Magic, Puzzles & Curiosities Videos Hacker News Recommends

interview#238

The man with 1,000 Klein Bottles UNDER his house - Numberphile

Numberphile

“Cliff is an amazing person. Just a joy!”

8 HN recommenders · 2015–2024

demo#448

Dani DaOrtiz at Fool US 2022 (the act that Penn and Teller didn’t even try to figure out.)

dani daortiz

“This is one of the greatest performances of all time”

5 HN recommenders · 2023–2025

music#825

OK Go - This Too Shall Pass - Rube Goldberg Machine - Official Video

OK Go

“The Rube Goldberg machine [0] one is particularily impressive.”

5 HN recommenders · 2010–2026

demo#1236

Lars Andersen: A new level of archery

larsandersen23

“Lars Andersen taking archery to the next level by using forgotten skills he learned by looking at old art and various texts. Worth a watch!”

4 HN recommenders · 2015–2022

demo#1246

[1299] Unpickable Locks From Stuff Made Here

LockPickingLawyer

“The interaction of engineering and "use" by the Lock Picking Lawyer”

5 HN recommenders · 2021–2022

demo#1261

Virtual Barber Shop (Audio...use headphones, close ur eyes)

LovelyVirus

“try this 3d demo. And don't forget to close your eyes.”

4 HN recommenders · 2013–2024

documentary#1538

Derren Brown - The System (Full)

ScepticaTV

“Here's an entertaining video from Derren Brown that shows how to use this technique to convince people you have psychic powers”

3 HN recommenders · 2013–2017

lecture#1581

Math Encounters -- Five Balls, Two Hands: The Patterns of Juggling -- Colin Wright (Presentation)

National Museum of Mathematics

“my fondness for this video that uses juggling to good effect to teach math in an entertaining way”

3 HN recommenders · 2017–2026

demo#1652

Kostya Kimlat Fools Penn & Teller // Fool Us: Penn's Favorite Card Trick

Kostya Kimlat

“I like this one a lot as it is amazing on both method + effect.”

3 HN recommenders · 2017–2025

demo#1851

selective attention test

Daniel Simons

“a longer but more relevant "motorcycle invisibility training" video”

3 HN recommenders · 2011–2025

demo#2107

Ricky Jay - Amazing Card Trick/Manipulation

theeloved1

“The manipulations are pretty amazing and then at the end it's mindblowing.”

2 HN recommenders · 2015–2023

demo#2241

Speaking Piano - Now with (somewhat decent) captions!

TheMcphearson

“This is a other great example”

3 HN recommenders · 2010–2023

demo#2331

Pranks Destroy Scam Callers- GlitterBomb Payback

Mark Rober

“Here is Mark Rober basically bringing the war to their shores with incredible pranks”

3 HN recommenders · 2022–2024

commentary#2568

Geographical limit between Balkan and Central Europe

kunc

“this short clip [1] of Zizek explaining the geography that separates Central Europe from the Balkans is one of the best things on YT”

2 HN recommenders · 2017–2025

demo#2695

Quick-sort with Hungarian (Küküllőmenti legényes) folk dance

AlgoRythmics

“my very favorite visualizations of sorting algorithms are the Hungarian dancers”

2 HN recommenders · 2013–2021

demo#2800

Machine with Concrete - Arthur Ganson

Arthur Ganson

“I quite like how a lot of his work seems to have a punchline to it.”

2 HN recommenders · 2015–2025

demo#2937

Try this bizarre audio illusion! 👁️👂😮 - BBC

BBC

“The most compelling illustration I've seen of this is the McGurk Affect[1].”

2 HN recommenders · 2011–2020

music#2976

Wintergatan - Marble Machine (music instrument using 2000 marbles)

Wintergatan

“This thing is a work of love.”

2 HN recommenders · 2018–2025

music#3025

OK Go - Needing/Getting - Official Video

OK Go

“4.2s real-time scene with the footage slowed down to 4 minutes”

2 HN recommenders · 2013–2026

explainer#3062

Math Magic

Vsauce

“Vsauce has a fantastic animation of this too”

2 HN recommenders · 2016–2024

comedy#3167

Best Lenny call ever! "I got to hang up. I cain't do this no longer. No, sir." (14:04)

Toao.net

1 HN recommenders · 2017–2023

demo#3791

McGurk effect - Auditory Illusion - BBC Horizon Clip

sixesfullofnines

“Very worth your two minutes if you're not yet familiar with the effect”

1 HN recommenders · 2021–2025

demo#3981

AMAZING VIDEO! Man Lifts 20 Ton Block By Hand?

Mystery History

“I really enjoyed this guy's hands on approach to moving 20 ton blocks by himself,”

1 HN recommenders · 2018–2024

demo#4109

strandbeest evolution

theo jansen

“eerily smooth, seemingly impossible walking exoskeletons”

1 HN recommenders · 2016–2022

other#4337

Honda - The Cog

WebRidesTV

“Rube Goldberg machine all done without CGI (5 months of pre-work, then 605 takes until they got to one that didn't screw up somewhere)”

1 HN recommenders · 2011–2024

demo#4652

Derren Brown vs 9 Chess Players

Derren Brown

“I really liked the simplicity of the trick (concept wise).”

1 HN recommenders · 2019–2022