How to Amaze Your Friends with Number Tricks

Scientific American presents Math Dude by Quick & Dirty Tips. Scientific American and Quick & Dirty Tips are both Macmillan companies.

There are tons of practical, real-world applications of math—building skyscrapers, launching satellites, programming video games and movie special effects, and running banks and stock markets. There are also tons of applications of math that aren't necessarily as practical, but are just as much—if not even more—fun. So today we're going to focus on this purely fun side of math and talk about a few number tricks that you can use to amaze your friends.

How to Perform a Number Trick With Years

Start by taking the last two digits from the year in which you were born and then add it to the age you're going to be at the end of this year. Go ahead and figure out what that number is for you. Again, it's the last two digits of the year in which you were born plus the age you'll be at the end of this year. I'm willing to bet that you got an answer of 111, right? How did I know that? Magic? Well, no...it's not magic. It's math.

This trick does seem pretty impressive, right? Since I have no idea what year you were born, it means this trick must work for everybody on Earth! Well, actually, it works for everybody who was born in the 20th century. If you were born after the turn of the new millennium and you do this trick, you'll always get the answer 11 instead of 111. But why?

How the Trick With Years Works

Here's how it works: Let's assume you were born in the 1900s. Then you can think of the last two digits of the year in which you were born as the answer to the problem 19xx – 1900 (where 19xx is your birth year). And you can think of the age you're going to be at the end of this year (which is 2011) as the answer to the problem 2011 – 19xx. Now, you'll recall that the instructions were to add the last two digits of your birth year, which we've seen can be written 19xx – 1900, to the age you'll be at the end of this year, 2011 – 19xx.

> Continue reading on QuickAndDirtyTips.com

Still Struggling to Solve a Rubik’s Cube? There’s an App for That

Solving a Rubik's Cube is an easy way to impress your friends, but you don't need to be a math genius to crack the algorithm. With help from this app spotted by Lifehacker, you don't even need to memorize any tricks.

The Magic Cube Solver is a free app for iOS that calculates the fastest route to solving a Rubik's Cube based on its current pattern.

To use it, start by inputting your cube's information by tapping the squares in the app's model and selecting the right colors.

© francisgonsa, iStock via Getty Images

Hit "solve" and the tool will display step-by-step visual instructions you can follow to complete the puzzle. The stages are all laid out together and each one comes with a picture of what the cube looks like before and after you make your move, making it easy to follow along. No matter what configuration you're starting with, Magic Cube Solver will show you how to solve it in no more than 22 steps.

The app acts as more than a cheat to a particularly hard pattern. If you're interested in boosting your Rubik's Cube skills, you can select the "solve and learn" option after entering your information. This not only shows you the steps to take to solve it, but why it suggests those steps in the first place. Rather than applying a one-size-fits-all trick to every cube configuration, which isn't always efficient, Magic Cube Solver will teach how to recognize different patterns and show you which tricks work best for each one. The ultimate goal is to equip you with the skills you need to solve any Rubik's Cube without the app's help.

Magic Cube Solve is available to download from the App Store for free. The free version only shows you how to solve the classic three-by-three square cube. Solutions for two-by-two, four-by-four, and void cubes cost extra. To learn more about the Rubik's Cube and its origins, check out our list.

mind bender

Simon Baker in the TV show The Mentalist wows the viewers with his cold reading and hypnosis to track down real criminals. Does this mean that there is science behind mind reading? SHALINI SAKSENA chats up self-styled mystifier and supernatural entertainer LIOR SUCHARD to tell you more

Could you give the notepad, he asks, and tells you to think of a number. You think, here comes the trick. In the meantime, he scribbles something on the paper. He then asks you to share the number you had thought of. Lo and behold! It is the number on that paper. What is new here?

After all, we all saw Patrick Jane, (Simon Baker) in The Mentalist using his special but fraudulent powers to solve crime. He studied the body language of the person to find out the true killer among suspects. Is there a science that allows a person to read minds and body language to predict things that common people can't pick up? Or it is just a fantastic trick by a magician to wow his audience?

Lior Suchard, renowned Israeli mentalist, mystifier and a supernatural entertainer, tells you that what he does is more than parlour tricks.

What exactly is a mentalist and how what he does different from a magician? Suchard mixes visual magic, mind reading, body language and keen sense of observation to influence people. Mentalists usually don't mix normal magic tricks for the amazing feats they do to keep their audience captivated. A mentalist will always dissociate himself from theatrical tricks that a magician performs on stage — like the Water of Ganga — the famous trick of PC Sircar Senior. From a small cauldron, at the beginning of the show, he would pour water into a basin. All through his performance, he would pour water from that cauldron, till the end of the show. The water never ran out!

The 39-year-old is in India after a long gap and there is a reason. "It has been a few years. There was a time when I used to visit often. Then I stopped. This visit comes after a long wait. To begin with, I used to come here often, do tours — visit 20 cities. After doing many shows, I collaborated with Ace Production and created a big show. But then I went away on a break. I am back now. I was supposed to come earlier, but was busy with other performance the world over but I had a window of time for this trip and created three shows — one in Delhi and two in Mumbai. Everything this time is new — the acts and crazy interactive sessions. We also wanted to combine this show which would benefit children as well. We are helping Create Foundation, I will interact with children and have a fun-filled interactive session," says Suchard who was in the Capital and staying at the Ambassador, IHCL, SeleQtions. He tells you that there is no such thing as a normal mind reader.

