Derren Brown's Telephone

[brahmsconcerto39]

Well first, I this is not magic (At least I think so). It's not an effect, just really a phenomenon (if that). Consequently we can discuss it freely right?
In the beginning of many Derren Brown episodes, a public telephone rings, someone answers, then in seconds, they fall asleep. Well how can this be accomplished? Well I have a theory (11? ).
Perhaps he somehow finds out the name of the person. If they are called by name in a public pay-phone, that might shock them. And then maybe he gives a lie about some startling news about a family member and they faint. I dont know.....he is very hush hush about any material he does on TV.
And perhaps they don't even stay asleep that long. Maybe less than a minute. And of course, he might just talk them into a state of sleep very quickly.

Feel free to delete this if my assumptions were wrong!

 

[The Dark Angel]

I think that it is extremely advanced mentalism.
Other than that, I don't really know how he could do it.

 

[y2john]

He explains how he accomplishes this in an episode...

 

[discjockey]

It's accomplished via hypnosis. It's not so difficult, granted you have suggestable subjects.

What we dont see on TV are all the people he failed with when trying this experiment.

 

[Bill Fedrin]

He explains how he accomplishes this in an episode...

Which one? Cause I've seen 'em all and I don't remember him revealing it.

As for how he accomplishes it, brahmsconcerto39, I can pretty much guarentee that is not how it's done. Kudos on thinking outside the box (certainly a creative idea!), but I'm fairly certain of how it works and it's much simpler than that.

 

[Kelek]

He explains how he accomplishes this in an episode...

He explains how he does everything in his show. But if you were to read Pure Effect, He explains that by giving up an explanation, he is in fact just satisfying the "how did he do that?" questions produced by viewers. He will almost never reveal the true way he has done a trick on T.V. for something that intense.

 

[DaveTang]

you know, he coulda just gone "listen, if you drop down and pretend to be asleep right now I will pay you 2000 dollars. just for a minute or so. right now, or its no deal"

 

[brahmsconcerto39]

Yes, I thought my theory was little complicated. However, having studied his work, he very well could come up with something that crazy. Very clever, that chap.

 

[Cliff Rusnick]

right off his site -

" All through the series, people mysteriously fall asleep in public phone boxes. Have they fallen prey to a disease or am I carrying out some trick of the mind on the other end of the line? There are two factors at work here.

First, the group of people subjected to the stunt are particularly suggestible. I know this simply because they chose to answer a public phone that happened to be ringing as they walked past. Most people would ignore it, assuming it was nothing to do with them.

Secondly, once the person answers, I immediately bombard them with a rapid set of confusing instructions and facts. I do this for several minutes without giving give them a break, then follow it by telling them to fall asleep. As seen on the shows, this works.

Public speakers often capitalise on the same response. Have you ever listened to a politician giving rapid-fire statistics so fast that the audience can't possibly take them in, only to end the speech with a simple, memorable phrase? The soundbite comes as such a relief after all those facts and figures that this is all the listeners remember."