Book 3 — Magic-Paper Fortune Telling
Reading edition
At outdoor carnivals and fairs there is usually a fortune teller who uses a glass wand to cause one’s fortune to appear on a pad of paper. Anyone may perform this trick by observing the following directions.
Instead of a glass wand use a long, narrow bottle of glass. Dip a new pen into copper sulphate, diluted with six parts of water, and write out the “fortune” on a piece of paper. The writing, when dry, will not be visible. Next procure two corks to fit the bottle. An unprepared cork is placed in the bottle and the other is pocketed, after hollowing it out and inserting a small sponge soaked in pure ammonia.
The bottle with the cork is passed out for examination. The cork is casually placed into the pocket after it is returned by a bystander. A pad of paper is then proffered and an initial is placed on the pad of paper by the person whose “fortune” is to be told. The paper is rolled up, with the prepared side on the inside, and inserted into the glass bottle. The fumes of ammonia will develop the mysterious message. The trick can be repeated if several prepared sheets of paper are on hand, and always proves of interest in a party of young persons.