He decided to stay away from India as he wanted the market to miss him and also to keep his imitators at bay. Back then, when he used to visit and perform across cities, many started copying him and calling themselves mentalists, performing across India. What they were doing, Suchard says, was copying his acts. But he takes it in his stride and as a compliment. "If someone is copying you, it means what you are doing is good," he says.

"I opened the floodgates. I was always a mind-reading master mentalist. A mentalist is not a magician, I don't do card tricks, I don't levitate people, I don't do bowling tricks. I work on the mind. I know how people think. I use underground psychology influencing hypnotics, body language reading, non-verbal communication, extra-sensory perception, strong memory and mathematical skills to read the mind. I combine all these skills with my love for the stage and share an experience with audience participation," Suchard says. He goes on to prove he is good at what he does.

Pointing to a person, he asks how well one knows him. He asks him to write a name on a strip of paper and destroy it. "To get rid of the evidence," he explains. He looks at the person for a few seconds and begins. "When I look at the body language, the name that was written is that of a woman. It was a name that came immediately to you. The name you have written is uncommon. I am not sure. It has three-four alphabets, like a nickname but in this case, it is her given name. It is not accurate science; sometimes I make mistakes. But right now, the name that comes up is Mini," he tells you, leaving a trail of amazement. For Suchard, it is simple. He just observed the person and used his skills to arrive at the name.

"What I do is not a trick. What people think is real or not real, it is all part of the show. For me, the most important thing is for people to be happy, enjoy and have an amazing experience. It is not about believing or not believing. people are welcome to be sceptical; they can have fun with the show. If people believe, that's good. Albert Einstein said: 'There are two ways to live life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle'. If you are choosing that nothing is a miracle, you are  many doors. I don't try to talk about power, it is about ability. I tell people in my show that everyone has the ability to do amazing things. One just has to believe in himself," Suchard explains.

Almost all mentalists say that they are not magicians and what they do is a different art form altogether. A mentalist on the other hand has a great knowledge about psychology of human nature and understand how people think. Instead of sawing women in half or making wild animals appear from big boxes, a mentalist tries to enter the most sacred and closely guarded place — our mind. Because of this, the audience experiences incredible things like bending of the spoon, like guessing the correct number that he wrote on the paper, like coming up with the correct answer every time the dice is rolled — all this and much more even when he is not looking at the person. One can say that it is crazy thought manipulations.

Magicians, on the other hand, don't hide the fact that that they are doing is a trick in a manner that entertains. The audience too understands that what he is witnessing is an illusion and what he is actually seeing can't really be done. A perfect example is the sawing of the woman into two and putting her back again. We all know that the magician really didn't cut her into two. But this doesn't mean that they don't mix a bit of trick with mind games thrown in for a good measure. Some of us have watched the TV shows of people like David Blaine, an American illusionist, endurance artist and extreme performer, who perform mind-blowing mind-reading stunts that leaves the audience in awe.

A special mention for The Amazing Kreskin — an American mentalist who became popular on TV in the 1970s. The story goes that Kreskin would ask someone from the audience hide the payment he was to receive from the show. If he couldn't find it by the end of his performance, he would not get paid! Such was his talent.

One is told that while there are many great magicians, there are very few – only a handful of people who are true mentalists. "If one had to think of a name, it will be difficult for people to come up with the name on the spot. Our world is very small. We are just a handful of people who are true mentalists.

His own journey began when he was very young. He tells you that there is no school that teaches mind reading – the high academics of mind reading. He is self-taught and tells you on a lark that maybe he should open a school that teaches what he does.

"It was a combination of things that he developed and learnt when he was young. He read a lot of books, travelled the world, he invented things and ideas, met people from radical Math calculations to spirituality. What I do moves from accuracy, to Math to precisement to spirituality, meditation and Zen. It takes skills that I have into account and combines that with a lot of fun, humour and craziness that I love. I studied all this and mastered what I do today.

The mentalist has a cup of activities waiting for him once his India tour ends.

As of now, he has two TV series in the US with celebs. He is also in the process of developing a new show and going to part of a big talk show. For this he has to be on top of the game; he practices, constantly thinking of new ideas and inventing all the time.

Interestingly, what he does can be taught and learnt. "It is similar to playing the piano. If I learnt the art from a tutor for 10 years, I would know how to and be pretty good with practice. But it doesn't mean one will become Mozart. One can me taught. I have written a book — Mind Reader: Unlocking the Power of Your Mind to Get What You Want. It has been translated into eight languages. The book teaches a little about how one can influence others, to read people and mind techniques. I wrote it with the belief that people can be taught to do it. But there is a point up to which one can teach. Something has to come from within just like any other art form say like a sport. One can learn to play cricket but not everyone will be a Sachin Tendulkar. I take his name since he is a good friend of mine. You need to have that little extra to be right at the top," Suchard tells you.

Self-belief and hard work are important pillars for a mentalist. "Take risks is another aspect. All these ties together to be a professional and be very good at what one does. Taking risks doesn't mean putting oneself or others in danger but it means to do things that out of the extraordinary and think out-of-the-box. There a phrase – the difference between try and triumph is the little bit of 'umph'. One needs to really hard work to even put out the simplest of acts," he tells you.

