Effects that are simply too hard to explain

43 entries in Cards / Effect Themes / Gags & Curiousities / Effects that are simply too hard to explain
Creators Title Comments & References Year Source Page AA Categories
U. F. Grant The Funny Deck card travels back from pocket, leaving behind a blank card, double facer
 		1937 Encyclopedia of Card Tricks 130
Newton Hall Hypnosthesia three spectators see a card even though that one is apparently removed, spelled "Newon Hall"
 		1938 The Jinx 1-50 (Issue Summer Extra 1938) 325
Eddie Clever Encore Voodoo card is put in envelope with ribbon band and hidden by spectator, light out, performer suddenly has card and mutilates it, when spectator retrieves card it has same appearance, dressed up Chinese Laundry Ticket
Related to 1938 The Jinx 51-100 (Issue 51) 358
William H. McCaffrey, Dai Vernon Vernon - McCaffery Name Effect unclear effect description
 		1961 The Magic of Charles Earle Miller 72
Paul Curry The Case of the Missing Hat cards with magicians and with hats, story trick
Related toVariations 1965 Magician's Magic 248
Roy Walton Stepping Stones solution for a problem posed by Fulves, several variations
Variations 1969 The Devil's Playthings 21
Karl Fulves Eerie Row four cards, duplicate of one of them is touched to packet and leaves "image" behind, repeated
Related toVariations 1973 Packet Switches (Part Two) 111
Paul Harris Heart Burn corner of card stroken on match-book, ignites and burns
Also published here 1981 Close-up Fantasies Finalé 99
David Britland Seconds Out...
Inspired by 1983 Spell-Binder (Vol. 3 No. 30) 585
Stephen Tucker Revealed Two Jokers and Ace of Spades: Ace of Spades alternates between pointing at spectator and magician, then Joker also keeps changing orientation, then all three cards change to Ace of Spades
 		1984 The Card-Mad-gic of Stephen Tucker 37
Paul Harris Wonder Woman cards laid out on table in figure configuration, fortune telling presentation
 		1984 Close-up Seductions 147
Karl Fulves The Boys from the Girls No. 76, boy and girl names on paper, folded and cut, all boys are separated from girls, also as card revelation
Also published here 1985 Self-Working Paper Magic 135
Martin Lewis The Stampede Second Random card is chosen and placed aside as prediction. A stamp is placed on the top of another deck. As cards are dealt, stamp stays in place (second deal), until stamp suddenly sticks to one card. Both cards match.
 		1985 Martin's Miracles 45
Jay Sankey, Richard Sanders Thought Thief card shown around, the spectator who chose it cannot recall it while everyone else can, see also p. xii at back of book
 		1987 When Creators Collide... 26
Dai Vernon Tour Through the Outback one of ten is named, process of elimination produces same card
 		1988 The Vernon Chronicles — Volume 2 182
Kuniyasu Fujiwara The Joker Takes A Ride king on joker vanishes bit by bit leaving a hole and is found next to selection
 		1992 Five Times Five - Japan 72
Hiroyuki Sakai The Perfect Assistant two signed selections, joker is torn in half face down, in wallet two half cards appear, each half selection, the halves on the table of the former joker match, gaffed
 		1992 Five Times Five - Japan 95
Muneo Yokoi Split Prediction signed on the back by magician, sealed in envelope. Freely selected card signed and placed in another envelope, signed on the back by spectator. Envelope opened to show the faces match, but that they are also halves of the same card.
