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(MENTA)LISTS
Alexander May
With presentational ideas by
Warren Thackeray
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Copyright 2013 Alexander May
Original front & back cover images courtesy of:
http://www.sxc.hu/prole/smashy
http://www.sxc.hu/prole/calchan
ll rights reserved. !his book contains material protected under international
copyright laws and treaties. ny unauthori"ed reprint or use of this material is
prohibited. #o part of this document may be reproduced or transmitted in any
form or by any means$ electronic$ mechanical$ photocopying$ recording$ by any
information storage / retrieval system or otherwise$ without prior written
consent of the author.
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Scene 1 % % % % % %
Scene 2 % % % % % % '
(Menta)Lists % % % % % %
((
CONTENTS
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The Dirty Little Secrets % % % %
()
The Prediction % % % % % *(
The Red Herring % % % % %
*
Full Stage Presentation 1 % % %
% *+
Full Stage Presentation 2 % % %
% ,,
!olunteer "s #entalist % % % %*
Sa$ety Net% % % % % % *
#ore %ord Possi&ilities % % % %
)(
For The Techno Heads % % % %
,'
S'ecial Than(s % % % % % )-
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SCENE 1
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!he mentalist now o9ers the envelope to this last
person$ and he removes the piece of paper that the
mentalist placed inside at the beginning of theroutine.
0e is given the microphone and asked to read it out
loud. t states:
!Tonight "e "ill play the ga#e o$ "ord
a%%ociation& '$ ' "a% ale to read #y a%%i%tant%
correctly a%ed on their an%"er% the la%t
"ord in thi% ga#e "ill e N*TE&+
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he mentalist is hanging out with a group of
people at a party and he suggests they play
a game of word association. 0e states that
he is working on a way to predict the outcome of
this game based on the characteristics of the
individuals playing it.
!
SCENE 2
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0e takes out a bunch of his business cards and
hands everyone a pen and a card. 0e asks that they
write down ten random words on the backs of theircards any random words that they can think of.
Once this is all done$ he gathers all the cards and
looks at all the di9erent words before mixing them
(-.
up. !hen$ he hands one card to each guest at the
table$ and turns to the rst person on his left.
0e asks this person to name a celebrity he would
take with to a desert island.
ased on his answer$ the mentalist writes a word on
the back of another business card$ which he folds up
and leaves in full view on the table.
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0e now asks this person to select any word on the
list he has in his hand$ and to name it out loud.
!hen$ the next person names a word from his listthat he can associate with the rst word selected.
0e might have di;culty to nd one seeing as the
words on the cards are totally random$ but
eventually he settles on a word.
!he next person then associates a word from his list
with that word 6ust selected$ and it continues until
the last person has chosen a word o9 his list$ as an
example we
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(Menta)Listsis a system created that allows the
mentalist to predict the outcome of a game of word
association.
We all know the concept of word association. One
person thinks of a word$ and then the next person
says another word that can be associated with it$
and so it continues. =or example: =rog >reen
pple !ree?3uirrel etc.
Of course$ these associations are pretty obvious. @ou
can also stretch the imagination for more unusualassociations$ which is what makes the game fun.
(*.
started working on the routine after a friend told
me over drinks one evening that he would be very
impressed if a mentalist could ask people to play a
word association game$ and correctly predict the
word named by the nal player.
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4 wanted to have all the words and cards e-a,ina.
&le$ unlike other e9ects where a few seconds of
inspection leaves the method blatantly obvious. also wanted to use only /ordsand not 'hrases.
4 No 0shing for the word or number at which the
word is located.
4 t needed to be a strict 'ure /ord association
ga,e4 somebody thinks of a word$ then the next
person thinks of a word that can be associated with
it. #ot a word that rhymes with it or starts with the
third letter or anything that can compromise this
point.
4 No $orces to start o9 with 4 the volunteers must
really have a $ree choiceof what to write.
fter many trials and errors$ nally came up with
the method you are about to read.
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ime to share. !he main secret lies in the last
two cards that the participants receive. ll
the other cards contain completely randomand unrelated words. @ou will also make use of
clever wording to keep everything on track. 2et
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efore the show$ you will need to prepare two cards
in a very special way. !hese cards will be called the
,-'M'N. CA-/ and the *-CE CA-/.
