Posted by The Older Gentleman on September 2, 2010, 4:26 pm
> >
> > <snip>
> >
> > When it comes to con tricks, nothing's really new. Ever read The Big
> > Con, by David Maurer? Published seventy years ago, it details just
> > about every con ever known, and so many these days are updates of the
> > old classics. Fantastic book - I found a copy in (of all things) a
> > Spanish hotel's small library of English books, when I was on holiday,
> > and devoured it almost in one sitting. It's still in print, I think.
> >
> > Almost every good con relies on the greed of the victim. "Something
> > for nothing".
>
> In the words of Joseph "Yellow Kid" Weil:
>
> "Each of my victims had larceny in his heart," explained Weil.[5]
>
> "The desire to get something for nothing has been very costly to
> many people who have dealt with me and with other con men,"
> Weil writes.
>
> "But I have found that this is the way it works. The average person,
> in my estimation, is ninety-nine per cent animal and one per cent
> human. The ninety-nine per cent that is animal causes very little
> trouble. But the one per cent that is human causes all our woes.
> When people learn–as I doubt they will–that they can't get
> something for nothing, crime will diminish and we shall live in
> greater harmony."
>
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Weil
>
> I ran across a copy of his autobiography as a kid and read it
> cover to cover repeatedly. A couple of the cons from The Sting
> seem to have been lifted directly from his book.
The Big Con has been cited as an insipration, but it devotes a lot of
space to Weil, so it may be his tales that take the credit.
I'm pretty sure one of the conmen mentioned in the book actually died on
the Titanic - it's assumed he was 'working' on the ship, as ocean liners
were fertile ground for conmen.
And it gives lots of details of the sort of cons practised on the
five-day (as then was) Atlantic crossings.
Dammit, I'll have to get another copy of that book.
--
BMW K1100LT Ducati 750SS Honda CB400Fx2 Triumph Street Triple
Kawasaki GT550x2 Suzuki TS250ERx2 GN250 Damn, up to ten bikes!
Try Googling before asking a damn silly question.
chateau dot murray at idnet dot com
Posted by Rob Kleinschmidt on September 2, 2010, 11:47 pm
On Sep 2, 12:26 pm, totallydeadmail...@yahoo.co.uk (The Older
Gentleman) wrote:
> > > <snip>
> > > When it comes to con tricks, nothing's really new. Ever read The Big
> > > Con, by David Maurer? Published seventy years ago, it details just
> > > about every con ever known, and so many these days are updates of the
> > > old classics. Fantastic book - I found a copy in (of all things) a
> > > Spanish hotel's small library of English books, when I was on holiday,
> > > and devoured it almost in one sitting. It's still in print, I think.
> > > Almost every good con relies on the greed of the victim. "Something
> > > for nothing".
> > In the words of Joseph "Yellow Kid" Weil:
> > "Each of my victims had larceny in his heart," explained Weil.[5]
> > "The desire to get something for nothing has been very costly to
> > many people who have dealt with me and with other con men,"
> > Weil writes.
> > "But I have found that this is the way it works. The average person,
> > in my estimation, is ninety-nine per cent animal and one per cent
> > human. The ninety-nine per cent that is animal causes very little
> > trouble. But the one per cent that is human causes all our woes.
> > When people learn–as I doubt they will–that they can't get
> > something for nothing, crime will diminish and we shall live in
> > greater harmony."
> >http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Weil
> > I ran across a copy of his autobiography as a kid and read it
> > cover to cover repeatedly. A couple of the cons from The Sting
> > seem to have been lifted directly from his book.
> The Big Con has been cited as an insipration, but it devotes a lot of
> space to Weil, so it may be his tales that take the credit.
> I'm pretty sure one of the conmen mentioned in the book actually died on
> the Titanic - it's assumed he was 'working' on the ship, as ocean liners
> were fertile ground for conmen.
> And it gives lots of details of the sort of cons practised on the
> five-day (as then was) Atlantic crossings.
> Dammit, I'll have to get another copy of that book.
My two favorite cons are the betting parlor and the
fixed prize fight. Both involve a whole room full of
actors and one unfortunate mark. In both cases,
the mark is about to make a killing but something goes
wrong and he walks away unsuspecting, poorer but feeling
lucky to have gotten out of a tight spot. Very much like
The Sting.
Posted by Henry on September 2, 2010, 8:50 am
don (Calgary) wrote:
> I have my Venture up for sale with an ask price of $7,500.00.
>
http://calgary.kijiji.ca/c-cars-vehicles-motorcycles-touring-2000-Yamaha-Venture-W0QQAdIdZ226991340
>
> This evening I get a call from a guy claiming to represent some
> finance company. I thought he said AMG or something like that. He
> tells me they finance clients wanting to purchase used bikes and other
> vehicles. He goes on to say he has two clients looking for a 2000
> Venture, pre-approved for $9000.00. I am expecting him to suggest he
> can arrange the sale for $9k and will pay me my $7.5K. Not so. He
> wants me to give him $500.00 up front for the "guaranteed" sale of my
> bike. WTF.
>
> Trust me after that, this was a short conversation. Interesting game
> though.
That's not new here in the U.S. I get calls from them whenever I
sell a vehicle on auto trader.
--
"Condemnation without investigation is the height of ignorance." --
Albert Einstein.
http://911research.wtc7.net
http://www.journalof911studies.com/
http://www.ae911truth.org
XML Sitemap
> > <snip>
> >
> > When it comes to con tricks, nothing's really new. Ever read The Big
> > Con, by David Maurer? Published seventy years ago, it details just
> > about every con ever known, and so many these days are updates of the
> > old classics. Fantastic book - I found a copy in (of all things) a
> > Spanish hotel's small library of English books, when I was on holiday,
> > and devoured it almost in one sitting. It's still in print, I think.
> >
> > Almost every good con relies on the greed of the victim. "Something
> > for nothing".
>
> In the words of Joseph "Yellow Kid" Weil:
>
> "Each of my victims had larceny in his heart," explained Weil.[5]
>
> "The desire to get something for nothing has been very costly to
> many people who have dealt with me and with other con men,"
> Weil writes.
>
> "But I have found that this is the way it works. The average person,
> in my estimation, is ninety-nine per cent animal and one per cent
> human. The ninety-nine per cent that is animal causes very little
> trouble. But the one per cent that is human causes all our woes.
> When people learn–as I doubt they will–that they can't get
> something for nothing, crime will diminish and we shall live in
> greater harmony."
>
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Weil
>
> I ran across a copy of his autobiography as a kid and read it
> cover to cover repeatedly. A couple of the cons from The Sting
> seem to have been lifted directly from his book.