Tuesday 8 September 2009

Lottery



Like a lot (a lot a lot a lot!) of people, I'm quivering with anticipation!
Tomorrow - 09/09/09 - Derren will be predicting the lottery numbers live!
Rather, he will be performing a feat of misdirection!
Apparently, Derren has been banned from purchasing a lottery ticket.
And William Hill have stated that they will not be taking bets on Derren correctly predicting the numbers.

So, given that Derren does not have the power of foresight (you really wouldn't expect to need to point this out right?), here's my prediction:
We're actually all taking part in an experiment*. (And a jolly exciting one too!)

Take a look at what's happening! The rumor mill has never milled so hard: the internet is positively smouldering with speculation.
If you fancy getting stuck in, check out the comments over on Derren's blog: All Your Minds Are Belong To Us.
He's also blogged recently about rumours and gullibility.
Derren's second special is titled How to Control the Nation, in which he will be investigating the world of subliminals and inviting us all to take part in an experiment*.
And sticking us to our sofas.



Zero Wing.


Google came forward to explain their ufo doodle. They claim to be paying homage to the 20th anniversary of the infamous Japanese game Zero Wing. The translations from Japanese to English were wonderfully mismanaged, and the world was gifted with the legendary t-shirt slogan: All Your Base Are Belong To Us!

Hey, if I wanted to control a nation, I'd certainly want Google on my side!

6 comments:

esruel said...

I predict that the lottery numbers will come from 1 to 49. Beat that, Derren Brown: all your base are belong to me!

solv said...

Crikey, it's a wonder you haven't made your millions already Esy!
;o)
Any ideas then?
First thing that struck me was all the verticals in the shot - lots of slightly odd brick and mortar patterns: plenty of places to blend the edge of a mirror or sheet of glass. And Derren's ginger route behind the podium added to my suspicion.
Clearly (I hesitate to use that word) the balls were switched. As Derren unnecessarily wrote the numbers down, an assistant had plenty of time to place the winning balls into a duplicate rack.
Clever part was the switch from reflected blank balls to correct balls. Check out the clip on youtube and you'll see the left hand ball rise slightly at 5:07, which is when everything was popped back into place.
Friday's show will be a lecture on Pepper's Ghost!
Any other theories?

solv said...

Lottery prediction on youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHZ2mQczkcg
Pepper's Ghost:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peppers_Ghost

solv said...

Also wondering if this was, then, filmed in two different rooms? Guy in long shot, with the large empty room, is not Derren?
Ah, this is how a good mystery captures the imagination!

esruel said...

Smoke and mirrors and a little bit of a messy production helped create confusion in the mind ;-) We were looking at a mirrored rack, I reckon, or as you suggest, maybe another room projected as part of the room he was in.
I mean, if he had predicted the numbers, why didn't he just put them on show just as the first ball was about to roll.
It was fun, though! Blaine roolz!

solv said...

Well, normally I'd disagree, but Blaine's show on Friday was infinitely better than Derren's. The disappointment across the nation is palpable: nobody's going for the wisdom of crowds/automatic writing nonsense.
However ... my son and I know a few cool card tricks where we pretend to get a prediction wrong before stunning the subject with our correct prediction. Misdirection.
So I'd say the experiment's going as expected and we're all being messed with ready for the big reveal in the fourth show. Plenty of people aren't going to be stuck to their seats this Friday, but even those people will have stared at Derren's psychotropic video!
Let's hope the finale is worth it all.
Budgerigar riding a tiny steam train!