!hese two prepared cards are secretly added to the
stack and are the main secret to the e9ect. t
doesn
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THE PRIMING CARDAheld by second last
'artici'antC has two sets of ve words at
alternating positions. !hese words are all related totwo words on the second special card.
THE FORCE CARDAheld by 0nal 'artici'antC
contains two Gforce< words and eight random words.
put force in brackets$ as it is not a hard force$ but
works more on a subliminal linguistic principal.
!he two force words are NOTE and)O%.
!he words on the HDE#> ID1 are all closely
related or synonyms of those two words:
NOTE3Eoney$ Eemo$ Host4t$ Hiano$ Hen.
)O%30air$ Jiolin$ rrow$ end$ rch.
(,.
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MONEYHAIR
MEMOVIOLIN
POST-ITARROW
PIANORIBBON
PENARCH
NUANCEDIFFERENT
SINCENOTE
JUMPINGBOW
DURINGACTUALLY
GUILEPARTLY
Degardless of the word that is chosen from the
HDE#> ID1 the last person should always
associate either )O% orNOTEwith it.
,-'M'N. CA-/ *-CE CA-/
!he other eight words on the =ODI5 ID1 were
carefully selected and are virtually impossible to
associate with any other ones$ as long as you use
the wording correctly.
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Demember to write the two prepared cards in
di9erent handwriting as the two people holding the
(,.
cards are standing right next to each other and
might 6ust catch a glimpse of each other
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s you can see all the words chosen by the rst
couple of spectators have no impact on the e9ect$
as all the work is done by the last two spectators.@ou should always end up with either the word
7)O%8 or 7NOTE.8
(,.
CARDS ACROSS
!he two prepared cards are ready and waiting in an
easily obtainable place. While one of the partici4
pants gathers all the other cards and mixes them$
you secure them in a palmed position. When he is
done mixing$ he gives the cards back to you and you
start handing them out one by one to each person.
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0ere is where the 7move8 comes in. !here is a
classic magic e9ect known as 7Iards cross8 which
you can nd in numerous magic books. !he usuale9ect is that you count ten cards into two
volunteers< hands$ then make three Ly invisibly and
when they are recounted the rst volunteer only
holds seven cards and the other now has thirteen.
We will use the principle here and in the process
ensure that the nal two participants receive the
,-'M'N. CA-/ and the *-CE CA-/as opposed to
the real cards they wrote.
(,.
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s you get the mixed cards back$ you place the two
palmed cards on top of the stack$ with the *-CE
CA-/on top. @ou now start handing out the cardsfrom the end of the line$ meaning the last person in
line receives the *-CE CA-/ the person next to
him gets the ,-'M'N. CA-/$ the person next to him
receives a random card that was written on earlier$
and so forth. s you get to the rst person in line$you simply hand him a card and keep the remaining
two cards hidden in your palm. !hey are easily
ditched in the pocket as you remove a pen or the
like.
=or a more detailed description on exactly how to
perform the 7Iards cross8 refer to !The -oyal -oad
to Card Magic+ by 0ugard and raueM.
The eect o$ thi% procedre i% that "hile e4eryone
el%e ha% a card "ith rando# "ord% on the la%t t"o
people in the line are each holding a %pecially
prepared card&
(,.
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WORDING
Hreparing a proper script for the presentation of this
e9ect is 3uite necessary. s you go from person to
person$ you will be giving them subtle instructions
that will ensure a successful conclusion.
nstead of asking them to associate a word with the
one they 6ust heard$ they are told to associate
SOMETHINGwith the word they 6ust heard.
It 'lays a crucial role5 asyou /ant the, to
thin( o$ a 'hysical o&4ect and not 4ust a /ord*
On the nal card held by the last spectator$ there
are only two real ob6ects listed 4 the other eight are
abstract words. !hese two words are our force
words.