He draws inspiration from travelling, meeting people and getting into a store. He tells you that the show that he is preparing for to be aired in the US, the act that it has were thought of three years back. I drew the ideas and then thought of combining it with a few things. Some of the acts that I showcase that takes years in process. For this tour, I have totally new ideas. The good part about this collaboration is that the production house and I have a good match, I am a high-end performer and I want everything to be perfect — from lighting to sound to stage. I prepared new acts that is going to blow the minds of the audience. Some of the acts are so big that it will involve the entire audience. In this instead of one person coming on the stage while the others watched, if the audience has thousand people, each will experience it and be part of the show. This is a rarity. It is tough to do as well. When one wants to be good at something — have showmanship, charisma, perfor mance and the acts – if one has greats ideas but doesn't know how to deliver it or if one is good but doesn't know how to put out the idea, in both circumstances, it is not good. One needs to have ideas and know how to deliver it. For this tour, I am going to dazzle, confuse and make those present happy at the same time," he says.

Dazzle he did. The act that involved the entire audience showed how optimism and the metaphor of finding love, everyone found it withing themselves through a crazy interactive experiment. There was mind-reading, mind influencing and predictions. Things moved with super high-end camera crew, lights, screens and sounds.

He tells you that what he does is 90 per cent real and 10 per cent trick. "I do tricks just to have fun with the audience. The 90 per cent is based on psychology and how the mind works. The human mind is the same. I don't know what one is thinking, I know how one is thinking. I can take advantage of it and influence the person. That is how I could predict the number and gave that name," Suchard says.

Even though he can predict what the other person is thinking, it doesn't bother him since what he does is used for the positive purpose.

 "I never think of negativity. Like when I came up with the name, the person is going to call her and tell her what happened and the other person would be just as amazed. I am a perfectionist. I am constantly improvising. Sometimes, I look at the place and change my acts. Sometimes, I improvise on the spot. This means that I change my acts depending on the people gathered. I love to invent new acts," Suchard tells you. He is the best in his profession, he insists.

One can't call oneself mentalist on a whim. One has to be a purist. Mentalist is a sacred art. There are many magicians making millions of dollars from their art. But many call themselves a mentalist because it is more prestigious. Being mentalist is tough. Some people think that being in the presence of a mentalist is scary. Charlie Chaplin said: A day without laughter, is a waste day. I laugh everyday and do the same for others," Suchard says.

He tells you that people are scared because they think he can read their mind. "I am very sensitive to people. It is hard for a person to lie to me. I am not hearing thoughts of people and that could be why they are wary, what I do is a process that I have perfected over the years.

To end on a positive note: Always have happy thoughts; one never knows who might read them," Suchard says.

Four Georgians’ Romano gets big thumbs up for mathematics magic

Learning math is a bit like magic, at least if your teacher is Melissa Romano.

Romano, a math teacher at Four Georgians Elementary, has found a way to use card tricks with her students, and in the process has honed cutting-edge techniques for teaching everyone’s favorite subject.

And for her abilities, Romano recently earned a Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics Teaching from the U.S. government.

The awards are given every year to one math and one science teacher in each state. The award is the highest honor bestowed by the federal government for K-12 in those fields, according the program’s website, and comes with $10,000 cash and a paid trip to Washington D.C.

Romano has been teaching in Helena for seven years. Currently she teaches math to all fourth graders at Four Georgians.

The setup is atypical, she said, but she has come to excel at math as her specialty, albeit unexpectedly.

Math was never a particular interest of hers (she once aspired to be a writer). However, she pointed to points â€" a teaching conference in Missoula and a magicians’ performance at another â€" that sparked her passion.

“I became in love with math,” she said. “Math is with us everywhere, whether in a magic trick or going to the grocery store.”

After watching the magician’s card tricks, Romano made it a personal goal to incorporate magic tricks into her lessons, after she learned them, of course.

The tricks are just one piece of her teaching, but one that helps develop students’ analytic skills, she said, and their ability to identify patterns.

Her inclusion of magic with math came on the heels of an earlier “aha!” moment in which Romano said she discovered that students could best further their thinking by utilizing what they already know.

She became more student-centered, Romano said. She started listening to kids more.

“It changed the way I taught, forever,” she said.

The traditional method for teaching math is easy to recall. Students watch the teacher solve a problem, then mimic and practice the technique.

Romano flips the method on its head.

×

You have run out of free articles. You can support our newsroom by joining at our lowest rate!

Loading&hellp;

Sorry, your subscription does not include this content.

Please call 800-523-2272 to upgrade your subscription.

“Here’s a problem,” she tells her students, “I want you to wrestle with it for a few minutes.”

Done well, the “productive struggle” encourages students to persevere and make connections among different problem-solving strategies, she said.

Students also work together or in groups, finding their mistakes and comparing solutions with one another. The instant feedback is often more useful for the students than the teacher’s corrections on homework, she said.

“I really believe I want them to make mistakes,” she said. “The only way we learn is from our mistakes.”

That’s one way Romano watches her students grow â€" by seeing them become increasingly comfortable raising a hand or correcting each other’s work.

We'll send breaking news and news alerts to you as as they happen!

We'll send breaking news and news alerts to you as as they happen!

“Nobody’s afraid anymore to make a mistake,” she said.

Her approach â€" a particular balance of learning concepts and procedures â€" aligns closely with the newly implemented Common Core standards, which Romano said she is enthusiastic about.

“I live and breathe those standards,” she said.

Romano was also hired this year to be part of a program, through education technology company BetterLesson and the National Education Association, that seeks to make available creative, Common Core-aligned lessons online to teachers around the country.

As one of BetterLesson’s “master teachers,” Romano creates and uploads her lessons to the website almost every day, where they’re free for teachers to access.

The program takes a lot of work â€" she needs to upload 150 lessons this year, and each must have a video component. Romano said she records video reflections for every lesson in which she is “brutally honest” about what aspects worked and which ones flopped.

