Mystery of the Traveling Numbers

Performer shows a piece of red tissue paper on both sides and holds it to the light to prove that it is unprepared. He rolls this into a ball and gives it to a spectator to hold. Performer now takes a small white card and shows it on both sides. Then he asks a spectator to write a number of three digits, such as 342 or 569, on the card. Then in rotation, four more spectators are asked to write such numbers on the card under each other.

A sixth member of the audience is requested to add the five numbers and write the sum. Magician calls attention to the fact that the tissue paper was unprepared and that the numbers were written from free choice and the sum was not known to him beforehand. In spite of all this, he causes the numbers of the sum to become imprinted on the tissue paper. The spectator who has been holding ball of tissue paper is asked to unroll it, and the numbers of the sum are found written there in black ink.