2imiting their choice to an actual ob6ect ensures thatthe nal person chooses either of the force words$
and doesn
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M!The -oyal -oad to Card Magic+ y 5ean 6gard 7 rederick 8rae
World ,li%hing Co#pany&
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THE PREDICTION
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s you will understand by now$ you will need
to make two predictions for this e9ect$ as
there are two words that can be chosen.!here are countless books and 1J1
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Once you are on stage you then take a piece of
blank paper and write the prediction for 7#O!58 on
it$ without letting the audience see of course. @oufold it up and slip it inside the envelope$ which is
placed somewhere in full view.
Once the nal word has been selected$ all that is
needed is for you to open the correct side of the
two4way envelope.
@ou can now o9er it to one of the spectators on
stage to remove the paper inside and to check
*,.
that there is nothing else inside. !his is 3uite a nice
way to remain hands4o9 from the prediction.
good idea is to mark one side of the two way
envelope so that you always open the correct sideK
STROLLING & CLOSE-UP
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f you are working in a more intimate setting$ you
may consider writing the prediction on the back of
your business card$ which is folded up and placed onthe table. @ou do of course need another$ similar
folded card already written with the other word
hidden somewhere$ ready for a billet switch.
!he reader no doubt has his own favourite billet
switch and am not about to reinvent the wheel.
!here are numerous books available that describe
ways to switch billets. ust go to the classics of
mentalism like Iorinda
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!his means that if the nal person does choose this
word$ don
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MAn ea%y #ethod to #ake one can e $ond in !,ractical Mental
Magic+ y Theo Anne#ann /o4er ,lication% 'nc&
: !Thirteen 9tep% to Mentali%#+ y Corinda ;oi% Tannen N&&C&
< 5ay 9ankey ,aperclipped
htt'366///*san(ey,agic*co,6detail*as'-7ID89:;
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THE REDHERRIN>
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hile cards are always shown openly to
the audience$ it might be a good idea to
utili"e another bit of misdirection to lead
them down the garden path. !he easiest would be to
throw in a red herring that can send them in the
complete opposite direction should they try to
reverse engineer the e9ect.
W
!he idea is to ask every person taking part in the
game a seemingly random and arbitrary 3uestion$
and then pretending that whatever they say has a
profound inLuence on your prediction.
*Q.
?imple 3uestions like asking them to mention the
day of the week they were born on or which
celebrity they would want to be stranded on an
island with$ will do the trick. Once you have these
answers you act as if they are very interesting$ and
now you are able to make your prediction.
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Dead through the 7?!>5 HD5?5#!!O# R(8
section to see how these 3uestions are used during
the actual performance.
While it has no inLuence on the routine$ if you play it
correctly you can convince the audience that this is
how you were able to achieve the e9ect.
Demember$ the main secret lies in the sets of words
on the last two cards$ so downplay their role and
make a big deal about your 3uestions and the
participants< answers.
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ix people are lined up on the stage to assist
you with your next miracle. !he rst ve all
received an index card earlier in the showand were asked to write down any ten random words
on each.?@ou gather all the cards$ have a 3uick glance at all
the words on them and then give them a 3uick mix.
!hey are now redistributed so that all ve are
holding a list di9erent than their own.
@ou now move to the rst person in line.
7!hank you so much for being willing to take part in
this experiment. need to ask you 6ust one 3uestion$
(,.
and need you to answer as truthfully as possible. s
that a dealB >ood. 0ow old were you when you had
your rst kissB8
70mm% was ( think.8
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7HerfectK !hank you very much. #ow we move on to
you madam. f you can$ please tell us which day of
the week you were born onB8
7On a Wednesday.8
Jery good thank you. @ou sir$ if you could choose
between a holiday on a tropical island or a 5uro4
pean skiing village$ which one would you rather go
toB8
7
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7>reatK have now asked all these people a 3uestion
which has given me enough information about them
to tell me exactly which choices they will maketonight. am going to write down a prediction on
here and place it in this envelope which am going
to give to you sir for safe4keeping.8
5verybody holding a list is told to hold it so that they
can see all the words on their card. !he rst person
chooses any word he wishes from all ten random
words and names it out loud. !he person next to him
then associates a word on her list with the one 6ust
mentioned$ etc.