It’s a method well-suited to Romano, for whom, like her students, math has been a process of trial, error and growth.

After Romano won the presidential award, her students wrote letters congratulating her. One student wrote that she didn’t used to like math, but said Romano’s tricks helped change her attitude.

“There’s not a math gene,” Romano said. “Wherever you are today, you can always get better. I’m proof of that.”

We'll send breaking news and news alerts to you as as they happen!

When 'math is accessible to any brain,' we can make better political, social choices, says mathematician

Mathematician John Mighton thinks we could solve a lot of political problems if we just learned math — and, he says, we can. (Chris Chapman)

Read Story Transcript

If more people were comfortable with math, they would approach politics and social issues in a more rational way, says mathematician and playwright John Mighton.

"We had a financial crisis because people didn't understand what would happen if their mortgage rates went up slightly," he told The Current's host Matt Galloway.

"And we have an environmental crisis because people can't add up the consequences of their actions because we're so afraid of math or numbers."

Mighton recently published a book on the subject: All Things Being Equal: Why Math is the Key to a Better World. 

Math teaches you "to create arguments, to look for hidden presuppositions, to see patterns, make inferences," he says.

"We'd have a much healthier society if people didn't immediately seize on the first explanation of an event. If they were trained in probability, they'd learn to consider all the possibilities," he said.

"And more deeply, if people were confident in their problem-solving abilities, they would actually think deeply about the problems before they arrived at an opinion."

The making of a math evangelist

Mighton, who is also the founder of JUMP Math — a Toronto-based charitable organization promoting numeracy — wasn't always a numbers evangelist. 

In fact, until he was 30 years old, he didn't even think he was very good at it.

But as a young, struggling playwright, he decided to pick up a side gig as an elementary school math tutor.

From early childhood development right up to brain scans of mathematicians, the research is suggesting that math is accessible to any brain.- John Mighton

He ended up discovering he loved the subject.

"It was a revelation to me that by explaining the math and working at it over and over at my own pace, things that were mysterious to me became easier and easier," he said.

Mighton realized that for years he had bought into what he says is a far too common misconception: that math is difficult and most people don't get it.

"We have to drop that myth because at all levels, from early childhood development right up to brain scans of mathematicians, the research is suggesting that math is accessible to any brain," he said.

Teaching 'scaffolded problems'

The issue, Mighton says, is that math tends to be taught in ways "that aren't really well supported by evidence in the science of learning."

For example, teachers and parents often try to teach problem-solving skills by starting out with complex, multi-step math problems, he says.

But math, he explains, is more like a ladder than other subjects: "If you miss something, it's very hard to go on."

If those initial steps are missed, not only does it become difficult to learn those more complex concepts, but even young children will quickly decide they're not so-called math people, he says.

"There's research that suggests as early as Grade 1, kids know where they are in the hierarchy. They know if they're in the inferior group," he said.

"Once you decide you're in the inferior group, you stop engaging, working, you stop remembering things. Eventually you develop anxieties by Grade 3 or Grade 4, and it makes it very hard for your brain to work."

(Submitted by Penguin Random House)

Instead, he says educators should introduce math concepts in bite-sized chunks, or what he calls "more scaffolded problems," and then gradually work their way up to tougher problems.

"The key is keeping the student in a zone that they can be confident and think," he said.

Mighton says he's been astounded by the potential of children when they're taught in this way.

He recalled teaching a class full of students with violent behavioural issues, "who were thought to be unteachable." Mighton taught them how to read binary code, and how to use it to do a magic trick. 

"They went nuts. They thought they were little code breakers," he said. 

On their third lesson, the children actually cheered when Mighton and his team came in.

"It tells me there's just this inestimable potential in children, not only for learning, but for a sense of wonder and curiosity."

"Kids enjoy doing math as much as playing sports or creating art if they're allowed to succeed."

Written by Allie Jaynes. Produced by Julie Crysler.

Artificial intelligence is now creating its own magic tricks

You might not have to be a professional magician to come up with clever tricks in the near future. Researchers at Queen Mary University of London have developed artificial intelligence that can create magic tricks (specifically, those based on math) all on its own. Once their program learns the basics of creating magic jigsaws and "mind reading" stunts, it can generate many variants of these tricks by itself. This could be particularly handy if you like to impress your friends on a regular basis -- you could show them a new card trick every time without having to do much work.

The best part? You can try some of these computer-generated tricks yourself. The 12 Magicians of Osiris magic jigsaw is available as a web pack, and you can download the Android component for one card trick, Phoney, from Google Play. Neither will give you as much satisfaction as developing tricks from scratch, but they're proof that computers can do more with math than solve equations.

All products recommended by Engadget are selected by our editorial team, independent of our parent company. Some of our stories include affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Looking for something to do this weekend and beyond in the Bloomington-Normal area? Here's the list.

Violist Nicholas Jeffery will perform during the Illinois Symphony Orchestra's Mozart's Sinfonia Concertante on Jan. 25 at Second Presbyterian Church in Bloomington. The symphony will also perform Jan. 24 at Springfield.

“Bandstand”: The Tony-winning Broadway Musical will be showcased at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 22 at the Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts, Bloomington. The musical tells the tale of six soldiers who return from war in 1945 to a changed nation. When NBC announces a national competition to find the nation’s next great musical superstars, they form a band unlike any the nation has ever seen. 

Violinist Roy Meyer will be a featured player for the Illinois Symphony Orchestra's Mozart's Sinfonia Concertante on Jan. 25 at Second Presbyterian Church in Bloomington.

