MAGIC WORDS Origins: Presto is derived from the Italian word for quickly. Facts: The Great Presto is a stage magician in the comic book Uncle Sam Quarterly #2. Common Magician's Applications: Transformations, vanishing. Variations and Incantations: • Hey Presto "'Hey, presto!' said the Magic Shopman, and then would come the clear, small 'Hey, presto!' of the boy." -- H.G. Wells, "The Magic Shop" • Presto Chango "I can change anything / with just one magic word." -- Arden Davidson, "Presto Chango!" (1998) "The fact that the energy of a response is not proportional to the magnitude of the result has contributed to the belief in verbal magic (the magician's 'Presto chango' converts a handkerchief into a rabbit)." -- B.F. Skinner, About Behaviorism (1974) "[O]ften used when performing a transformation . . ." -- Tom Og den, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Magic Tricks (1998) • Presto chango alakazam -- Jon Scieszka, 2095 (1995) • Presto Chango! Ala Peanut Butter Sandwiches! Alakazaam! -- David E. Bell (2001) • Prest-o Change-o • Presto Alacazam "Presto! Alacazam! By sleight of hand, the rules have been circumvented." -- D. Kirk Davidson, The Moral Dimension of Marketing (2002) • Presto-digitation -- Ace Starry, The Magic Life: A Novel Philosophy (200 ) • Presto magic "She just wanted me to pass her that morning like presto magic or something, but I was not planning on being a magician." -- Omar Tyree, For the Love of Money (2000) • Presto vedo "It were as if the Juggler had uttered the magic words, presto vedo, for when the bugle announced the hour for striking tents, all was done in a trice." -- Civil War news from The Clinton Public, "From the 107th Regiment, Camp Joe Kelly, Glasgow, KY, March 17th, 186 " In Literature: • "He looked as if he had rolled out of a Zen scroll, as if he said 'presto' a lot, knew the meaning of lightning and the origin of dreams." -- Tom Robbins, Even Cowgirls Get the Blues (1976)