I've never seen this trick performed, but I wonder if it gets great reactions or not. Here is the effect:

"The performer invites members of his audience to call out any date they like; Upon hearing the date, the performer gives the exact day of the week that that date falls on and delivers his reply within seconds"

The only version that I know of this trick is in Corinda's mentalism book. However, the mental calculations needed are quite complex, and I wonder if there has not been an easier version released since Corinda's book.

What a good question.
I tried to teach myself this effect too, but just found the maths too difficult when under pressure ... but I have a feeling that there won't be an easier way ?

Well, there is an easier method if you would settle for a different kind of an effect.

In one of my routines I combine this trick with 2 other tricks.
I start by reading the sign of the spectator. The "What's my sign?" effect (of course I had to translate it to Hebrew... but it turned out even better).
I than go deeper and try to hit on the exact day of the month. (NW)
And finally I tell the spectator the day of the week that her birthday falls on this year.

The reasoning behind this is that first I read the sign which may seem not so hard. Then I read the day of month in a direct impossible way and that streangthens the first effect a bit and then I can proceed in two different ways.

With the sign and the day of month I can tell the exact date (but I don't mention this). If the date has passed already this year then I ask the spectator if she remembers the day her birthday fell on this year, if she does, I read it and finish.

If she doesn't remember the day of week her birthday fell on or if she haven't had her birthday yet this year I mention that most people get to browse the calendar and look for their birthday. They may not remember the exact day, but their subconsious does. I am now going to try the hardest stuiff and read the information from her subconsious. And I do.

Anyway, the calculation is WAY easier if you know the exact year in advance. You can also make it a bit easier if you use the day number modulo 7 instead of the whole day number.

While I use it in day to day life, as opposed to a formal performance, I've received great reactions when doing it.

I've written an entire online article on the Calendar Feat, including little-known shortcuts and related feats that you might enjoy.

There was a version in the Nelson series of booklets, and there have been other versions but cannot recall the details. I believe Les Johnson in Sheffield had a good one.

Paul.

Scott,
Thanks for the article.
It was very fascinating.

I also started browsing the rest of the articles and all of it seems so great! Especially when I am going to read Harry Lorayne How to have a super power memory in a while.

Thanks again!

I really think this effect is excelelnt, but have also often wondered whether there was a simpler solution to the problem as my mental gymnastics is not very good at all.

Best,
Kennedy

The one problem I've seen with this effect is that many people do not recall the actual days a certain date fell on, including their own birthdate so it becomes a problem proving you are right. Of course, you could carry a large calendar to prove you are right.

Greg

Mishel,

That is a great routine, indeed. It makes sense, is well build and uses a variety of methods.

Did I understand it correctly that you apply it to the current year only? In this case, the math is substantially simpler and it requires minimal memorization of key numbers.

Greg, I considered that problem too. However its easily overcome (as I'm sure you realise, so I don't wanna be opreaching to the converted so to speak) by your presentation. For example:

"Its interesting how we remember seemingly useless pieces of information. You cant learn the stuff you need to know, the like formulae for an important exam, or the password for our computer files, but we remember things like the name of the perosn who wrote Harry Potter, the symbol for Pi etc etc. We all remember our birthdays, don't we? Don't we? (a laugh) Okay, but how many people actually know what day of the week they were born on?"

That would give a nice presentation, I think?

I like the idea of us collecting useless information, it makes for a great mentalism plot, and can lead top talkign about us picking up unconscious information. The directions this plot can lead to are pretty much limitless.

Best,
Kennedy

Kennedy-
you mention knowing the day you where born...thought all would get a kick out of this...
Info. on your Birthday here
http://www.paulsadowski.com/birthday.asp

Info. on your name here
http://www.paulsadowski.com/Numbers.asp

ENJOY!!!

I ended up combining two methods - just picked and chose what worked best for me. Definitely easier if you are only working in the current year. Also easy to remember the modifiers for key recent years - 2000, last year, and next year.

Banacheck also has a different method. I will stick with the formula-based method, but Banacheck's may be just the thing for you if the forumulas just leave your head spinning.