Special events

Bloomington-Normal

Sixty Six Games Expo; Jan. 17-19, Grossinger Motors Arena, Bloomington; host: Bloomington-Normal Sports Commission; tournaments, clinics, contests, vendors; information at www.sixtysixgames.com; tickets $5-30; ticketmaster.com.

Russian National Ballet: "Sleeping Beauty"; 7:30 p.m. Jan. 30, Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts, Bloomington; $10-45; artsblooming.org; 309-434-2777.

Lula Washington Dance Company; 7:30 p.m. Feb. 15, Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts, Bloomington; modern dance; $10-45; artsblooming.org; 309-434-2777.

The Naked Magicians, R-rated magic show; 7:30 p.m. Feb. 21, Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts, Bloomington; for 18+; $30-75; artsblooming.org; 309-434-2777.

The Tap Pack; 7:30 p.m. Feb. 28, Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts, Bloomington; $10-45; artsblooming.org; 309-434-2777.

Colin Mochrie’s HYPROV, with Master Hypnotist Asad Mecci; 7:30 p.m. Feb. 29, Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts, Bloomington; $10-45; artsblooming.org; 309-434-2777.

Central Illinois

Shanghai Ballet: The Butterfly Lovers; Jan. 28-29, Krannert Center, Urbana; tickets $10-45, krannertcenter.com, 217-333-6280. 

The Illusionists - Live from Broadway; 6 p.m. Feb. 9, Peoria Civic Center Theater; magic tricks, death-defying stunts, illusions; tickets, $39-$69.

Dancing with the Stars - Live Tour 2020; 7:30 p.m. Feb. 13; Peoria Civic Center Theater; production features fan-favorite professional dancers from ABC’s "Dancing with the Stars"; celebrity appearances vary nightly but could include Hannah Brown from “The Bachelorette,” pop star Ally Brooke, country artist Lauren Alaina, comedian and actor Kel Mitchell, “The Office” actress Kate Flannery, and model Sailor Brinkley-Cook; ticket prices $44.50-$125.

Monster Jam; 1 and 7 p.m. Feb. 22, 1 p.m. Feb. 23, Peoria Civic Center; adrenaline-charged truck show; tickets, $18-$78. 

George Lopez; 8 p.m. Feb. 28; Peoria Civic Center Theater, stand-up comedy tour, The Wall World Tour; tickets, $49.50-$69.50.

Music

Bloomington-Normal

The Drifters; 7:30 p.m. Jan. 18, Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts, Bloomington; $10-40; artsblooming.org; 309-434-2777. 

Illinois Symphony Orchestra's Mozart's Sinfonia Concertante; Jan. 24 at First Presbyterian Church in Springfield, and Jan. 25 at Second Presbyterian Church in Bloomington; 7:30 p.m. concerts; featuring violinist Roy Meyer and violist Nicholas Jeffery. Tickets for Springfield through the UIS Ticket Office at (217) 206-6160 and in Bloomington through the Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts Ticket Office at (309) 434-2777. General admission is $20. Student tickets available for $6 (Age 6-21) with valid Student ID; senior discounts and group discounts are also available.

The Nostalgics; 1:30-4:30 p.m. Feb. 2, Miller Park Pavilion, Bloomington; $8; ballroom dance.

The Stray Cat Lee Rocker; 7:30 p.m. Feb. 8, Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts, Bloomington; $10-40; artsblooming.org; 309-434-2777.

From Broadway to Bloomington; 7 p.m. Feb. 15 and 2 p.m. Feb. 16 at Holiday Inn Bloomington-Normal, 8 Trader's Circle, Normal; Holiday Spectacular stars sing Broadway tunes; tickets $30 at pantagraph.com/Broadway, 309-820-3297. 

DaBaby; 8 p.m. Feb. 19, Grossing Motors Arena, Bloomington; ticketmaster.com; 309-434-2679.

Fourth Friday Gospel / Country Music Jamboree; 6:30 p.m. Jan. 24, Armington Christian Church; special guest: Danny Tackett; love offering; 309-824-6528.

Naumberg International Violin Competition Winner Grace Park; 3 p.m. Jan. 26, Krannert Center, Urbana; tickets, $5-$10, krannertcenter.com.

Still Dreaming with Joshua Redman, Ron Miles, Scott Colley and Brian Blade; 7:30 p.m. Feb. 1.  award-winning jazz quartet; Krannert Center, Urbana; tickets, $10-$50.

The Jupiter String Quartet; 7:30 p.m. Feb. 4;  Krannert Center, Urbana; tickets, $10-25.

Winter Jam Tour Spectacular 2020; 7 p.m. Feb. 6, Peoria Civic Center,  no ticket required, $15 donation at the door; Christian music’s premier multi-artist annual outing, features Grammy nominated singer/songwriter Crowder.

Step Afrika!: Drumfolk;  7:30 p.m. Feb. 6 and Feb. 7, professional group dedicated to the African-American tradition of stepping; Krannert Center, Urbana; tickets, $10-25.

Luke Combs; 7 p.m. Feb. 8; Peoria Civic Center Arena; ACM, CMA, CMT and Billboard Music Award-winner, country singer-songwriter; tickets, $25-$65.

St. Olaf Choir; 7:30 p.m. Feb. 11, Krannert Center, Urbana; krannertcenter.com, tickets, $10-35.

Somi; jazz singer, 7:30 p.m. Feb. 14, Krannert Center, Urbana; tickets, $10-45.