Once the nal word is chosen and named out loud$
you can write it on a big white board for all to see.
s an example$ let
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erforming (Menta)Lists on a stage or plat4
form is going to re3uire you to bring a certain
number of people on stage. 0ere is an idea to
make use of this fact and turn it into a full stage
routine.
Hf you can blend two good e9ects into one Lowing
routine$ you can get a good amount of stage time
and entertainment value in one go.
ST">E PRESENT"TION2
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What is described here is 6ust one concept that the
reader may nd useful$ or may inspire other routines
featuring (Menta)Lists.
(,.
n this routine$ the lists are already made and they
will not write their own words. While this might take
away the impromptu feeling of the original routine$
you will make up for it by adding more layers of
deception.
5ight people are invited to 6oin you on stage. !hey
are lined up to ll the stage from left to right. !he
person on the far left is asked to mix up eight big
envelopes that each has a large 3uestion mark on
the front.
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While he is busy with that$ you ask each of the other
participants to name any celebrity they would like to
invite to dinner. @ou now make a prediction based ontheir answers$ which is sealed in another envelope
and placed in full view on a table.
@ou return to the person mixing the eight envelopes.
Once he is satised that they are all mixed up$ he
hands every other person on stage an envelope$
keeping one for himself.
(,.
5veryone now opens their envelopes and is
instructed to remove its contents. nside they nd
one large laminated paper containing random words.
The re4er%e %ide o$ each li%t i% al%o a dierent
color to di%tingi%h the#&
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@ou now start with the rst person in the line on
stage and instruct him to select #@ one of the
random words on the list he is holding. Once henames it$ you turn to the next person in line$ asking
him to associate any word on his list with the word
6ust mentioned.
!his goes on down the line$ until the nal person has
chosen a word o9 her list. 0old the mic to her and
ask her to name it out loud. ?he says$ 7#O!5.8
@ou now point to the prediction envelope that has
been in full view on the table the entire time. !he
contents are removed and the lady is asked to read
what it says.
(,.
!Tonight =insert your name here> "ill atte#pt a
da??ling $eat o$ #ind reading and prediction o$
h#an eha4ior on not one t eight dierent
indi4idal%& '$ he i% %cce%%$l a rando# ga#e o$
"ord a%%ociation "ill end "ith the "ord N*TE@
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Not only that t he "ill al%o ha4e inenced
the rando# #ixtre o$ en4elope% in %ch a "ay
that the order on %tage "ill e $ro# le$t to rightB
.reen yello" red le prple orange "hite
and lack&+
!he eight people on stage hold up their lists with the
colour side showing$ and would you believe it all
eight colours in perfect order as predictedK
S S S
!he working is pretty straight4forward and allows
you to concentrate on your presentation. !he
(Menta)Lists part is still more or less the same as
(,.
described earlier$ only dressed up and paired with
another great routine.
Obviously there is no need to secretly add the two
prepared cards anymore$ as they are in play right
from the start.
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!he mixing procedure followed by the person
shuTing is obviously controlled. n other words$
regardless of how well the envelopes are seeminglymixed$ the outcome is always the same.
!he classic books of card magic are full of these
false shuTes and counts$ which can easily be
adapted to envelopes.
One very practical example would be the 9"indle
9"itchby Haul Iurry Aoften referred to as /eal or
9"itchC. t can be found in Haul Iurry
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f you are a fan of the 7?pectator as Eind Deader8
ploy you can easily adapt (Menta)Listsand fry
their brains a bit more. nstead of you as
performer predicting the nal word$ you can have
one of the audience members make the correct
predictionK#ow you are only the facilitator in the experiment
and you are endowing them with insane powers.
!hink of 1erren rown standing on the sidewalk with
a sign reading$ 78e a #ind reader $or 10p8 in one of
his rst !J shows.
!OL?NTEER "S#ENT"LIST
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(,.
!he market place is full with books and e9ects that
can make you achieve this. !he principles of dual
reality or instant stooging are used most of the time$
and as a mentalist you will undoubtedly have your
favourite ways of doing this. While am not about to
give away other people
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(,.
f you go back to ?tage Hresentation R( on page BB
you can also try the following variation which will
turn a member of the audience into a mind reader.
