who each keep $1 and tip the waiter $2 for his honesty.

So here's the problem: Each diner paid $10, then was given $1 back, meaning each paid $9, meaning that all together the diners paid $27. They tipped the waiter $2 for being honest. $27 + $2 = $29. They originals paid $30. So where's the missing dollar?

That's the presentation, really, because the next step is for the performer to whip out the bills and go through the puzzle with the bills in hand - and show that there really is a missing bill. Another bill is added, the paradox repeated, and yet that bill apparently disappears as well.

I really enjoy doing this routine. It's quick and still playfully entertaining. It packs small and fits right in my wallet. There is a reset, but it takes a few second at most. The best part is it fits into a variety of other "money magic" routines easily with just a bit of thought. "The Mysterious Puzzle of The Missing Dollar Bill" is a motivator in more ways than one.

I know what you're thinking: spectators won't get the puzzle. They don't, to be honest, when you just tell them the puzzle. But when you break out the bills and show them the bill going bye-bye, then turn around and do it again with a freshly-added bill, oh, boy, do they get it. And it fries them.

I could go on and on about this one, but it all boils down to this: this plays very well and entertains as well as it confounds. With so much going for it, this one is a keeper. I don't leave home without it.

This one gets a well-earned "highly recommended".

"The Mysterious Puzzle of The Missing Dollar Bill" book by Nicholas Einhorn"
In a Blink: 10 Out of 10

Material: 10
A great (and simple) little trick with an engaging presentation that doesn't involve playing cards: what's not to love about this one?

Practicality: 10
Handing the bills out of examination is a no-no, but this is easily dealt with. A bigger issue, and, again, easily dealt with, is this plays great for smaller audiences (we're talking a handful of people here) but can be less than entertaining for larger groups. All in all, these are minor things and don't affect the performance that much, when prepared for them.

Quality: 10
This is a high-quality effort all the way around: the writing style is fantastic, the booklet itself is extremely well put together… this is the goods.

Presentation: 10
And now we get to the part that really makes this worthwhile. This old "paradox" is the perfect setting for this trick, and vice versa. Essentially a sucker trick with the sucker out of the picture, this plays very, very entertainingly.

Shane

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