Tuesday, June 09, 2015

abracadabra /abrəkəˈdabrə/

Magician/entertainer Penn Jillette (of Penn and Teller fame) tells a story of his meeting prestigious pick-pocket Apollo Robbins for the first time. He concedes that pick-pockets are considered low on the trickster totem pole, maybe a step up from ventriloquists but that Robbins is possibly the best ever.

At a magicians convention they were seated at the same table and Penn repeatedly tried to goad Robbins into performing a trick for them. Finally Robbins conceded and told Penn to sign his signature on a napkin. Penn pulled out his pen, put it to the napkin and immediately blurted, “Fuck you!” and slammed his pen on the table.

Robbins then pulled a small cylindrical object from his pocket and passed it over to Penn. It was, of course, his ink cartridge.


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