I Always Get Stuck With The Bill by Scott Xavier

A magician stands before the crowd. He borrows a dollar bill from a spectator. The bill is given to another spectator, who is working as the security guard for this trick. The pseudo-security guard records the serial number from the bill onto a large dry erase board so everyone can experience the magic to come. A third spectator is given a paper bag and a knife.

The magician then asks for the bill to be placed inside of a small dish. The bill is dowsed with lighter fluid and then ignited with a barbecue lighter. The bill bursts into flames and eventually settles into a burned mess of ashes.

Once the flames die out, the person holding the paper bag is asked to stand up and remove what's inside. The contents of the bag is a single lemon. The spectator is then asked to take the knife and cut halfway into the lemon. Upon reaching halfway through the bill, something can be seen... It's a dollar bill. Once cut out of the lemon, the bills serial number is matched! It's a miracle...

• No thumb tip! No threads! No Sanada gimmick!
• Audience member cuts the lemon!
• You start and end clean, nothing to find!
• Lemon can be selected from several different lemons!

[Note: The primary new part of this routine is how to prepare bills with identical serial numbers.]

1st edition 2012, 8 pages, photo illustrated.
word count: 1458 which is equivalent to 5 standard pages of text