At one time, close-up sleight-of-hand magic relied on coins, cards, and currency, but since most tricks require an audience to pay close attention, it’s hard to compete with distractions like Facebook and Twitter these days. So as the folks Cool Hunting discovered, magician Doug McKenzie decided to just incorporate them, as well as other technologies, into his routines.
McKenzie doesn’t rely on custom apps, or any kind of underhanded hardware hackery to impress those he performs for, though. He just cleverly incorporates the devices most of us refuse to leave the house without into his tricks, and the results are just as wonderful as guessing the suit of a playing card. We’re particularly enamoured with his phone number calculator trick that would make for one heck of an ice breaker. [Cool Hunting]