“See the Weenie”

That’s what a section heading in this book I’m looking at says. It’s an old book on “skits and stunts.”

Most people are fascinated by this simple little-finger stunt. You can use it anywhere–from a situation in which a group of friends are clustered around after a meal, to one in a large auditorium where hundreds or thousands of people are seated. Each person checks himself.

What you do is simply raise your hands to eye level, put the tips of your forefingers nearly together, and focus on a distant object. An illusion of a frankfurter, floating in space, [between your fingertips] is created. The closer the fingers are to the eyes, the larger the weenie. To see it the eyes have to be focused on a distant object, not on the fingers themselves.

Frankfurter.  That’s a word we’ve given up on too easily. I tried it and it worked. I’m quite relieved to have found this. I’ve been wondering what I could do if I had to entertain a group of strangers in an awkward social setting.