KISS, End of the Road Tour; 7:30 p.m. Feb. 15; rock 'n' roll legends cover epic and storied 45-year career; tickets, $66 on up.

Young Concert Artists Winner, Jonathan Swensen, cello;  3 p.m. Feb. 16; Krannert Center, Urbana,  tickets, $5-10.

Michael Barenboim and the West-Eastern Divan Ensemble; 7:30 p.m. Feb. 25; group is comprised of Arab and Israeli musicians in an intimate chamber music format; Krannert Center, Urbana, tickets are free but required.

Murray Perahia, piano; 7:30 p.m. Feb. 27, repertoire by composers from Bach and Beethoven to Chopin and Liszt, Krannert Center, Urbana, tickets, $10-33.SIBERIAN STATE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA, 

Siberian State Symphony Orchestra; one of the premiere Russian orchestras, 7:30 p.m. Feb. 29, Krannert Center, Urbana; tickets, $10-45.

Theater

Bloomington-Normal

"Our Town"; 7:30 p.m. Jan. 17-18; 2:30 p.m. Jan. 19, Community Players Theatre, Bloomington; $7-15; 309-663-2121; communityplayers.org.

“Bandstand”: The Tony-winning Broadway Musical; 7:30 p.m. Jan. 22, Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts, Bloomington; $45-65; artsblooming.org; 309-434-2777.

"#ShePERSISTED": New Play Festival; 7:30 p.m. Jan. 31 and 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. Feb. 2, Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts, Bloomington; $10; artsblooming.org; 309-434-2777.

“Waiting for Godot”; Feb. 6-8, 13-16, 20-22, Heartland Theatre Company, Normal Community Activity Center; $7-17; heartlandtheatre.org; 309-452-8709.

“Hit the Wall”; 7:30 p.m. Feb. 14, 18-22; 2 p.m. Feb. 15, 16, 22, Westhoff Theatre, Illinois State University, Normal; $10-12; www.ticketmaster.com/venue/57369; 309-438-2535.

“The Last Days of Judas Iscariot”; 7:30 p.m. Feb. 19-22, 2 p.m. Feb. 22, The Jerome Mirza Theatre, McPherson Hall, Illinois Wesleyan University, Bloomington; iwu.edu/theatre; 309-556-3232.

“1984”; 7:30 p.m. Feb. 22, Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts, Bloomington; by Aquila Theatre; $10-35; artsblooming.org; 309-434-2777.

"The Choir of Man"; 7:30 p.m. Feb. 26, Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts, Bloomington; $20-50; artsblooming.org; 309-434-2777.

"Book of Mormon"; 7:30 p.m. Jan. 22 and 23; 8 p.m. Jan. 24; 2 and 8 p.m. Jan. 26 and 1 p.m. Jan. 26; Peoria Civic Center Theater.

“Waitress," musical; 8 p.m. Feb. 14; University of Illinois at Springfield Performing Arts Center; $24-89.

Anna Deavere Smith; Feb. 18-19, Krannert Center, Urbana; krannertcenter.com, 217-333-6280; full season at krannertcenter.com; tickets, $10-45.

“Waitress," musical; 1 and 6:30 p.m. Feb. 16, Peoria Civic Center Theater; tells story of Jenna, an expert pie maker who dreams of a way out of her small town; tickets, $42-$59. 

Nightlife

Bloomington-Normal

×

We can't do it without you. Support local journalism with our BEST DEAL EVER!

Loading&hellp;

Thanks for being a subscriber. Sorry, your subscription does not include this content.

Please call 855.264.2511 to upgrade your subscription.

Pete Jive, Devin Williams; 7:30 p.m. Jan. 16, Nightshop, Bloomington; folk, Americana, blues; $6; all ages until 10 p.m.

Troublemaker; Jan. 16, Jazz Upfront, Bloomington.

Harvest Sons; Jan. 17, Jazz Upfront, Bloomington.

The Bygones; 6 p.m. Jan. 17, Cheeks, Bloomington; no cover.

Blue Hares; 6-9 p.m. Jan. 17, Ride the Nine/Shooters Lounge, Bloomington; DJ Travis, 9 p.m.-2 a.m.

Femme Fatale, Shuga Beatz; 7 p.m. January 17; Nightshop, Bloomington; rock, R&B, blues; $5; all ages until 10 p.m.

Lil Ed & The Blues Imperials, Bogart Jones Band; Jan. 18, Jazz Upfront, Bloomington.

DJ Troy; 8:30 p.m.-2 a.m. Jan. 18, Ride the Nine/Shooters Lounge, Bloomington.

RosOm's Radio, Bodyman, Jamurai, Strick Lee, Two and Four; 9 p.m. January 18; Nightshop, Bloomington; electronic, hip hop; $10; 21+.

Karaoke; 8:30 p.m.-1 a.m. Jan. 19, Ride the Nine/Shooters Lounge, Bloomington.

Karaoke; 7 p.m. Jan. 21, Nightshop, Bloomington; no cover; all ages until 10 p.m.

Music bingo; 7-9 p.m. Jan. 21, Ride the Nine/Shooters Lounge, Bloomington; karaoke, 9 p.m.-1 a.m.

Berchtold & Stear, Feathered Mason, Jennifer Jane Niceley; 7 p.m. Jan. 23, Nightshop, Bloomington; Americana, acoustic, folk; $7; all ages until 10 p.m.

Matt’s Practice Band, Jam Session: Hobros; Jan. 23, Jazz Upfront, Bloomington.

Mathieu; Jan. 24, Jazz Upfront, Bloomington.

