Decades ago the CIA hired noted magician John Mulholland, to write a book on trickery, deception and concealment. Basically, it was a compilation of magician tricks that could be used in public to counter the Soviets own trickery in the Cold War.
The last copy was thought lost in 1973, but has been rediscovered and published as “The Official C.I.A. Manual of Trickery and Deception.”
This manual was part of the CIA’s MKULTRA program which involved methods “capable of employment in clandestine operations to control human behavior.”
The CIA’s infamous use of LSD fit into this program, as did suppository capsules with tiny lock picking tools, a fake St. Bernard suit to transport agents and a radio hid inside a fake scrotum.
This CIA manual included sleight of hand tricks involving dropping pills into the drinks of unsuspecting targets using hollowed pencils and rigged matchbooks. It also included the mundane, such as how to create a stupid-looking face.
The CIA claimed these tricks were never deployed, which is probably the least convincing misdirection of all.