 		1993 Volum 5 Lecture Note 26
David Regal Check Your Card, Sir? claim check reappears stuck on spectator's card
 		Apr. 1995 Apocalypse Vol. 16-20 (Vol. 18 No. 4) 2490
Dupre Didier Vicious Circle torn paper circle vanishes when ignited and appears on selected card, then its ignited again and selection has a hole in it, paper is found restored with the missing center pip on it
 		1996 The Minotaur (Vol. 8 No. 3) 12
Paul Harris Heartburn corner of card stroken on match-book, ignites and burns
Also published here 1996 The Art of Astonishment — Book 3 (Issue Close-up Fantasies Finale) 65
Harry Eng, Paul Harris The Cube cube is constructed out of six (folded) cards, one separate card vanishes and reappears as part of the cube
 		1996 The Art of Astonishment — Book 3 (Issue Misc. Pieces of Paul) 281
Karl Fulves Mirrors Never Lie card vanishes from packet but remains visible in mirror, card with mirror surface
Related to 1997 The Vampire Chronicles 63
Lee Asher The Magic Finger Box of Death finger is bent in folded card
 		1999 Lé Asher 6
Karl Fulves Matrix With Words "Problems"
matrix force with words, composing something like a card or a condition "red kings are reversed", posed as a problem
 		2000 Latter Day Secrets (Issue 4) 107
Thomas Waldeck Pentium Card 52 routine with computer presentation, floppy disk
 		2000 Concertos for Pasteboard 195
Don England Contrast! two Cards change, change size, back color..
 		2001 Don England's Paradox 63
Paul Curry The Case of the Missing Hat cards with magicians and with hats, story trick
Related toVariations 2001 Paul Curry's Worlds Beyond 327
David Regal The Card that could not be found seriously silly routine...
 		2002 Constant Fooling 2 54
Ron Frost Bunk Beds Two decks, magician cuts to the same five cards in each deck
Inspired by 2004 After The Force 49
Ron Frost Dirty, Down and Double Some weird matching routine with three pairs, back changes color, finds selection
 		2004 After The Force 116
Ron Frost Straight-Faced Coincidence Some convoluted trick involving using a Straight Flush to find a selection
 		2004 After The Force 119
Arthur Trace, Eugene Burger 180 A packet of cards turn over magically, then turn back over to prove that the magician is flipping the room upside down. The center card of the packet then changes, and the magician's spectacles are found upside down too, first published in Genii (April 2006)
 		2006 It's All Relative 8
Dominic Twose Unreliable Witness two people remember the card at a given number, but they remember different cards, one is produced from pocket
 		2007 Best of Friends — Volume III 36
Robert E. Neale I Bless Bile Cards with numbers on them used to spell various words when turned upside down, then flipped over to reveal a skull picture
Inspired by 2008 This Is Not a Book 87
Karl Fulves An Unsolved Problem Jacob's Ladder toy made from card cases, some cards in each except top one, Royal Flush named, top case tumbles down and contains named Royal Flush
 		2008 Xtra Credit (Issue 1) 2
Dan Buck, Dave Buck Cartel Pay for items at a cashier by swiping playing cards through the credit card terminal
 		2008 Organic 17
Steve Beam, Martin Gardner The Ace-Two-Three Trick three sets of A-2-3 used for mathematical puzzle thing, inspired by Gardner's "Ace-Two-Three Trick" (Ibidem #6)
 		2010 Semi-Automatic Card Tricks — Volume 8 74
Hiroshi Sawa レモン・トリック (The Lemon Trick) Card is chosen from the deck, has a picture of lemon on it. Suddenly. three lemons begin mysteriously appearing on the table one by one
 		2013 Magic of Dr. Sawa (澤浩の奇術) 65
Steve Beam Bambi Revisited The padlock in the back design of a selected card unlocks after a key mysteriously rotates (and a zipper mysteriously slides open).
Inspired byRelated to 2015 Semi-Automatic Card Tricks — Volume 10 36
Harapan Ong, Ryan Plunkett Stock Lines Stock Lines: Ad lib game for magicians, made into structured routine that dictates the card trick
Also published here 2016 Some Assembly Required 27
Andy (The Jerx) Will You Let Me Into Your Dream? Your bizarre dream comes true with a spectator, the whole routine lasts over FIVE DAYS
 		2016 The Jerx 191
Harapan Ong Stock Lines Stock Lines: Ad lib game for magicians, made into structured routine that dictates the card trick
Also published here 2017 Wabi-Sabi 41