It is 10:30 in the morning. A man is walking along Regent Street in the centre of London. He stops and takes a large amount of money out of his pocket. He counts it and then puts it into his wallet. He bends down and places his wallet on the pavement. The man walks away.
Approximately six hours later, the man returns. His wallet is still there. He bends down and picks it up. He counts the money. It is all there. He puts the wallet back in his pocket and leaves the scene.
How can this be?
Put this riddle to your students and ask them to work out why no one took the wallet. Ask them to ask you closed questions (i.e. questions to which you can only answer ‘yes’ or ‘no’). Work on the grammar of the question forms.
Follow this up by showing students the above clip. The man in the clip is Derren Brown, an English hypnotist and sceptic. Get students to discuss the following questions in pairs or small groups:
- Have you ever found a purse or wallet in a public place? What did you do with it?
- How would you react if you saw a wallet with a circle drawn around it like the one in the clip?
- Why do you think the circle makes a difference?
- Do the think the clip was made honestly or is it possible that they cheated in some way or another?*
* I am slightly sceptical about the authenticity of the video. Regent Street is a busy place. Why wasn’t the wallet accidentally kicked out of the circle? Perhaps students will share this scepticism.
Wonderful little activity.
Left by Glennie on January 5th, 2010