Denise La Grassa, Hot Sauce Universe; 7 p.m. Jan. 24, Nightshop, Bloomington; blues, jazz, soul; $7; all ages until 10 p.m.

Nickolas David; Jan. 25, Jazz Upfront, Bloomington.

Easy Riders, Cole Hollow; 8 p.m. Jan. 25, Nightshop, Bloomington; blues, rock, psychedelic; $8; all ages until 10 p.m.

Nectar, High Meadows; 7:30 p.m. Jan. 26, Nightshop, Bloomington; pop punk, Indie; $7; all ages until 10 p.m.

Karaoke; 7 p.m. Jan. 28, Nightshop, Bloomington; no cover; all ages until 10 p.m.

Captain Marvelous & The Madmen; Jan. 30, Jazz Upfront, Bloomington.

Audio Faction; 7 p.m. Jan. 31, Eagles Aerie 527, Bloomington; no cover.

Slap Frost Revue w/ Equipto, Michael Marshall, Z-Man, Vocab Slick, DJ True Justice, Rmllw2llz, James De Noir, Franky & The Plexicats, DJ Belly; 8 p.m. Jan. 31, Nightshop, Bloomington; hip hop, funk, soul; $13, advance tickets, www.nightshop517.com, $15, at the door; all ages until 10 p.m.

Brett Conlin & The Midnight Miles, Jeff Schaller and the Long Way Home, Blind Adam and The Federal League; 8 p.m. Feb. 1, Nightshop, Bloomington; rock & roll, punk rock; $7; all ages until 10 p.m.

Karaoke; 7 p.m. Feb. 4, Nightshop, Bloomington; no cover; all ages until 10 p.m.

Good Morning Bedlam, Alex Jordine; 7 p.m. Feb. 6, Nightshop, Bloomington; bluegrass, folk, Indie; $7, advance tickets, www.nightshop517.com; $10, at the door; all ages until 10 p.m.

She Said So; 5 p.m. Feb. 7, Nightshop, Bloomington; pop, rock, blues; $5; all ages until 10 p.m.

Catching Hickory; 7 p.m. Feb 7, Eagles Aerie 527, Bloomington; no cover.

Wildermore, Disorganizer; 7:30 p.m. Feb. 8, Nightshop, Bloomington; rock, jazz; $7, advance tickets, www.nightshop517.com; $10, at the door; all ages until 10 p.m.

Cloud Cruiser, Lark's Tongue, Karat's Gold; 8 p.m. Feb. 8, Nightshop, Bloomington; desert rock, stoner metal, psychedelic, math rock; $6, advance tickets, www.nightshop517.com; $8, at the door; all ages until 10 p.m.

Central Illinois

Silver Foxes; 6:30-9 p.m. Jan. 16, Heyworth American Legion; classic country; no cover.

Jim & Tommy; 6-8 p.m. Jan. 18, PK UnKorked, Pontiac; no cover.

Bustin Loose; 8 p.m. Jan. 18, Clinton Eagles; country; no cover.

Silver Foxes; 6:30-9 p.m. Jan. 23, Heyworth American Legion; classic country; no cover.

Kindred; 6-8 p.m. Jan. 24, PK UnKorked, Pontiac; no cover.

Blair Switch Project; 6-8 p.m. Jan. 25, PK UnKorked, Pontiac; no cover.

Silver Foxes; 6:30-9 p.m. Jan. 30, Heyworth American Legion; classic country; no cover.

James Herr; 6-8 p.m. Feb. 1, PK UnKorked, Pontiac; James Taylor tribute music; no cover.

Silver Foxes; 6:30-9 p.m. Feb. 7, Heyworth American Legion; classic country; no cover.

Blair Switch Project; 6-8 p.m. Feb. 8, PK UnKorked, Pontiac; no cover.

For kids

Bloomington-Normal

Children's Discovery Museum; 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tue.-Wed. and Fri.-Sat.; 9 a.m.-8 p.m. Thursday; 1-5 p.m. Sunday, 101 E. Beaufort St., Normal; exhibit gallery, paint wall, two-story climber, AgMazing exhibit, educational programs, more; $7, under 2 free; 309-433-3444.

"Walk On: The Story of Rosa Parks"; 2:30 p.m. Feb. 9, Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts, Bloomington; for third grade and up; $10; Family 4-pack, $30, additional children $5; artsblooming.org; 309-434-2777.

The Magic of Bill Blagg LIVE!; 2:30 p.m. Feb. 23, Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts, Bloomington; $15-20; Family 4-pack, $40-50; additional children, $5; artsblooming.org; 309-434-2777.

Central Illinois

Sesame Street Live!; 2 and 6 p.m. Jan. 26, Peoria Civic Center Arena, Elmo is inspired to learn a magic trick when he meets magician extraordinaire Justin; ticket prices $18-$63.

Millard Fillmore

Millard Fillmore of the Whig party, 13th U.S. president, 1850â€"1853. Visited in June 1854 on a tour of the West; guest at the Pike House in downtown Bloomington.

Associated Press Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln, 16th U.S. president, 1861â€"1865; shown in a Nov. 1860 photograph shortly after he won the election, in Chicago, Ill. Innumerable visits as Eighth Circuit Court lawyer; also delivered more than a half-dozen political speeches, etc.

Alex Hessler Andrew Johnson

Andrew Johnson, 17th U.S. president, 1865â€"1869. Visited September 8, 1866, traveling on the Chicago & Alton railroad. Spoke at the west side station.

