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Here’s How Jon Dorenbos Did His Trick on America’s Got Talent

By Kyle Scott

Published: Jul 27th, 2016 · 2:40 PM EDT

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OK so I hate to be a buzzkill (I don’t, I actually love it), but here’s how Jon Dorenbos did his trick on America’s Got Talent last night. [If you haven’t seen the trick yet, watch it here.]

If you’re unable to watch that video, there’s basically two parts: First, Dorenbos cut the corners of each of the pieces of paper he handed the judges. One had no cuts, one had one cut, one had two cuts, and one had three cuts. This way Dorenbos knew which piece of paper belonged to which judge, so when they handed them back to him, he was able to place the drawing with the judge.

Second, and more complicated, he came on stage with only the paper, a bottle, and a hammer. He didn’t have the paper bag he placed the bottle in. You’ll notice that at one point he reaches off-stage, apparently to an assistant, to get it. It’s the assistant who drew smaller versions of each of the judge’s drawings, placed them into an envelope, and slid it into the bag. When Dorenbos reached into the bag to remove the envelope, he removed the second envelope, not the one in the bottle, which had the drawings in it.

It’s actually incredibly disappointing to see how simple of an explanation there is. But, from the YouTubers who’ve analyzed Dorenbos’ work and others online who apparently know magic, there is unanimous agreement that Dorenbos is very good at it and just an incredible showman. These are next-level tricks, with several steps, in front of a large audience, with TV cameras, and Dorenbos pulls them off flawlessly.

Is it just me, or does anyone else want to rage-watch The Prestige after this?

video from (@yamato905) on Twitter