LemoNegg by Jeremy Pei | Stage / Parlor | SEO MAGIC

A highly entertaining and logical presentation for the classic bill in lemon plot.

(The LemoNegg Routine:)
A spectator is invited up on stage, to join you on an imaginary trip to the supermarket. A bill is borrowed and signed (or its serial number being noted down for verification later) and is placed into a purse, which is handed to the spectator for safekeeping.

You then explain that you have already made a prediction, of what you think the spectator will imagine buying on this trip. A sealed, brown grocery bag is displayed and you ask that the spectator looks away as you show the rest of the audience the predicted item. The item is seen by everyone to be an egg; it is placed back into the bag, the bag is resealed and then placed on a table in full view at all times.

The spectator turns back around and you take out a set of cards, which you explain shows various items that one can readily purchase from the supermarket. As the cards are shown to the audience one after the other, it is seen that all of the cards are actually “EGG” cards! The entire audience laughs along as you name different items as each card goes by, giving the spectator the impression that it is actually a fair choice, and you tell the spectator to call out stop when they please. They do, their apparently “fair” selection is shown to them and they are asked to guess how much this item would cost at the supermarket, all this while getting laughs from the audience.

They are then asked to announce the item that they have purchased, to which they reply, “LEMON”. To everyone’s surprise, they turn the card around and it shows a big yellow Lemon! You then immediately open the grocery bag, tip out the contents, and out rolls a lemon! The bag is torn open and shown to be completely empty, to a round of applause.

Next, you ask that the spectator deducts the cost of the lemon as mentioned earlier, from the denomination of the bill in the purse, claiming that now the exact change has somehow miraculously appeared in the purse. However, when the purse is opened, it is shown to be empty! You explain that this is because the lemon that they have chosen is actually worth $50 (or whatever bill they’ve loaned you).

Just as everyone thinks that this is one really expensive lemon, you suggest that it is actually the contents of the lemon that is worth that much. You proceed to cut open the lemon and inside is found the actual borrowed bill!