USDA seemingly "impossible" book test.
George Arrowsmith wrote:
A worthwhile exercise for a Mentalist is to set himself a problem that seems unsolvable and to wrestle with it, and to go on wrestling until a possible (and practical) solution is found. "All things are possible to him who keeps on trying" …In this manuscript Arrowsmith explains in detail his practical and tested solution to this problem. What is better, to perform this marvel all you need are a few books and a normal pencil. Truly an excellent effect with a devilish method.Here, then, is such a problem that occurred to the author. A word had to be chosen from a book, one of several, and all of them had to be genuine and unfaked in any way. The word was to be freely selected from any line on any page of the book. This word had to be encircled by the pencil and the book closed. The pencil was then to be handed to the demonstrator who would discover the word in a standard dictionary and draw a circle around it similar to that of his helper to whom it is handed and, if all has gone well, he should find the word to be identical with the one that he secretly marked. At this point he should be able to examine the dictionary to satisfy himself that it had not been faked in any way. Then, as a finale, the Mentalist should be able to give a correct impression of the whole line in which the word occurred…"