Thi% #ethod doe% notin4ol4e either dal reality or
in%tant %toogingif you are someone who is not a fan
of these principles.
Variation to Sta! Pr!"!ntation #$
s all the people who wrote a list 6oin you on stage$
you ask another audience member to come up as
well. !his person does not have a word list$ but you
explain that he will actually be the mentalist in this
game.
On the table in front of him are (- numbered pay
envelopes. n a few moments$ he will have to pick up
one of those envelopes. ut before he does so$ you
are going to ask each of the other participants a
3uestion and you explain that you want him to listen
very carefully to their answers.
(,.
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fter everyone has answered$ you move back to
apprentice mentalist$ who you now instruct to keep
all the answers he heard in mind$ and then pick upany one of the ten numbered envelopes in front of
him. !his is a free choice and he can really pick any
one he wishes. 0e is instructed to hold on to this
until the end of the game.
!he game of word association is played as normal
and once the nal word has been selected you move
your attention back to the person holding the
prediction envelope.
7?ir$ you heard all the answers these people gave
and based on that chose envelope number ,. 1id
you ever feel forced to do so or were you free to
choose any one you wantedB8
7 believe it was a free choice.8
7 would like to show you something very interesting
regarding the other nine envelopes left on the
table.8
(,.
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@ou proceed to open all the other envelopes left on
the table and show that they are all 5EH!@ there is
nothing inside any of them. @ou open the envelopethat the participant selected$ and inside there is one
folded piece of paper with only one word written on
it. @ou hand it to the participant to read$ and it is of
course the word 7#O!5.8
S S S
!his utili"es the old 7ank #ight8 principle$ which
can be found in books like 1arwin
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!ear open the top of his selected envelope$ stick
your thumb and index nger inside and take the slip
from the thumb tip. !he thumb tip remains insidethe envelope which you can crumple up and place in
your pocket.
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M!101 Th# Tip Trick%+ y .ary /ar"in 7 .eno Mnari 6odiniD%
Magic 9hop ,re%%&
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0owever$ if you are not somebody who likes to stare
fear in the face and laugh or simply someone who
(,.
does not like e9ects that are not (--U guaranteed$
there are remedies available to ensure your
prediction will 2W@? be correct$ regardless of
whether they choose the force words or not.
One method is to use a pocket index$ where you
substitute billets for the cards. Eany magic shops
sell these and you can also nd instructions on how
to construct your own in the book 7,ractical Mental
Magic8 by !heo nnemannM.
t would be a very simple matter to obtain the
correct billet from the index and switch it out with
the original prediction via a billet switch.
Haul rook also has an e9ect called GFnderhanded31iamond$ 1oorbell$ !elephone$ ?phere$
ewelry.
ROC@3oulder$ Ioncert$ Eeteorite$ >uitar$ Hebble.
ROPE3not$ #oose$ ?kip$ #ylon$ 2ine.
While wouldn
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FOR THE TECHNOHE"DS
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f you are a fan of using technology in your
perfor4mances$ the following idea might be of
interest to you.
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nstead of having the prediction written on the back
of a business card or the like$ why not have it
printed as a XD Iode on your cardB
Once the last person has selected a word$ some4
body scans the XD Iode that has been in full view
the entire time$ which redirects to a dedicated page
on your Ahopefully mobile friendlyC website. On that
page they will nd the word as chosen by the last
(,.
person% perhaps even a short video of you making
the predictionK
!here are a bunch of free XD Iode >enerators
available on the net$ so once you have your
prediction ready simply type it in there and you are
sorted.
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CREDITS
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SPECI"LTH"N@S
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big thank you to everyone who assisted in
the creation of the e9ect$ especially Warren
!hackeray who very generously contributed
his ideas. word of thanks as well to ubrey de Wet
and of course to everyone else have bugged whileironing out the e9ect.
Hlease do get in touch and share your thoughts and
ideas regarding (Menta)Lists with me. Ey inbox is
always openK
lexander Eay
ale-anderAale-ander.,ay*co,
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