Library of Congress Ulysses S. Grant

Ulysses S. Grant, 18th U.S. president, 1869â€"1877. Visited September 8, 1866, traveling with Andrew Johnson. Visited October 16, 1874 on a fifteen minute stopover en route to Springfield via the Chicago & Alton. Visited Ca. 1880s for a Union veterans’ reunion.

Marty Lederhandler Benjamin Harrison

Benjamin Harrison, 23rd U.S. president, 1889â€"1893. Grandson of the ninth President, William Henry Harrison. Visited October 7, 1890. Made a brief appearance (five minutes or so) at the “Big Four” station en route to Peoria.

Associated Press Theodore Roosevelt

Theodore Roosevelt, 26th U.S. president, 1901â€"1909. Visited June 3, 1903; stopped in Bloomington during a two-month train trip through the Western states. Visited April 6, 1912 and delivered a speech at Coliseum in downtown Bloomington.

Associated Press William Howard Taft

William Howard Taft, 27th U.S. president, 1909â€"1913. Visited October 30, 1915, as former president. Delivered speech at Illinois State Normal University.

Associated Press Woodrow Wilson Associated Press Franklin D. Roosevelt

Franklin D. Roosevelt, 32nd U.S. president, 1933â€"1945. Visited October 14, 1936 as a whistle stop. Gave a seven-minute speech to 20,000 people at Chicago & Alton station.

Associated Press Dwight D. Eisenhower

Dwight D. Eisenhower, 34th U.S. president, 1953â€"1961. Visited October 2, 1952, and gave a speech from a train to 7,000 people.

AP Photo/Milton Eisenhower Scrapbook John F. Kennedy

John F. Kennedy, 35th U.S. president, 1961â€"1963. Visited October 24, 1959 as Senator for a fundraising visit after landing at Bloomington Municipal Airport. Pictured above, he attended a wedding reception and met with admirers at Davidson's Restaurant. At left is Joe Russell of Piper City, Democratic State Committeeman.

RELATED Flick: That rainy day when JFK came to Bloomington

Pantagraph file photo Lyndon B. Johnson

Lyndon B. Johnson, 36th U.S. president, 1963â€"1969. Assumed position after his service as the 37th Vice President from 1961â€"1963. Visited on July 16, 1965, to attend the funeral of Adlai E. Stevenson.

AP Photo/White House, Cecil Stoughton Gerald Ford

Gerald Ford, 38th U.S. president, 1974â€"1977. Prior to this, the 40th U.S. vice president, serving from 1973â€"1974 under President Richard Nixon. Visited on October 16, 1976, as part of a whistle-stop train tour with appearances in Pontiac, Bloomington and Lincoln.

Associated Press Ronald Reagan

Ronald Reagan, 40th U.S. president, 1981â€"1989. Served as the 33rd Governor of California before his presidency from 1967â€"1975. In town for 1928â€"1931 college football seasons. Eureka College would play Illinois State Normal University and Illinois Wesleyan University over back-to-back weekends, one opponent home (Eureka) and the other away (Bloomington or Normal). Visited October 19â€"21, 1955, and stayed in Bloomington for tour of General Electric plant on Bloomington’s east side; visited his alma mater, Eureka College, and other events. Visited January 20, 1961. Speaker for the Association of Commerce’s 60th annual banquet. Visited October 18, 1980. Participated in Illinois State University’s Homecoming parade.

Associated Press George H. W. Bush

George H. W. Bush, 41st U.S. president, previously the 43rd U.S. vice president. Visited on July 28, 1988. Passed through on campaign bus tour, which included stops at Illinois State University and El Paso.

Associated Press George W. Bush

George W. Bush, 43rd U.S. president, 2001â€"2009, and 46th Governor of Texas, 1995â€"2000. August 6, 2000. Passed through on whistle-stop tour with running mate Dick Cheney. Spoke at the Amtrak station in Normal.

LM Otero Barack Obama

Barack Obama, 44th and current U.S. president, assumed office in 2009. Has visited multiple times. Visited on August 2, 2004 and delivered a U.S. Senate campaign speech at UAW hall in Bloomington. Visited in September 3, 2004, and attended U.S. Senate forum at the Funk Farms Trust near Shirley, sponsored by the Illinois Agricultural Legislative Roundtable. Visited October 14, 2004, and attended Bloomington fundraiser for congressional candidate Tari Renner. Visited June 24, 2005. Attended “Town hall” type meeting at Heartland Community College, Normal. Visited August 1, 2005 and met with fellow Illinois Senator Dick Durbin to support proposed Uptown Normal transportation center; pictured above speaking with Town of Normal Mayor Chris Koos.

David Proeber Donald J. Trump

Donald J. Trump, the 45th and current president. Visited the Synergy Flight Center at Central Illinois Regional Airport on Sunday, March 13. He spoke to a crowd of nearly 3,000 people. 

To submit an item, send an email to features@pantagraph.com.

We'll send breaking news and news alerts to you as as they happen!

Mental Maths books to improve your calculation speed

{{if trimcom}}{{:trimcom}}{{else}}{{:comment.substr(0,500)}}{{/if}} {{if comment.length > 500}} ... Read More {{/if}}

German books for beginners: Learn the basics of the language at home

stylish looks & awe-inspiring features: oppo f15 is all you need to slay in 2020

Yoga books: Popular books that can guide you in doing yoga

How teachers in the classroom are like magicians on the stage

[unable to retrieve full-text content]I'm not referring to fancy card tricks, pulling rabbits out of hats or making people disappear ... I do know one thing for sure. The magic dust his fifth grade math teacher sprinkled all around him ...