Also, to deal with the calculation-under-pressure and speed issues, I build the calculation into the presentation. Once given the date, I will name the day of the week for several different years and they can all be verified (carry a Palm Pilot for those who want to check or ask if someone has one with them). I start at 1900, then jump to a decade near the target year, then the year. Also do 2000, the current year, and finish with next year. I get more revelations this way and the presentation cues me to the math if it has been a while since I've done it.

- Greg Owen

Actually, you don't need that large of a calendar. There are only 14 different possible years (Each regular year can start on any one of 7 days, and the same is true of leap years).

I'll be releasing a memory course on CD-ROM soon, which not only teaches the calendar feat, but also will include an easy to use 8400-year perpetual calendar in PDF format to print out and use for this feat.



In my article (the link is above), I teach a short cut version for the current year. It can, of course, be done for any date.



You're welcome! Check out my blog and websites (links in signature) for more memory-related items. The Be A Genius* site will even test you on the Calendar feat!

Great sites, Scott

One “semi-impromptu” way to check if the day you calculated is the right one is by using the spectator’s cell phones- in many cell phones (as far as I know) you can update the date for any date in the past/future and the cell phone calculate the day automatically.


Itay

Sorry for the product suggestion BUT "You were There" does all the work for you to do such a feat.
PSIncerely Yours,
Paul Alberstat

In 1997 Karl Fulves published a booklet on the Sam Schwartz method called "Day For Any Date". It is a pretty simple version to learn and use.

I perform the day-for-any-date bit regularly in my
"human calculator" act. When I first threw it in,
I wasn't sure how well it would go over. The first
time I used it in a show, I was surprised at
at how well it played and surprised at how
many people were waiting for me after the show
wanting to know what day THEY were born on.

The confirmation part can be troublesome. With a
large enough audience, I can count on at least a
handful of people KNOWING what day of the week
they were born on. In this situation, I do
three or four of these dates and finish with
someone who DOESN'T know. After I give the final
day, I hand a book of calendars to someone in the
front row to verify my accuracy.

As Scott Cram has pointed out, there are only
14 different calendars. But I prefer handing
out a book with a separate calendar year on
each page. The checker can flip to the correct
page very quickly. Otherwise, they must first
look up the year in an index which then refers
them to the proper calendar.

I also keep a perpetual calendar on hand
in case someone wants to ask about a date
outside of the range of my book of calendars.
My perpetual calendar is of the type found
in most almanacs EXCEPT that I've
renumbered the 14 calendars and made the
corresponding changes in the year-calendar
index. The result: Nice orderly (chronological)
columns of years paired with a not-so-orderly
column of calendar numbers. (The almanac
indices typically follow a 1-2-3-X-6-7-1-X-
4-5-6-X-....pattern. Still a bit of a mix,
but not as mixed as my listings.) Yeah, I
went to all this trouble...and rarely use
the darn thing.

I was once asked by an agent if I was willing
to do an unusual job: sit in a lobby and
give people the day of the week they were
born on...as they filed past me to be
seated in a large auditorium for a presentation.
It was an insane thought since it involved
doing this for 31 busloads of people! After
the client was encouraged to do a bit of
math, they realized how unrealistic their
plan was.

The most unusual situation in which I DID
perform the feat: a memorial service
for a fellow who used to be a manager at
a strip club. (His memorial service
included a cabaret show featuring
several novelty acts.)

Stan Alger

Hi


I was wondering if anyone has a preferred method to calculate the weekday of any date...

With the development of tech, everyone can quickly corroborate the day with their phones; making it an even more impressive feat for the working Mentalist.

Best

Al

It's weird coming back to this thread. In 2007 I decided to learn the Zufall method and have been using it ever since.

By the way, I was shocked when I first did it for an audience. It plays really well. I would start with 7 different calendars all printed on single pages. Each page was a different year. I would hand the pages to the front row and have them call out dates and I would supply the days.

After doing one each for each page I would then ask if anyone in the audience knows what day they were born. It worked better than expected.

And, as mentioned, I think I would now have a few people open up the calendars on their phones and hit me with various dates.

I'm glad I took the time to learn the system.

Greg